Five areas Al Ahli need to prosper against Guangzhou to become champions of Asia

Ahead of the Asian Champions League final, John McAuley looks at five key areas for Al Ahli if they are to defeat Guangzhou Evergrande and lift the title.
SCORE A VITAL AWAY GOAL
If Ahli manage to find the net then the tie changes completely. An away goal would mean Guangzhou require two, while it increases the pressure on the hosts considerably. Guangzhou may be stacked with Brazilian talent — Ricardo Goulart, Elkeson and Paulinho — but they bear all the hallmarks of their coach and compatriot, Luiz Felipe Scolari. The former Brazil national team manager is pragmatic and workmanlike, his style very much moulded during his formative years in Rio Grande do Sul. Subsequently, Guangzhou have a distinctly Gaucho feel. A goal for Ahli would force Scolari on the offensive, potentially unsettle the coach and his players. The Dubai club have scored in their past five away matches in the competition. Make it six, and they stand a real chance.
[Cosmin Olaroiu urges Al Ahli to 'live with no regret' in Asian Champions League final]
GET MORE FROM RIBEIRO
Ahli's playmaker is one of the finest in Asia, a former two-time Brazilian player of the year and a member of his national team's squad at this summer's Copa America. However, Ribeiro was uncharacteristically subdued in the first leg, spending the majority of the match on the right of midfield. From there, he struggled to affect the play, while his dead-ball delivery, typically one of his strongest assets, was poor. If Ahli are to prosper, Ribeiro needs to improve substantially, although that could rely upon coach Cosmin Olaroiu allowing him more freedom. Ribeiro holds the key to Ahli's attacking play, and he and Rodrigo Lima in tandem should provide Guangzhou with plenty of problems. Undoubtedly, Ribeiro has the talent to run the game.
[Ian Hawkey on Paulinho, the 'all-terrain' midfielder leading Guangzhou's bid for ACL success]
TRUMP GUANGZHOU'S MIDFIELD AXIS
There was little quality in a stodgy and strategic first leg, where neither side wanted to cede too much ground. However, Guangzhou's strength lay in the central midfield partnership of Paulinho and Zheng Zhi. Both are vastly experienced, have a big-match mentality and will therefore not be burdened by the stresses and strains of a major final. Zhi is Guangzhou's captain, who two years ago helped them to the Champions League crown. Paulinho, meanwhile, was arguably Guangzhou's best player in Dubai, always eager to push forward, almost scoring from a couple of long-range shots. In direct combat, Majed Hassan and Habib Fardan must find a way to shackle their opponents. The Emiratis are a talented duo, who complement each other, but that needs to shine through in Guangzhou.
[Ahmed Khalil and Omar Abdulrahman named on shortlist for AFC Player of the Year]
TEMPER THE ATMOSPHERE
Olaroiu has spoken long and loud about the "pressure of the public", both for his side and the hosts. Guangzhou are well supported, and this year alone have averaged close to 50,000 fans for Champions League home matches. It is difficult to locate a definitive number for the Tianhe Stadium's capacity, but Saturday's final is said to be a sell-out. Chinese supporters are traditionally a vocal bunch, providing their teams with an extra element at home. How Ahli perform, especially early in the match, will have an impact on the crowd, which in turn will translate to the Guangzhou players. Should Ahli score, the tension will rise and the hosts could struggle to maintain focus. Containing the crowd may well have a direct effect on controlling Guangzhou.
[Guangzhou's hostile stadium 'will not affect' Al Ahli, insists Cosmin Olaroiu]
RETAIN THEIR FOCUS
Understandably, Ahli were nervy in the first leg. On the whole, this remains a fairly inexperienced team, particularly at this stage of the competition, who before this year had never progressed beyond the group stages in five attempts. Furthermore, no UAE club had reached the Champions League final for a decade. So the occasion clearly affected them at the Rashid Stadium. Ahli should not feel the same pressure at Guangzhou, though. What they will have to do, however, is maintain concentration throughout — something that has given them problems at various moments during the campaign. Salmeen Khamis and Abdulaziz Sanqour can sometimes switch off in defence, as the entire team did to let Al Hilal back into the semi-final second leg. Saturday requires strong minds and a firm focus.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @NatSportUAE

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013

'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Engine: 5.6-litre V8

Transmission: seven-speed automatic

Power: 400hp

Torque: 560Nm

Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000

On sale: now

PROFILE OF CURE.FIT

Started: July 2016

Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori

Based: Bangalore, India

Sector: Health & wellness

Size: 500 employees

Investment: $250 million

Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)

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

Why an Arab-Israeli diplomat's assault is no surprise

Israelis hear the UAE's message against annexation

MATCH INFO

Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)

Man of the match Harry Kane

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.”

The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo

Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm

Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km

On sale: December

Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)

Tips to keep your car cool

Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
Park in shaded or covered areas
Add tint to windows
Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat