Spare a thought, before the kick-offs in what looks the toughest of all the groups in this season’s Uefa Champions League, for the central defenders and goalkeeper of Viktoria Plzen, the Czech club who are supposedly making up the numbers in Group C.
Journeys like theirs are hard-fought, in Plzen’s case a marathon of pre-qualifiers that took them to Helsinki, Moldova and Azerbaijan. Having reached the main event, they promptly end up confronting Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Internazionale.
Seven years ago, Jindrich Stanek, the Czech champions’ keeper, was being fixed up with a gig at Hyde United, a non-league club in England’s north-west. He was on Everton’s books, a teenaged prospect, and they wanted him to see some competitive action, so loaned him out. He never got further than Everton’s bench during his time on Merseyside; on Wednesday he should make his debut in the Champions League proper, at Camp Nou, probably facing Robert Lewandowski.
That’s just one of the daunting prospects ahead for Stanek, and for Lukas Hejda and Ludek Pernica, an experienced pair of central defenders with an established partnership but only one minute’s worth of shared experience as a pairing in the Champions League group stage. That was back in 2018, the last time the club made it this far in Europe’s elite competition. After Lewandowski, they will probably be asked to marshal Inter’s Romelu Lukaku, who should be back to fitness next week, and, in matchday three, to keep pace with Bayern’s Sadio Mane.
Much of the intrigue around who finishes in the top two positions of Group C is focused on this illustrious trio of centre-forwards, all of them newly transferred in a summer market animated by the movements of top-class goalscorers. The concentration of them in a single Champions League mini-league means that either the holder of Fifa’s The Best award – for leading male footballer of 2021 – Lewandowski, or the reigning African Footballer of the Year, Mane, or the player on whom more has been spent in combined transfer fees than any other player in history, Lukaku, will not be progressing to the next stage.
All three made emphatic starts to the new chapters of their careers, although Lukaku, returning to Inter on loan a year after his €100 million sale to Chelsea, has encountered a significant setback since scoring within two minutes of his second Serie A debut for Inter. A muscle problem ruled him out of the last two matches, the latest a narrow defeat in the Milan derby and keeps him from the starting line-up for Bayern’s visit to San Siro.
Mane, who left Liverpool after a fabulous six-year spell, set such a promising standard with four goals in his first four games for the German champions that two blank outings in successive Bundesliga draws have already provoked criticism. The former Bayern head coach Felix Magath told Bild TV: “Bayern are learning it’s not easy to replace Lewandowski, who was perfectly tuned to the way they play. Mane needs to adapt.”
The ex Bayern captain, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, said: “My pick to replace Lewandowski would have been Lukaku.”
Barcelona’s determined pursuit of Lewandowski, 34, appears fully justified so far, the Pole having netted five times in four Liga matches. He looks every bit the talisman for an upgraded Barca, who borrowed heavily to fund a busy summer of comings and goings. Two of the later arrivals, full-backs Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso, were unveiled on Tuesday, while Miralem Pjanic, the midfielder, was jetting off to the UAE with a view to joining Sharjah.
The transformation of Barcelona’s squad in the course of a year is striking. Twelve months ago, they opened their Champions League campaign with a forward line comprising Memphis Depay and Luuk de Jong. Relegated to the Europa League, they bowed out of that competition with Adama Traore, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ferran Torres chasing, in vain, a comeback against Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-final. De Jong, Aubameyang and Traore have all left.
So far this season, head coach Xavi’s preferred front three is made up of Ousmane Dembele, new signing Raphinha and Lewandowski, who was largely responsible for deflating Barca’s European season a year ago. He scored twice at Camp Nou in the first of two 3-0 Bayern wins over Barca that consigned them to third place, behind Benfica, in the group.
This time, the combined pedigree of the group-phase opposition is even stronger, reckons Xavi.
“It’s the hardest group for many years," he said. "We need to start strongly against a physical, hard-working Plzen, who counter-attack very well. This is a dangerous match for us. I can sit here say we have a super squad – we have to go out and show that.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
Henrik Stenson's finishes at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship:
2006 - 2
2007 - 8
2008 - 2
2009 - MC
2010 - 21
2011 - 42
2012 - MC
2013 - 23
2014 - MC
2015 - MC
2016 - 3
2017 - 8
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2-litre%204-cylinder%20petrol%20(V%20Class)%3B%20electric%20motor%20with%2060kW%20or%2090kW%20powerpack%20(EQV)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20233hp%20(V%20Class%2C%20best%20option)%3B%20204hp%20(EQV%2C%20best%20option)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20350Nm%20(V%20Class%2C%20best%20option)%3B%20TBA%20(EQV)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMid-2024%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETBA%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
