Al Shabab 1
Alves 18’ (pen)
Al Ahli 2
Lima 30’, 58’ (pen)
Man of the match Rodrigo Lima (Al Ahli)
DUBAI // Five days after the Great Disappointment and everything seems rosy at Al Ahli again.
Defeated by the narrowest of margins in the Asian Champions League final in China on Saturday, the Dubai club made the shorter trip on Thursday to neighbours Al Shabab and departed the derby with the spoils.
With it, Ahli moved second in the Arabian Gulf League and maintained their 100 per cent record in this season’s competition. Even Rodrigo Lima was back, having endured a three-match goal drought that, given his lightning start in the UAE, had been depicted as some sort of mini-crisis. Imagine.
READ ALSO: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed awards Al Ahli players cash prize after Asian Champions League exploits
However, two goals reversed the score-line and secured the points at the Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium, Ahli coming from behind after Jo Alves put Shabab in front with an 18th-minute penalty. The spot-kick was correctly awarded, because Ahli’s stand-in defender Mohammed Sabeel had raked his studs across Hassan Ibrahim’s knee.
Lima responded with a dead-ball double of his own, first curling a free-kick into the Shabab goal on the half hour, then converting a penalty just before the clock reached 60 minutes. This time, Majed Hassan had been caught by Manei Mohammed’s outstretched leg. In scoring twice, Lima now has 16 goals in 16 matches since his summer transfer from Benfica.
A fiery encounter threatened to boil over thereafter, with a slew of yellow cards and Cosmin Olaroiu, the Ahli coach, sent to the stands. Alves also had an equaliser disallowed eight minutes from time, straying just offside before meeting Henrique Luvannor’s cross.
Once the dust settled, though, the visitors had sealed a vital victory. Given what went before it last weekend, Ahli displayed commendable mettle. Their continental dream may be dead, but their bid for domestic dominance remains very much alive and kicking.
Man of the match
Rodrigo Lima, Al Ahli Captain on the night in Ahmed Khalil's absence, the Brazilian led the line well, scoring two goals, but it was his leadership that impressed most.
Was always an outlet for his team and topped off the performance with two telling contributions.
What managers said
Caio Junior, Shabab coach: "Their penalty, I don't believe. I checked the television many times, but I don't believe. Why did the referee give this penalty? Why? It was clear Manny didn't touch him.
“We lost the game because the referee gave a penalty that wasn’t clear. We deserve to draw or win this game.”
Catalin Raducan, Ahli assistant manager: "It's a very, very important victory for us against a very, very good team.
“Also it’s important because we’ve come after the Champions League and everybody was affected after we lose the final. We played the worst first half this season, but I know it’s not easy, psychologically, to pass after losing the final of Asian Champions League.”
The National’s verdict
This was all about Ahli’s ability to bounce back from their Champions League blow. They did just enough to win to help refocus on the domestic league and sit one point off the summit, with two matches in hand on their title rivals.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
More Expo 2020 Dubai pavilions:
Dubai World Cup prize money
Group 1 (Purebred Arabian) 2000m Dubai Kahayla Classic - $750,000
Group 2 1,600m(Dirt) Godolphin Mile - $750,000
Group 2 3,200m (Turf) Dubai Gold Cup – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Turf) Al Quoz Sprint – $1,000,000
Group 2 1,900m(Dirt) UAE Derby – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Dirt) Dubai Golden Shaheen – $1,500,000
Group 1 1,800m (Turf) Dubai Turf – $4,000,000
Group 1 2,410m (Turf) Dubai Sheema Classic – $5,000,000
Group 1 2,000m (Dirt) Dubai World Cup– $12,000,000
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Eriksen 80')
Inter Milan 0
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
