JEONJU // Omar Abdulrahman and fellow UAE internationals Ismail Ahmed and Mohanad Salem sat out Al Ain training on Thursday as the club gears up for their most important match in more than a decade.
Currently in Jeonju, South Korea, Al Ain face Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the first leg of the Asian Champions League final on Saturday – the first time the Garden City side have contested the continental showpiece since 2005.
Al Ain are the only UAE club to have won the trophy, when they defeated Thailand’s BEC Tero Sasana in 2003, and know a positive result in the opening leg this weekend is essential before they host Jeonbuk at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on November 26.
Manager Zlatko Dalic allowed Abdulrahman, Ahmed and Salem to rest as the majority of the squad trained in nearby Gunsan City. The trio played the entire 90 minutes of Tuesday's 2018 World Cup qualifier against Iraq in Abu Dhabi, which the UAE won 2-0, then joined up with their club colleagues immediately after the encounter to fly to South Korea.
See also:
• Report: Ahmed Khalil and Ismail Matar score in win over Iraq
• Omar Abdulrahman: There is no 'I' in team
• Asian Player of the Year: Omar Abdulrahman makes shortlist
Abdulrahman had been nursing a minor back injury, sustained during last week’s warm-up friendly against Bahrain, but Al Ain are confident the Asian Player of the Year nominee will show no signs of that issue come Saturday.
Speaking after training, board member Mohammed Obaid Hammad said: “It is natural that Omar, Ismail and Mohanad were given a rest after all the great effort they put in with the national team. They are scheduled to train tomorrow evening at Jeonju World Cup Stadium.”
Al Ain have been bolstered by the return of Amer Abdulrahman, with the midfielder recovering from the slight injury that forced him to withdraw from the UAE squad earlier this month. He trained with his teammates on Thursday.
Should Al Ain hold any hope of lifting the Champions League for a second time, they will need to thwart a dangerous Jeonbuk side boasting the tournament’s second top scorer this year in Leonardo.
However, the Brazilian winger, who has eight goals thus far, is aware of the threat posed by his opponents, as Jeonbuk look to extend their unbeaten home record in the Champions League to an impressive 12 matches.
“We know Al Ain are a big team, a very good one, and they have had the quality to overcome obstacles to reach the Asian Champions League final, just like us,” Leonardo told the Asian Football Confederation’s official website. “We will prepare well for them and prepare to perform well over both legs of the final.
“I watched some of their semi-final matches against El Jaish and it’s clear they are a team of high quality. All the teams that reached the latter stages of the Champions League are good teams.
“It feels great to be in the final. Thanks to God for everything, it has been a really long year, but we are all very happy to be here. We have to prepare and focus well if we want to see this through and become champions.”
FIXTURES:
Saturday, first leg
• Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors v Al Ain, 2pm (UAE)
November 26, second leg
• Al Ain v Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, 6.25pm
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World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Q&A with Dash Berlin
Welcome back. What was it like to return to RAK and to play for fans out here again?
It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the passionate UAE again. Seeing the fans having a great time that is what it’s all about.
You're currently touring the globe as part of your Legends of the Feels Tour. How important is it to you to include the Middle East in the schedule?
The tour is doing really well and is extensive and intensive at the same time travelling all over the globe. My Middle Eastern fans are very dear to me, it’s good to be back.
You mix tracks that people know and love, but you also have a visually impressive set too (graphics etc). Is that the secret recipe to Dash Berlin's live gigs?
People enjoying the combination of the music and visuals are the key factor in the success of the Legends Of The Feel tour 2018.
Have you had some time to explore Ras al Khaimah too? If so, what have you been up to?
Coming fresh out of Las Vegas where I continue my 7th annual year DJ residency at Marquee, I decided it was a perfect moment to catch some sun rays and enjoy the warm hospitality of Bab Al Bahr.
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
The%20specs
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6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
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L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
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Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
More on Quran memorisation:
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.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
