With a new coach, a new investor and possibly a new stadium on the way, AC Milan look as if they can finally put several years of confusion and mediocrity behind them in Serie A this season.
Milan should join AS Roma and Napoli as the main challengers to champions Juventus, who are aiming for a fifth successive title but must rebuild their side after the departures of playmaker Andrea Pirlo and marksman Carlos Tevez.
Serb Sinisa Mihajlovic has become Milan’s fourth coach in just over 18 months when he moved from Sampdoria in the close season, and his appointment marked a clear change in direction by Milan. The club’s two previous coaches, Clarence Seedorf and Filippo Inzaghi, were both long-serving former Milan players with no senior coaching experience.
Mihajlovic, on the other hand, has no Milan connections but plenty of coaching experience after stints at Catania, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and the Serbia national team.
“Milan have always been a side to be feared and I want that Milan side back. I want my Milan team to instil fear in other teams,” he said on his official presentation.
“We will be like our motto, a team of devils, red like fire and black like the fear we will instil into our opponents.”
Over the last few seasons, Milan have appeared rudderless, pledging to put their faith in youngsters developed by the club while simultaneously signing players in the middle or latter stages of their careers.
This close season there has been a clear statement of intent, however, as the club have splashed out about €78 million (Dh323.8mn) on forwards Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano, midfielder Andrea Bertolacci and defender Alessio Romanogli.
The spending spree came as owner Silvio Berlusconi signed a pre-sale agreement to sell 48 per cent of the club to a group led by Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol by the end of September.
Milan, a dismal 10th last term, have also cleared the biggest hurdle in their plans to build a new stadium after their bid to acquire the city’s former trade fair grounds was approved.
Still, they have a lot of catching up to do to get anywhere near Juventus, who have taken Italian football by the scruff of the neck since opening their new stadium four years ago.
Juve have won four successive titles since then, although the departures of Pirlo and Tevez could make them vulnerable.
They are not short of replacements, however, having signed strikers Paulo Dybala, Mario Mandzukic and Simone Zaza, and Germany midfielder Sami Khedira, while fending off bids for Pirlo’s heir apparent, Paul Pogba.
Roma, runners-up for the last two seasons, have brought in forwards Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah on loan while influential playmaker Francesco Totti will start his 24th season at his only club.
Like Inter Milan, however, Roma’s spending has been curbed after they fell foul of Uefa’s break-even Financial Fair Play rule.
Roberto Mancini has struggled to get his Inter team into gear after taking over from Walter Mazzarri last November and has seen Mateo Kovacic, the player he described as “Inter’s future”, leave for Real Madrid.
Napoli, exasperatingly inconsistent in their two seasons under Rafa Benitez, have given Maurizio Sarri the biggest break of his coaching career as they look to pick up the pieces after missing out on a Champions League spot last term.
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
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)
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
The years Ramadan fell in May
