Al Ahli play like champions
*
They say that winning games when you are not playing well is the sign of a champion team.
If so, Al Ahli have the title in their hands. The fact that they have a 100 per cent record and a six-point lead at the top of the Arabian Gulf League table already is worrying for their rivals, considering that Cosmin Olaroiu's team have yet to find their best form.
Their first two games (1-0 v Dubai and 2-1 v Al Wahda) were won with injury-time goals. They also scraped past Sharjah 1-0 and relied on two strikes in the final five minutes to see off Emirates 4-2.
The only truly impressive results were a 2-0 away win at Dubai rivals Al Nasr, and their last match, a 3-2 victory at Baniyas.
Last season, Ahli scored 62 goals in 26 games, second only to Al Ain, and had the second-best defence.
They improved their squad in the summer with the signing of Ciel from Al Shabab and the arrival of playmaker Hugo Viana plus Walid Abbas, the UAE international defender. They hired the best coach in the country over the past two seasons, and they are top of the table despite not playing particularly well.
Just think what they will be like when they hit top form.
*
*
Patience is still wearing thin
*
This will be the sixth season since the UAE’s top flight turned professional and while plenty of progress has been made – in the standard of football, for example – one thing has not changed. The job security of an Arabian Gulf League coach is incredibly low.
In the league’s first professional season, 2008/09, only three of the 12 clubs ended the season without making a change.
Fast forward to last year, when four of 14 managers lasted the entire season. Of those four, Olaroiu switched from Al Ain to Ahli in the middle of the summer.
This season, four managers have already been dismissed, with Dubai’s Martin Rueda paying the price for a poor start on Monday.
Nobody is expecting to see a UAE version of Sir Alex Ferguson, with a manager spending decades at the same club. But stability usually brings success.
Managers who were given at least two years in the job – such as Abel Braga at Jazira, Olaroiu at Al Ain and Paulo Bonamigo at Shabab– usually achieved success.
It would be nice to see more clubs showing patience in their top man.
Or at least giving him more than a quarter of a season to stamp his mark.
*
*
Transfer prudence pays off
*
The summer of ’13 was not marked by the usual flurry of transfer activity, with most clubs retaining some of their foreign contingent.
For example, Al Ain changed one player. Same with Ahli. Shabab shipped two of their Brazilians out but had Carlos Villanueva waiting after a year on the injured list.
Of the players that did arrive, the quality has been evident.
Just take a look at the top of the scoring charts, given that a majority of the AGL’s foreign players are strikers.
That Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain) and Grafite (Ahli) are at the top is no surprise.
But keeping pace are several forwards who have made flying starts to life in the UAE.
Benfica’s Carlos Munoz, on loan at Baniyas, already has five goals. Ditto Shabab’s one new arrival, Adeilson. Emmanuel Clottey, Al Dhafra’s new Ghanaian forward, has four, as does Nasr’s Eder Luis.
But the name that stands out is Ibrahima Toure, Nasr’s Senegalese forward, who arrived from Monaco in the summer.
Toure fired 18 league goals in France last season to help Monaco earn promotion to Ligue 1.
The big-money arrival of Radamel Falcao from Atletico Madrid scuppered his first-team chances in France, so he has returned to a league where he impressed in half a season in 2011/12, scoring 16 goals in 17 games in all competitions for Ajman.
This term, he already has seven goals in six league games, accounting for more than half of Nasr’s output.
The Dubai club are outsiders for the title and their record of three wins and three defeats sums up their inconsistency.
But with Toure up front, they have a forward whose sheer power and pace can produce a goal out of nothing, which makes them a dangerous prospect.
He could turn out to be the signing of the season.
twoods@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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.
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
What is double taxation?
- Americans living abroad file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service, which can cost hundreds of dollars to complete even though about 60 per cent do not owe taxes, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service
- Those obligations apply to millions of Americans residing overseas – estimates range from 3.9 million to 5.5 million – including so-called "accidental Americans" who are unaware they hold dual citizenship
- The double taxation policy has been a contentious issue for decades, with many overseas Americans feeling that it punishes them for pursuing opportunities abroad
- Unlike most countries, the US follows a citizenship-based taxation system, meaning that Americans must file taxes annually, even if they do not earn any income in the US.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
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
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
HAJJAN
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The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Mohammed Al Attas
Midfielders: Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Hamad, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Harib Abdallah, Mohammed Jumah
Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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