Such a visceral dislike can be deconstructed, two teams packed with world-class players compared and analysed, two cities' place in English football's firmament assessed, but in the end it comes down to two numbers: 19-18. Their significance should be immediately apparent to followers of Manchester United and Liverpool.
The Merseysiders' record of 18 league titles has stood since 1990, a year when Sir Alex Ferguson won his first trophy in England in a season featuring calls for his dismissal from some supporters. Two decades on, he stands on the brink of rebranding Manchester United as the most successful club in the history of the English league. Last year's triumph levelled the scores at 18-18. The next has an added importance. Given the sheer longevity required to accomplish it, displacing Liverpool would rank as the Scot's greatest achievement yet.
For a manager who once pronounced his mission was to "knock Liverpool off their f****** perch" and for his Scouser-baiting club captain, Gary Neville, it is personal. For Ferguson, everything is. He was not born and bred into this rivalry, but nonetheless feels it more than many Mancunians.
"It's hard to match this game in terms of intensity," he said. "There is hatred in the air. But for us it's about trying to win another championship and leaving a legacy, players who can carry on the tradition of the club."
Liverpool's traditions bring a different meaning at Old Trafford since a statement Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool manager, directed at United 14 months ago. The list of supposed facts that has become known as "Rafa's rant" was directed purely at Ferguson. Since then, United fans have delighted in assertions of superiority, punctuated with the word "fact".
But while they have won the war, Liverpool have prospered in the battles. Benitez's men have won the last three meetings dramatically and, in the last two, emphatically. Now their objectives are varied: securing fourth place, halting the United juggernaut and, in protecting their own proud record, enable Arsenal or even Chelsea, scarcely a popular club at Anfield, to finish first.
If feels wrong to demote United versus Liverpool, still the country's marque clash, to secondary importance to the title race, it is a match bursting with subplots that could determine both.
The most potent player in the country is a Liverpudlian and he, Wayne Rooney, is United's talisman. Liverpool's homegrown bastion of excellence, Steven Gerrard, is fortunate to be eligible after a forearm smash on Portsmouth's Michael Brown on Monday went unpunished, though not unnoticed by Ferguson.
Gerrard versus Rio Ferdinand is England's latest captain against their official leader. Fernando Torres versus Nemanja Vidic is, for the otherwise fearless Serb, painful. Tormented by the quicksilver Spaniard, he has been dismissed in each of the last three meetings. The 4-1 victory at Old Trafford last season was particularly harrowing for Ferguson. "It's embarrassing to even think about the goals we conceded," he said. "It was terrible to watch it again. The whole thing was ridiculous."
The roll of dishonour included the rest of the United defence that day. In this fixture's past, Javier Mascherano also has a prominent part. And to complete a busy afternoon for referee Howard Webb there is the Neville factor. Brother of the captain of Everton, the United captain has defined himself as the fan on the pitch and has a chant celebrating his hatred of Scousers.
A still more decorated veteran, Ryan Giggs, could return for United after a month out with a broken arm. Ferguson must decide, too, whether to recall Paul Scholes and revert from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3.
For Benitez, the choice is between attrition and aggression. He cast caution aside against Portsmouth on Monday, fielding Ryan Babel and Alberto Aquilani in his starting line-up. The solidity Dirk Kuyt and Lucas Leiva offer may get them the vote instead.
For a manager who aimed to overhaul United this season, the worst-case scenario is that defeat to them renders him a lame duck. Indeed, the consequences of defeat for Liverpool could be huge, the reward for victory still bigger for United. Liverpool won 2-0 in October, 4-1 last March, 2-1 in September 2008. While it sounds more like a scoreline in rugby than football, the issue now is whether it will be 19-18 in May.
sports@thenational.ae
Manchester United v Liverpool, 5.30pm, Showsports 1 & 2
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.”
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Astra%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdallah%20Abu%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20technology%20investment%20and%20development%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
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%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Tim%20Mielants%3Cbr%3ECast%3A%20Cillian%20Murphy%2C%20Emily%20Watson%2C%20Eileen%20Walsh%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
