In the city of Genoa, football occupies some picturesque sites. The pitches where Genoa CFC train reach out towards the Mediterranean from a handsome villa.
In the town itself, the offices where Sampdoria do their business have beautiful frescoed walls and ceilings.
At the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, the venue that brings the two football clubs of the port together, the ambiance can be much more raw. Today, derby day, there is much at stake, too.
It is some time since Genoa and Sampdoria shared such high status in Serie A. Back in September, they were first and second in the league.
Those positions are now occupied with a routine inevitability by the big-name clubs of Milan and Turin, but Samp - as they are usually known - and Genoa remain very much in contention for a Champions League place next season. A win tonight over their neighbours would move Samp into the top three. A victory for Genoa would ease them up to joint fifth.
Outside the boundaries of a local rivalry, which is fierce and full of nuance, romantic neutrals in Italian football can find reasons to be cheerful about the happy fortunes of the port city, and a well of affection for both clubs.
Sampdoria, some Genovese will insist, were the last true outsiders to win an Italian scudetto, a league championship, because since their 1991 triumph in what was then the strongest domestic league in the world, the prize had been shared only between the two grandees of the city of Milan, by Turin's Juventus and by the two main Rome clubs, both of whom ran up vast debts to finance the triumphs of 2000 and 2001.
By contrast, the 1991 Samp were a team who charmed audiences, with their telepathically effective strike force of Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini. They even reached the European Cup final a year later.
Genoa, meanwhile, are Italy's original champions, a club whose long and distinguished history has sometimes encouraged their fans to sneer at their neighbours as nouveaux riches. Genoa won the first Italian league in 1898. Only Inter, Juve and Milan have been Italian champions more often.
But these are boasts delivered in sepia. Genoa have not held the title since 1924.
In some respects, they might consider themselves fortunate to still be around, let alone to be in the top flight. Even the older loyalists at the Luigi Ferraris today have known more profound lows than soaring highs.
In the past 30 years, Genoa have spent their share of time in Serie B, from which they were last promoted in 2007, after 12 years outside the elite. Two years earlier they had been even worse off, relegated to the third tier after the Italian authorities saw sufficient evident that the final match of their 2004-05 campaign had been fixed, to ensure promotion from Serie B.
Fans rioted in the streets when Genoa were sentenced to Serie C1 for the misdemeanour.
Genoa's recovery from that episode is to be admired. It has been done with considerable investment and, on Serie A's imbalanced salary scale, they are now among the top six payers.
A high turnover of players has brought money in, and not the least of the feathers in head coach Gian Piero Gasperini's cap is that he has found the means to compensate for the regular departure of players who have been key to Genoa's rise since he took over three summers ago.
Goalscorers like Marco Boriello and Diego Milito have moved to AC and Inter Milan, Thiago Motta to Inter. In their places,
Gasperini favoured hiring experienced campaigners like Hernan Crespo, Sergio Floccari and Emiliano Moretti to complement younger men like Salvatore Brochetti and Domenico Criscito, the defenders now very much in Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi's plans.
As, indeed, are the Sampdoria players Angelo Palombo, the midfielder, and Giampaolo Pazzini, the striker for whom one goal today would take him to the top of the Serie A scorers.
For Lippi, the city of Genoa is a source of the rejuvenation his national squad need, although he will still not turn back to Sampdoria's favourite reformed rebel, Antonio Cassano. Cassano above all should enjoy today's derby stage.
ihawkey@thenational.ae
Genoa v Sampdoria, KO 11.45pm, Aljazeera Sport + 1
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
WORLD'S%2010%20HIGHEST%20MOUNTAINS
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Fight Night
FIGHT NIGHT
Four title fights:
Amir Khan v Billy Dib - WBC International title
Hughie Fury v Samuel Peter - Heavyweight co-main event
Dave Penalosa v Lerato Dlamini - WBC Silver title
Prince Patel v Michell Banquiz - IBO World title
Six undercard bouts:
Michael Hennessy Jr v Abdul Julaidan Fatah
Amandeep Singh v Shakhobidin Zoirov
Zuhayr Al Qahtani v Farhad Hazratzada
Lolito Sonsona v Isack Junior
Rodrigo Caraballo v Sajid Abid
Ali Kiydin v Hemi Ahio
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
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The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SCORES IN BRIEF
New Zealand 153 and 56 for 1 in 22.4 overs at close
Pakistan 227
(Babar 62, Asad 43, Boult 4-54, De Grandhomme 2-30, Patel 2-64)
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
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How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Foah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Faiza, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: RB Dixie Honor, Antonio Fresu, Helal Al Alawi.
7.30pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard.
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
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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.
