AL AIN // First Salmeen Khamis, then Ahmed Khalil, then Khalil again. One, two, three. Five minutes, three goals.
A manic second-half spell at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium spun an all-UAE Asian Champions League clash completely on its head, and in the process totally redefined the respective seasons of the country’s two most prominent sides.
Once the dust had settled on this last-16 second-leg encounter, Al Ahli had emerged with a place in the quarter-finals of Asia’s elite club competition. Al Ain, initially 1-0 up on the night and therefore on aggregate, departed beaten and broken.
“A blackout” was how Zlatko Dalic, the visibly dejected Al Ain coach, described his side’s swift capitulation. Understandably, Dalic struggled to offer an explanation for what he had just witnessed, a collapse eerily similar to last seasons semi-final surrender to Al Hilal. Last-four participants in 2014, they have been reduced to also-rans this year.
Reaction: Ahmed Khalil turns focus to President's Cup after inspiring Al Ahli's Champions League progress
Gallery: Al Ahli edge out Al Ain on away goals to reach Asian Champions League last-eight — in pictures
“I cannot say anything against my players,” Dalic said. “It happened, it was a very bad time. We tried everything after that five minutes, but it was an impossible mission and we could not do it. We didn’t lose a Champions League match all this season, but we lost the tie.”
In their place, Ahli continue an unlikely continental campaign, bounding through the knockout stages for the very first time. Initially a goal down to Asamoah Gyan’s fourth-minute strike, Cosmin Olaroiu’s men responded three times in quick succession shortly after half-time.
First, Luis Jimenez’s corner cannoned off Khamis and into the Al Ain net. Moments later, Khalil latched onto Everton Ribeiro’s through ball and drove his shot in off the far post. Then, as Ahli’s bench and travelling support celebrated still, Khalil prodded home a rebound from Ribeiro’s effort.
From 1-0 to 1-3 in a flash. Following a stalemate in last week’s opening leg in Dubai, Al Ain suddenly needed three goals of their own. They pegged one back, when Gyan half-volleyed past Ahmed Dida, and then another in stoppage time through Rashid Essa, but they could not claw themselves back from the abyss.
“Maybe, when you consider the first leg and tonight’s match, the best team qualified,” said Cosmin Olaroiu, the Ahli coach, who previously spent two years in charge of his vanquished opponents. “For me, the victory does not have the same taste, because I win against Al Ain. I spent two years here, fantastic years, I played against my brothers, my children – it’s difficult.”
He had words of comfort, too, for his former club, the UAE champions who no longer cling to a Champions League dream. A 2014/15 season that promised so much has concluded in the worst possible fashion. Omar Abdulrahman, their standout star, disappeared down the tunnel in tears.
“I know many, many things about them, and all the game our play was difficult for them to win against us,” Olaroiu said. “But they have fantastic players, very good management, a good coach and for sure this is a point to start, not the end. They will be build a new team, be much stronger. I hope this for them.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%20Twin-turbocharged%204-litre%20V8%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20625%20bhp%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20630Nm%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh974%2C011%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A Dog's Journey
Directed by: Gail Mancuso
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott
3 out of 5 stars
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Company%20Profile
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