DOHA // Srecko Katanec yesterday moved to play down the expectation of his side at the Asian Cup, believing it will be difficult to translate the success the country has enjoyed at youth level to the senior stage.
Players who have enjoyed age-group success at Gulf, Asian and Olympic level form the backbone of Katanec's side, who open their Group D campaign today against North Korea.
Afshin Ghotbi, the Iran coach, has described the UAE as "the tournament's dark horse".
Katanec is excited about the potential of this group of players, led by the striker Ahmed Khalil, and feels group matches against regional heavyweights North Korea, Iran and Iraq will provide a reliable gauge of their ability.
"Look, these players have played only against players of their age until now," Katanec said.
"Now they will be playing against guys who are bigger, stronger, more aggressive, more experienced. It will be a completely different level of football.
"In the next match [Iraq], they meet players who have already won this title four years before.
"In the last game they will be playing against players who play in the big European leagues.
"So we cannot compare Under 19 and Olympic team tournaments with this level. It is a completely different stage.
"Here it is a lot more physical, a lot more aggressive and you are playing against the best players.
"We know we have some quality young players and they have done well, but this is the past.
"Now they start a new football. So I will not be putting any pressure on them.
"For me, I would just like to see them go out and show that they can fight at this level."
Yousef Jaber, the Baniyas defender, accepts that his teammates are rookies at this level but believes their youthful exuberance could be a plus factor. "We have a lot of young players in the side," he said.
"They are new to this level, but that does not mean they do not have the experience to succeed at this level. They have played international matches with the youth and Olympic teams.
"That gives them the experience and ability to do well at this Asian Cup. We know we are in a tough group, but we do not fear any side. We are fully aware of the responsibility that we carry and I am confident we will be good ambassadors of UAE football.
"We will go all out for a win against North Korea.
"Getting three points from that game will be a big step towards qualifying for the second round. We have watched videos of the North Korea team and we are ready, physically and technically."
At 20, Mohammed Fawzi is one of the youngest members of the squad yet he did not appear overawed by the prospect of facing North Korea, a side who took part in the World Cup in South Africa last year.
"We are not looking for a draw," the versatile Baniyas midfielder said. "Our target is a win and three points.
"That is the start we are looking for. It will further raise the morale of the team and give their confidence a boost for the remaining games.
"It will be a difficult game, of course. The first game is always difficult and the results of the matches until now have shown that. But we are determined and focused."
The UAE should be well-aquainted with their opposition tonight; the two sides played out a goalless draw in the quarter-final of the Asian Games last month before the UAE eventually won 9-8 in a penalty shoot-out.
"What we do against North Korea is important," Katanec said.
"I have seen their games. They played in the World Cup and played a fantastic game against Brazil.
"They are very strong and have some very good players.
"During a game, they give you the impression that they are slowing down and then suddenly they charge at you. So we have to be very careful about this.
"I don't know if this is a deliberate strategy, but this is how their games go - up and down. They are very organised side.
"We are not the favourites so I have nothing to lose. All I want my players is to show they can fight at this level."
Saeed al Kathiri, the Al Wahda striker, is unlikely to start tonight but he summed up the mood in the squad.
"We are confident we will not let our fans down," he said.
"We have prepared well and the spirits are high inside the squad. Conditions are ripe for us to win against North Korea and get three points."
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The White Lotus: Season three
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Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
Racecard
5.25pm: Etihad Museum – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m
6pm: Al Shindaga Museum – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (Dirt) 1,200m
6.35pm: Poet Al Oqaili – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
7.10pm: Majlis Ghurfat Al Sheif – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m
7.45pm: Hatta – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
8.20pm: Al Fahidi – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 2,200m
8.55pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m
9.30pm: Coins Museum – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
10.05pm: Al Quoz Creative – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
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- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
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What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
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Started: 2021
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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.”
