Barcelona won't have to wait long to try to correct the errors that saw them lose the Supercopa de Espana (Spanish Super Cup) to Athletic Bilbao as they return to San Mames on Sunday in their La Liga opener.
The European champions were thrashed 4-0 in Bilbao just a week ago as an under-manned defence failed to cope with the presence of Aritz Aduriz, who struck a hat-trick and then also netted in the return as the Basque club won the final 5-1 on aggregate.
Barca coach Luis Enrique has even more defensive problems as his side look for revenge on league duty.
Gerard Pique has been banned for four matches after being sent off in Monday’s 1-1 draw in the return leg of the Super Cup for verbally abusing the match officials.
Jordi Alba remains a doubt with a hamstring injury, while Neymar hasn’t returned to training since he was diagnosed with the mumps two weeks ago.
The coach must also decide who to play in goal. Claudio Bravo made his first appearance of the campaign in the home game against Athletic after Marc-Andre ter Stegen had been selected for the first two matches of the season in which Barca conceded eight times.
Bravo was the No 1 in La Liga last season, while Ter Stegen kept guard in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
“It would be nice for me to play in La Liga, but I don’t know if I will. It is a decision that the coach has to take. For the moment, we need to train and work hard.” said Ter Stegen.
“Pique is an important player for us, we will miss him, but we have to try and do our best without him.”
Athletic have injury problems of their own with Inaki Williams and Ander Iturraspe doubtful and they could pay physically for a busy schedule over the past week as, after a parade through Bilbao to celebrate their first trophy for 31 years, the team were back in action in the Europa League on Thursday away to MSK Zilina in Slovakia.
Real Madrid begin life under Rafa Benitez away to newly-promoted Sporting Gijon on Sunday.
Madrid have had a less than impressive pre-season, adding to doubts over whether Benitez was the right man to replace the popular Carlo Ancelotti after a season in which Real failed to win a major trophy.
“I saw plenty of positives and if we play like that I will be happy, but we still have plenty of margin to improve which is positive,” said Benitez after Marcelo’s late winner saw off Galatasaray in their final friendly in midweek.
Benitez is likely to be without both Pepe and Karim Benzema as they have missed the majority of pre-season through injury, so Gareth Bale could be paired with Cristiano Ronaldo in attack with the Welshman expected to play in a more central role this season.
Given Real’s unusually quiet summer in the transfer market and Barcelona’s ban on registering players, it is 2014 champions Atletico Madrid who have been the biggest spenders in the close season.
Diego Simeone’s men look well prepared to launch another bid for the title thanks to the signings of Jackson Martinez and Luciano Vietto from FC Porto and Villarreal respectively to complement Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres in attack.
Atletico face another newly-promoted side in Las Palmas at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday as the islanders make their return to the top flight for the first time in 13 years.
Valencia got their season off to a flying start with a 3-1 win over AS Monaco on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League play-off, but face a tricky trip to Rayo Vallecano for their league opener.
Malaga and Sevilla have the honours in getting the league season underway as they face off on Friday night in an Andalusian derby.
Fixtures (UAE times)
Friday
Malaga v Sevilla (10.30pm)
Saturday
Deportivo la Coruna v Real Sociedad (8.30pm), Espanyol v Getafe (8.30pm), Atletico Madrid v Las Palmas (10.30pm), Rayo Vallecano v Valencia (12.30am Sunday)
Sunday
Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona (8.30pm), Sporting Gijon v Real Madrid (10.30pm), Levante v Celta Vigo (Midnight), Real Betis v Villarreal (12.30am Monday)
Monday
Granada v Eibar (10.30pm)
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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
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
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
