Al Shabab, like the other three teams from the UAE, drew a blank in their opening match of the AFC Champions League. The defending league champions went down 2-0 against Sepahan on their tournament debut, summing up a glum midweek for the Pro League's contingent.
Toninho Cerezo, however, brushed aside the disappointment and issued a rallying call to his side. "Nothing is over yet," said the Brazilian coach. "We have five more games to play and we will try to do our best. We were unlucky that we conceded so early and late, but this result has not clarified anything." Shabab host the tournament favourites Bunyodkor in their next game on Wednesday. The Uzbekistan giants boast the Brazilian World Cup winner and former World Player of the Year Rivaldo and Asia's best player Server Djeparov in their ranks.
Yet, playing at home against Bunyodkor could prove to be an easier task than the match in a colosseum-like atmosphere Shabab endured in the Iranian city of Esfahan. "Their supporters affected us," admitted Cerezo. "But we still should have played better. We didn't see a very good game and neither side played well. Hopefully, this experience will be good for us in the future games." Playing in Iran, in front of thousands of vociferous fans, can be intimidating for the best of sides. Yet, Shabab showed no nerves and fought with all their might, despite conceding an early goal.
"We saw Sharjah and Ahli in action on the first day, and we knew it was going to be difficult for us, especially since we were playing in Iran," said Shabab captain Marcos Assuncao. "Still, I think we tried our best. Luck was not on our side." The Sepahan coach Farhad Kazemi was not too happy with the performance of his side and said: "Even though we won, we still made mistakes which we need to iron out for future matches. We scored early on in the first half, but the players didn't play well for the rest of the half and I am unhappy with their performance."
The Qatar international Alaa Hubail scored in the last minute for Umm Salal as they shocked Al Jazira in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Abel Braga thought the 1-0 result was harsh on his Jazira team, especially as Fernando Baiano missed a penalty, saying: "Umm Salal were well organised in the defence and we expected this with their French influence [their manager Gerard Gili]. "We regret this result for our fans. And to be honest, we didn't deserve to lose because we were not a weak team."
Gili was naturally delighted to return with three points. He said: "We would have been happy to return with an away point but our strategy to defend and to counter attack whenever we got the break worked perfectly well." sports@thenational.ae
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360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
Austrian Grand Prix race timings
Weekend schedule for Austrian Grand Prix - all timings UAE
Friday
Noon-1.30pm First practice
4-5.30pm Second practice
Saturday
1-2pm Final practice
4pm Qualifying
Sunday
4pm Austrian Grand Prix (71 laps)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
Studying addiction
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
Company%20profile%20
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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
Book%20Details
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets