MILAN // A fortnight ago, Claudio Ranieri celebrated a year in charge of Roma's first team. His record in those 12 months makes excellent reading. Ranieri's first 38 matches as Roma's head coach showed a mere five defeats, and nine draws. Calculate that as if it were a full Serie A campaign and those 81 points would not quite have been enough to win a scudetto in the last five or six years, but it would have been close in several of them.
Last May, indeed, Roma finished just two points shy of clinching the championship. Without the deficit left to Ranieri by the two losses suffered early in the 2009/10 season under the management of Luciano Spalletti, Roma would have beaten Inter Milan to the title. The memory of Ranieri overseeing a 23-match unbeaten run and guiding Roma to the top of the table last April is fresh enough, which is why the current scenario, a frenzied talk of crises and sackings, seems so peculiar.
Except when you recall this is Roma, where there are few shades of grey, and seismic fault-lines running all through the club. Ranieri's hair certainly looks greyer after a problematic beginning to 2010/11 and the lead-up to this evening's meeting with Inter, the team against whom Roma jousted so thrillingly last spring, has been marked by confrontation, suspicion and misfortune. To start with the latter, Phillipe Mexes is suspended following his red card in the defeat to Brescia in midweek; goalkeeper Julio Sergio is injured, and out for another three weeks, adding to a sick-list that already included wide players John Arne Riise and Rodrigo Taddei. Inter, for their part, are not entirely unscathed, with Javier Zanetti, Walter Samuel and Thiago Motta out, but the difference in depth of the two squads suggests the champions will cope better.
Roma felt outraged by the officiating against Brescia. Ranieri suggested the referee's assistant should "undergo eye tests in hospital". Rosella Sensi, the Roma president, typically went further, with her attack on "blind referees". Sympathy was generated by reviews of two possible penalties denied to Roma. Even the Italian referees commission head Marcello Nicchi allowed that Roma "had some reasons to feel upset".
Ranieri, meanwhile, is so sharp-eyed he is seeing ghosts. The spectre is Marcello Lippi, who stepped down as coach of the Italy national team in June, and whose name is being touted loudly as a possible successor to Ranieri, whose contract expires in 2012 and whose capacity to revive Roma, for a second time, is evidently under scrutiny with the club one off the bottom of the table with two points so far from four games.
Ranieri all but accused Lippi of briefing reporters against him, both in Rome now and in the period before Ranieri was sacked by Juventus at the end of the 2008/09 season. "When the journalists seem to know about the situation than the coach, you draw your own conclusions," Ranieri erupted on being questioned about Lippi's name being linked with his job. "I understood that much in Turin too. It was Lippi. Everybody knew that."
These excitable responses are suddenly becoming the norm for Ranieri, usually dignified and charming in his dialogue with the media. Before the Brescia match, he snapped sarcastically at reporters as they wondered out loud about the health of his relationship with captain Francesco Totti. Lose the faith of Totti - as Ranieri seemed to when the Roma skipper talked of excessively defensive tactics - and in Rome, you lose a large portion of your authority as coach there.
At Pinetina, Inter's training base, the authority of Rafa Benitez appears to grow and grow. Victories in their last three Serie A outings have put the title-holders top of the table, Samuel Eto'o is thriving in a more advanced role than he had under Benitez's predecessor, Jose Mourinho, and though the reception at the capital's Stadio Olimpico will be fiery, Benitez knows the home supporters can quickly turn on their own side, and head coach, under circumstances like these.
sports@thenational.ae
10.45pm, Aljazeera Sport +1
Serie A fixtures
Today
AC Milan v Genoa 8pm
Roma v Inter Milan 10.45pm
Tomorrow
Bari v Brescia 5pm
Catania v Bologna 5pm
Cesena v Napoli 2.30pm
Chievo v Lazio 5pm
Fiorentina v Parma 5pm
Juve v Cagliari 10.45pm
Palermo v Lecce 5pm
Sampdoria v Udinese 5pm
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CREW
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
If you go
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.
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Brief scores
Barcelona 2
Pique 36', Alena 87'
Villarreal 0
Company%C2%A0profile
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The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
SPECS
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Results
- Brock Lesnar retained the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns
- Braun Strowman and Nicolas won the Raw Tag Team titles against Sheamus and Cesaro
- AJ Styles retained the WWE World Heavyweight title against Shinsuke Nakamura
- Nia Jax won the Raw Women’s title against Alexa Bliss
- Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon beat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
- The Undertaker beat John Cena
- The Bludgeon Brothers won the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos and New Day
- Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle beat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
- Jinder Mahal won the United States title against Randy Orton, Rusev and Bobby Roode
- Charlotte retained the SmackDown Women’s title against Asuka
- Seth Rollins won the Intercontinental title against The Miz and Finn Balor
- Naomi won the first WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
- Cedric Alexander won the vacant Cruiserweight title against Mustafa Ali
- Matt Hardy won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
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West Asia rugby, season 2017/18 - Roll of Honour
Western Clubs Champions League - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership - Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Stan%20Lee
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UAE FIXTURES
October 18 – 7.30pm, UAE v Oman, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 19 – 7.30pm, UAE v Ireland, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 21 – 2.10pm, UAE v Hong Kong, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 22 – 2.10pm, UAE v Jersey, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 24 – 10am, UAE v Nigeria, Abu Dhabi Cricket Oval 1
October 27 – 7.30pm, UAE v Canada, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 29 – 2.10pm, Playoff 1 – A2 v B3; 7.30pm, Playoff 2 – A3 v B2, at Dubai International Stadium.
October 30 – 2.10pm, Playoff 3 – A4 v Loser of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Playoff 4 – B4 v Loser of Play-off 2 at Dubai International Stadium
November 1 – 2.10pm, Semifinal 1 – B1 v Winner of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Semifinal 2 – A1 v Winner of Play-off 2 at Dubai International Stadium
November 2 – 2.10pm, Third place Playoff – B1 v Winner of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Final, at Dubai International Stadium
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
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Position: Senior lab superintendent at Emirates Global Aluminium
Education: Bachelor of science in chemical engineering, post graduate degree in light metal reduction technology
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Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
BELGIUM%20SQUAD
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