DUBAI // Two days after apparent disgruntlement came a night of pure merriment last evening for Diego Maradona and Al Wasl.
Another win left Al Wasl elevated equal on points to fourth placed Al Shabab and the mercurial manager both hugging his players in sequence on the pitch and extolling the state of the club in the press room thereafter.
"Al Wasl is on the right path," he said. "We have seen a great performance. We see a fighting spirit."
To that, he all but winked as he closed his remarks by adding, "If anyone sees the chairman, please tell him I'd like to talk to him. I have a few words."
The comment drew laughter and turned out to be Maradona's lone allusion to his complaint earlier this week, when he pleaded for more funds to buy more players.
After Al Wasl got Juan Olivera's goal on 18 minutes, they held off a Baniyas side that manager Gabriel Calderon thought were the better side in the second half.
Maradona disagreed. "It was a very good match," he said.
"It was actually a big game today for Al Wasl especially. Al Wasl was clearly the better team."
In particular, the Argentine lauded his three new midfield starters, saying, "Yes, they all deserve to be starters."
He complimented Juan Mercier for "showing great performance," Fahad Hadeed for "maturing every game" and Khalifa Abdulla for being "not a very big man or muscular but he's definitely an amazing player with exceptional skills."
The waning minutes did feature hairy moments with Maradona looking anguished awaiting the whistle.
He said of the five added minutes: "This is unfair and this is not the first time it has happened to us."
He lamented the lack of a handball call that could have supplied a 2-0 lead. He dismissed suggestions of Al Wasl's luck with referees by saying, "That is absolutely untrue. We never get any help from the refs, actually."
Maradona also chuckled over a question about his potential interest in the suddenly vacant England managerial job, beginning his answer with: "Absolutely not," before going on to suggest the English FA was using the John Terry situation as an excuse for a departure it long since wished to see.
Maradona, who joined England's outgoing Fabio Capello in losing to Germany decisively at the 2010 World Cup, said Capello "can clearly say that the English FA were looking to fire him and looking for a way to do that".
Maradona soon added: "Basically it all comes down to him not meeting their expectations."
cculpepper@thenational.ae
NO OTHER LAND
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
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The National's picks
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
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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
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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On sale: Available for preorder now
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
More on Quran memorisation:
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
