Jol hopes to scratch Ajax's five-year itch

AMSTERDAM // The first of Europe's big leagues, the Dutch Eredivisie, starts tonight when Heerenveen host Roda JC at the Abe Lenstra Stadion. Neither of these two sides would expect to win the league, but in Amsterdam, where the four-time European champions Ajax have gone five years without a title, expectation is constant.

With the former Hamburg and Tottenham manager Martin Jol in charge there is hope that the club can add to their record haul of 29 Eredivisie title. Jol believes the toughest competition this season will come from champions AZ Alkmaar and an upgraded PSV Eindhoven team. "Alkmaar almost kept their team together, while PSV Eindhoven made a step forward by signing the experienced couple Andre Ooijer and Orlando Engelaar," he told Dutch weekly Voetbal International. "You can say it is almost unfeasible [for Ajax to win the title] but it can be done and we will go for it," he added.

Jol had limited transfer funds available and focused on signing a real leader on the pitch. He got his man when Dutch international Demy de Zeeuw was signed last Friday from Alkmaar. Jol has also been reunited with Cameroon left back Timothee Atouba who joined from Hamburg, but saw team captain and Belgium international defender Thomas Vermaelen sold to Arsenal for £10 million (Dh60m). "Playing for the title is a must for Ajax, but being the biggest club in the country, seeing the fans and organisation, is not a guarantee for success, like we noticed in the last few years," Jol said.

Champions Alkmaar managed to retain most of last season's squad and made an impressive start to the season when they thrashed Heerenveen 5-1 to win Dutch Super Cup on Saturday. Alkmaar have a new coach in Ronald Koeman, who was in charge when Ajax last won a Dutch title in 2003/04. He replaced another former Ajax coach Louis van Gaal who is now at the helm at Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. PSV, whose run of four successive Dutch titles was ended by Alkmaar last season, also have a new coach, Fred Rutten, a former assistant at the club. Rutten, who was sacked in March by Schalke 04, has signed Dutch international midfielder Orlando Engelaar from the Bundesliga club.

He has also brought Dutch international defender Ooijer back to the club after three seasons in the English Premier League with Blackburn Rovers. * Reuters

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Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

UAE SQUAD

Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan

The specs

Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor

Power: 320bhp

Torque: 605Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh219,000

On sale: Now

At Eternity’s Gate

Director: Julian Schnabel

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen

Three stars

THREE

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

Nepotism is the name of the game

Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.

COMPANY%20PROFILE

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A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

If you go

The flights

Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.

The car

Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.

The hotels

Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.

More info

To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest.

A new relationship with the old country

Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates

The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.

ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.

ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.

DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.

Signed

Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers