DUBAI // When Julio Velasco arrived in Tehran to take over the reins of Iran’s national volleyball team in 2011, Team Melli had just started making its mark on the Asian stage.
They had finished runners-up to Japan at the 2009 Asian Championships – their best performance in 13 appearances.
A year earlier, they had won the Asian Cup and successfully defended their title in 2010. That same year, they took the silver at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, and matched their best performance at the World Championships by finishing 19th.
Interest in the sport was growing at home and administrators were keen to build on their success. And in Velasco, they found a man to take the team to the next level.
The Argentine, a volleyball Hall of Famer, is one of the most reputed coaches around. In the 1990s, he won five World League titles with the Italy men’s team, two World Championships, three European Championships, a World Cup and World Grand Champions Cup, and a silver at the 1996 Olympics.
“When I first arrived in Iran, I used to have four training sessions each day, with different national teams, because my assistant was still working for the Argentina Under-23 team,” Velasco said.
That commitment paid immediate dividends. Iran won the Asian Championships for the first time, at home in 2011, beating China in the final. That win got them a ticket to the 2011 World Cup, where they finished ninth, the best finish by a team from outside the Americas and Europe.
Earlier this year, they made their first appearance at the World League and finished a respectable ninth in the 18-nation competition, defeating the likes of Serbia, Italy, Germany and Cuba in their home matches.
Now they are in Dubai to defend their Asian Championship crown and have cruised through their first three matches without dropping a set, including a 25-16, 25-17, 25-20 win over archrival Iraq in a round-of-16-match on Tuesday.
Velasco is happy with the performance of his team, but warns of tougher tests ahead.
“This is the first time that Iran are playing as favourites,” he said. “So this pressure is something new for the players. That’s why we have to show a lot of concentration. It is easier to play when you have nothing to lose, like in the World League.
“If we win in the World League, we are heroes; if we lose, no problem. Here it is different. We must win because everybody expects us to win. So it is a new role for the team, but it is something that we need to get used to.”
Getting used to their position as Asia’s best and keeping that position, according to Velasco, will eventually determine how far Iran have progressed under his tenure.
The Argentine, however, is optimistic looking at the enthusiasm and structure for the sport in Iran.
“Volleyball is very important in Iran,” Velasco said. “We have a lot of clubs, a lot of players and a really good league. We have good junior and youth teams. Yesterday, we won the Islamic Games. We have also qualified for the Under 23 World Championships.
“So it is a sport that is growing in Iran. What we need [to do now] is to build up a group at a high level. We have a lot of good players, but to be at a high level is another thing. You need to have a small, core group with very, very good quality.
“I think we can do that, but we need to have confidence. We also need to make sure we stay humble. We should not start thinking, ‘Ah, we are the best’. That would be a problem. We need to work a lot because it is not easy to stay at the top.
“OK, we have made improvements, but to stay at the top is another thing and that’s why it is so important to win this tournament, because it is never easy to repeat a victory. If we [retain the title], it means one more step in the right direction, a step forward in this process.”
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UAE come up short against Lebanon and will miss final eight
DUBAI // Lebanon wrecked the UAE’s hopes of reaching the last eight of the Asian Championships with a straight-sets win over the hosts on Tuesday night.
The UAE, ranked No 74 in the world, were never really in the game, losing 25-15, 25-16, 28-26 to a team ranked 48 places below them in the world rankings.
The hosts, who beat Uzbekistan 3-1 in their preliminary group game, now have the difficult task of beating Thailand in their second round-of-16 play-off to make it to the event’s knockout stage.
“I was surprised by the UAE’s performance today,” said Moufid Sherit, the Lebanon coach, whose team is ranked 122nd.
“The last time we played against them, they were a lot better. Having said that, I believe my team did a great job – both in attack and defence. The setters were really good and we made sure we did not give many opportunities to the UAE.”
In the other matches from Tuesday, defending champions Iran beat their neighbours Iraq 25-16, 25-17, 25-20, while the last edition’s runners-up China also recorded a straight sets win over Sri Lanka, 25-14, 25-17, 25-18.
Four-time Asian champions South Korea faced a stiff resistance from Kazakhstan, but still managed to win 29-27, 25-20, 25-23.
At the Al Nasr Stadium, India overcame a spirited Australian rally to hang on for a 25-23, 26-24, 23-25, 23-25, 15-12 victory.
Thailand were comfortable 25-15, 25-19, 25-21 winners over Uzbekistan and Bahrain beat Qatar 25-23, 28-26, 25-22.
arizvi@thenational.ae
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The biog
Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus
Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India
Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes
Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
EVIL%20DEAD%20RISE
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UAE finals day
Friday, April 13
Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
3pm, UAE Conference: Dubai Tigers v Sharjah Wanderers
6.30pm, UAE Premiership: Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2)
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Scorebox
Dubai Hurricanes 31 Dubai Sports City Eagles 22
Hurricanes
Tries: Finck, Powell, Jordan, Roderick, Heathcote
Cons: Tredray 2, Powell
Eagles
Tries: O’Driscoll 2, Ives
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey
Pathaan
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The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
MATCH INFO
Norwich City 0 Southampton 3 (Ings 49', Armstrong 54', Redmond 79')
'Moonshot'
Director: Chris Winterbauer
Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse
Rating: 3/5
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
RESULTS
Men – semi-finals
57kg – Tak Chuen Suen (MAC) beat Phuong Xuan Nguyen (VIE) 29-28; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) by points 30-27.
67kg – Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Huong The Nguyen (VIE) by points 30-27; Narin Wonglakhon (THA) v Mojtaba Taravati Aram (IRI) by points 29-28.
60kg – Yerkanat Ospan (KAZ) beat Amir Hosein Kaviani (IRI) 30-27; Long Doan Nguyen (VIE) beat Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) 29-28
63.5kg – Abil Galiyev (KAZ) beat Truong Cao Phat (VIE) 30-27; Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Norapat Khundam (THA) RSC round 3.
71kg – Shaker Al Tekreeti (IRQ) beat Fawzi Baltagi (LBN) 30-27; Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Man Kongsib (THA) 29-28
81kg – Ilyass Hbibali (UAE) beat Alexandr Tsarikov (KAZ) 29-28; Khaled Tarraf (LBN) beat Mustafa Al Tekreeti (IRQ) 30-27
86kg – Ali Takaloo (IRI) beat Mohammed Al Qahtani (KSA) RSC round 1; Emil Umayev (KAZ) beat Ahmad Bahman (UAE) TKO round
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: Now
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
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You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
New Zealand 57-0 South Africa
Tries: Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder (2), Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu'ungfasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (7). Penalty: Beauden Barrett
