The soap opera of English football reached yet another a noisy climax on Wednesday when national team coach Fabio Capello quit angrily just eight hours after potential successor Harry Redknapp was cleared in a London court of tax evasion charges.
Only four months before the European Championship, Capello's employers stripped John Terry of the England captaincy over racism charges without consulting the manager – and as a result now finds itself seeking a new team leader.
The career of Redknapp, a hugely popular Londoner who is currently manages Tottenham, the English Premier League team, had been on hold until the end of his trial.
But in a coincidence of timings, Redknapp was cleared by a jury on Wednesday and installed as favourite to assume one of the most high-profile jobs in international soccer following Capello's sudden exit.
The headline in The Times seemed to sum up the day: "Harry walks, Fabio runs."
Capello, a 65-year-old urbane Italian, had enjoyed some success in the England job but had never won the affections of a football-mad public hungry for the nation's first major title since 1966.
Now he has walked out on the US$9 million(Dh33m)-a-year job, dismayed at being publicly undermined by the English Football Association's (FA) decision to dismiss Terry against his wishes last week despite the defender facing a criminal trial on racism charges.
Such a public spat with his employers made the Capello's position untenable. He quit during an hour-long meeting with FA officials that focused on Capello's outburst on television.
"We have accepted Fabio's resignation, agreeing this is the right decision," FA Chairman David Bernstein said. "We would like to thank Fabio for his work with the England team and wish him every success in the future."
Bernstein does not have to rush into a replacing Capello. And it seems certain that the next manager will not be another foreigner after four years of a coach who spoke halting English.
At least, an English coach would already be accustomed to the drama surrounding the national team.
Terry was restored as England captain 11 months ago despite Capello dramatically dropping the defender from the honour before the 2010 World Cup for allegedly having an affair with the ex-girlfriend of teammate Wayne Bridge, who subsequently quit the national team.
Off-field antics also caused a distraction four years in Germany.
The players' wives and girlfriends – the so-called Wags – dominated the headlines at the 2006 World Cup with their trips into the spa town of Baden-Baden, Germany, where the team were also based.
Although they were largely banned from the 2010 World Cup by the strict Capello, England endured a worse tournament – getting routed 4-1 by Germany in the second round.
After a lengthy honeymoon following a perfect World Cup qualifying campaign, the aura of a once-renowned disciplinarian started to fade at South Africa 2010.
Capello started to feel the kind of pressure he was used to when coaching Real Madrid and AC Milan, with his decision-making coming under scrutiny and memories revived of the misery under predecessor Steve McClaren, whose team failed to qualify for Euro 2008.
Capello clung onto his job after the World Cup, reviving the spirit in the England camp and starting to bring young talent into the team ahead of Euro 2012 – but now comes another period of transition before England's opener on June 11 against France.
"The question everyone is asking, fans and players, where do we go from here?" England midfielder Jack Wilshere wrote on Twitter. "Euro's is just around the corner and we have no manager?!?"
An interim coach could take charge of the team for the February 29 exhibition against the Netherlands before the role is filled full time, according to Gareth Southgate, the former England captain who is now the FA's head of elite development.
That could leave Redknapp clear to complete the season with Tottenham, which is third in the Premier League and in contention for the title, before spearheading England's Euro preparations.
"He's got to be an outstanding candidate," Southgate said. "Harry is at the top of the list."
Support is gathering among players for Redknapp.
"Got to be english to replace [Capello]," England striker Wayne Rooney wrote on Twitter. "Harry redknapp for me."
Capello, though, leaves, the England coach with a record that even eclipses Alf Ramsey, whose 1966 World Cup triumph is still the last – and only – time the country has won a major tournament.
He won 28 matches, lost six and drew eight – a 67 percent success rate compared with Ramsey's 61 per cent.
CRICKET%20WORLD%20CUP%20LEAGUE%202
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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
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FOLD5
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
SPECS
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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHakbah%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENaif%20AbuSaida%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E22%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-Series%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%20and%20Aditum%20Investment%20Management%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
Bangladesh tour of Pakistan
January 24 – First T20, Lahore
January 25 – Second T20, Lahore
January 27 – Third T20, Lahore
February 7-11 – First Test, Rawalpindi
April 3 – One-off ODI, Karachi
April 5-9 – Second Test, Karachi
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
