As he prepares to celebrate his 68th birthday on New Year's Eve, you can safely presume that at the very top of Sir Alex Ferguson's computer print-out of resolutions for 2010 will be "to avoid mentioning - and verbally dynamite anyone with the temerity to do so within my hearing - the 'R' word...".
Ever since he teasingly revealed that he planned to (whisper it) retire in 2002 only to promptly change his mind when it appeared that his less than close buddy Arsene Wenger headed Manchester United's four-man short list of suitable candidates (which at the time also included Martin O'Neill, David O'Leary and Alan Curbishley), Sir Alex has steadfastly refused to discuss the date of his possible departure.
And why should he? Bob Dylan turned 68 last May and surely no one would dare suggest that it is time for him to pack away his harmonica and reserve a rocking chair on the veranda of The Twilight Home For Ageing Rock Stars. Fergie may have been at Old Trafford since 1986 and become Britain's greatest manager ever, ever, EVER, but the competitive juices flow as fiercely as ever.
The man lives to make mischief, and why would anyone want to slip into cardigan and slippers when there is so much fun to be had baiting Signore Ancelotti, Senor Benitez and Monsieur Wenger? Even as I write, Sir Alex will be sharpening his barbs as a house-warming present for his new neighbour Roberto Mancini.
The day will come, however, when Fergie and his wife, Cath, decide that enough is enough (it is my belief he will announce his intended abdication 24 months hence when he turns 70), whereupon he will assume his place on the board of directors charged with the task of nominating his successor.
It will be a brave man, indeed, who agrees to replace him in the United dugout but Jose Mourinho is one such individual. He craves the job - which was one of the reasons he rejected Manchester City's recent overtures - and Fergie likes him and respects him. Nor would the self-styled "Special One" be intimidated by the continued presence of the "Very Special One" in the corridors of Old Trafford.
Seven years on, while O'Leary and Curbishley have long since relinquished any chance of nabbing the hottest of football's hot seats, Martin O'Neill has moved from Celtic to Aston Villa where he has enhanced his reputation as a manager blessed with rare inspirational skills and astute tactical acumen. The Northern Irishmen is also a shrewd diplomat and politician, two vital qualifications if Sir Alex's beady fixed eye were boring into the back of his neck.
With the announcement of the accursed "R" word still a long way off, much can change between now and then. Other managers at home and abroad are certain to force their way into the reckoning and commentators across the globe will compose millions of words on the subject.
But according to my Old Trafford mole, although he would be gaze kindly upon either Mourinho or O'Neill, Fergie, who loves surprising people, favours a third candidate, his fellow-Scot and one-time protege Alex McLeish, who served as his on-field lieutenant for many years at Aberdeen, where they combined to transform a modest provincial club into the best side in Europe.
McLeish possesses all the necessary experience; he can nurture young talent, as he displayed at Hibernian where he converted a struggling club into the most exciting outfit in Scotland, he has proved himself in Europe as manager of Rangers, and he showed that he can handle "big name" players as Scotland's international coach. At Birmingham City, he has had no qualms about locking horns with Wenger, Ancelotti, Benitez and, aye, Fergie, himself.
Such is the nature of the bond between the two that McLeish still forgets himself on occasion by addressing his mentor as "boss" during their frequent phone conversations.
A kindred spirit in personality and football philosophy, McLeish makes no secret of his admiration for "the boss". "As a manager, there are probably a lot of things that have rubbed off on me from Sir Alex," he reveals. "Things I do without even thinking about it. I don't think there's any one trait I could say, 'that's the way Sir Alex does it', but he's been my greatest influence in football - absolutely."
The mutual affection is tangible, even though McLeish looks back on his European "debut" for Aberdeen against Marek Stanke Dimitrov in 1983 as a less than golden memory.
"Fergie pulled me into the squad for the away leg in Bulgaria and gave me US$7 (Dh26) a day spending money for the three-day trip," says McLeish. "But whoever I was due to replace declared himself fit at the last minute and I was left behind. To add insult to injury, Fergie demanded his $21 back."
Euphemistically described as an "uncompromising centre-half of the old school" - "If I'd a tenner for every stitch I've had put in over the years I'd have a bank book like Cristiano Ronaldo's" - McLeish, like his adopted dad at Old Trafford, is a hard, hard man with a sentimental and gentle streak. Or as Sir Alex puts it: "He reminds me a lot of Bill Shankly."
And they don't come any better than that...
rphilip@thenational.ae
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
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Naga
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMeshal%20Al%20Jaser%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdwa%20Bader%2C%20Yazeed%20Almajyul%2C%20Khalid%20Bin%20Shaddad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs: 2018 Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio
Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)
Engine 4.7L V8
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 520Nm @ 4,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
More from Aya Iskandarani
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Dubai Women's Tour teams
Agolico BMC
Andy Schleck Cycles-Immo Losch
Aromitalia Basso Bikes Vaiano
Cogeas Mettler Look
Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
Hitec Products – Birk Sport
Kazakhstan National Team
Kuwait Cycling Team
Macogep Tornatech Girondins de Bordeaux
Minsk Cycling Club
Pannonia Regional Team (Fehérvár)
Team Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Team Ciclotel
UAE Women’s Team
Under 23 Kazakhstan Team
Wheel Divas Cycling Team
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Victims%20of%20the%202018%20Parkland%20school%20shooting
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