In an alternative timeline, Ismael Bennacer and Brahim Diaz would, a week or so from now, be facing one another in the tight battle for the Premier League. Time was these two young midfielders were bright prospects at Arsenal and Manchester City.
In another parallel world, they might be imposing their midfield excellence in tandem in the jersey of the highest-achieving national team in the history of the Mena region. The bad news for Morocco is that France-born Bennacer chose, in his late teens, to represent the land of his mother, Algeria, rather than of his Moroccan father. Bennacer would nurse only mild, if any, regrets about that. The 25-year-old was Player of the Tournament when Algeria triumphed at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Brahim, meanwhile, is playing a waiting game with his pair of international suitors. He was born in Malaga, Spain, 23 years ago, and played in age-group matches and one senior friendly for his native country through the period he was a City starlet and Premier League winner, then a Real Madrid capture and Liga champion and, more recently a Serie A winner with AC Milan.
In the last four months he thought long and hard about an invitation to play for Morocco’s Atlas Lions, for whom he is eligible through his father. It is no secret the temptation grew as he watched Morocco soar past Spain at Qatar 2022 and into a World Cup semi-final.
In the real timeline of here and now, the blessing of bracketing Bennacer and Brahim together is exclusively Milan’s. And they are 90 minutes from guiding the club to the last four of club football’s most prestigious competition for the first time since 2007. Milan go to Napoli on Tuesday with a 1-0 advantage in their Uefa Champions League quarter-final.
There would be little hesitation from Milan head coach Stefano Pioli in pointing to Bennacer and Brahim as leaders of the renaissance. Take the goal that gives Milan their edge going into the second leg. It was born in a bold, solo run on the counter-attack by Brahim at San Siro. Bennacer supplied the finish.
Analyse the unexpected spell Milan have cast on Napoli – the soaraway leaders of Serie A, the team who have thrashed Liverpool, Ajax and Juventus this season – in the last three weeks. It has Bennacer and Brahimi as chief magicians.
In the surprise 4-0 victory in the Serie A meeting between the sides in Naples, Bennacer’s vigorous pressing disarmed the Italian champions-to-be. Brahim was an immediate beneficiary. By the 25th minute he had made one goal and scored another.
In their area of the pitch Napoli will be weakened, the red card shown to Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa in the first leg means the influential Cameroonian is suspended.
The better news for Napoli is the return from injury of centre-forward Victor Osimhen. Napoli, the most prolific scorers in Serie A by a distance, still have to find a way past a Milan who have not conceded in the knockout phase so far, Bennacer’s tigerish patrolling and recovery work among their protective strengths.
The Algerian extended his Milan contract to 2027 in January, his employers concerned at interest from leading Premier League clubs. Arsenal had been among those linked to Bennacer, a curious volte-face given that the London club, sharp-eyed in recruiting Bennacer from Arles in France as a 17-year-old, gave him single senior outing in the League Cup before loaning him out and then selling him to Empoli, from where he joined Milan in 2019.
The possibility of Milan keeping Brahim, who joined on loan from Madrid at the beginning of 2020/21, is more complicated. Madrid have watched him thrive in this year’s Champions League and show the potential, confidence and zest with the ball at his feet that City identified in him as a very young teenager. “He’s matured in his thinking and mastered the decisive, high-quality aspects of his game,” said Fabio Capello, the former Milan and Madrid head coach.
Milan want to sign him outright. Madrid are weighing up whether to bring him back in the summer or sell, either to Milan or to one of a range of enthusiastic bidders. Brahim said: “This is not the moment to think about Madrid.” It is very much the time to imagine Milan back at Europe’s summit after a very long wait.
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
