Hernan Crespo said Al Ain deserve to be continental champions, adding the club’s Asian Champions League success was for “all the country”.
The UAE side, the only Emirati club to lift the trophy, defeated Yokohama F Marinos 5-1 in the second leg at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Saturday night to take the title 6-3 on aggregate. Al Ain had lost the corresponding fixture in Japan 2-1 two weeks ago.
Both Soufiane Rahimi and Kodjo Laba struck twice, with Kaku notching the hosts’ other goal from the penalty spot. Yan Matheus had scored for Yokohama five minutes before half-time to level the tie at 3-3.
However, the visitors’ hopes of triumphing in their first Champions League final diminished when goalkeeper William Popp was shown a straight red card deep into first-half stoppage time.
The win marked Al Ain’s second Asian crown, and first since 2003. They have been runners-up twice since, in 2005 and 2016.
“We are very proud of this title,” a delighted Crespo said afterward. “We are very proud because we not only represent the club or the city, but all the country. And we are very happy for that. It is really, really difficult to describe all the emotions.
"We deserve this title. Every time when we faced the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and even the finals, as underdogs. At the beginning nobody believed in us, and we did it. These guys, these players, did something big."
Appointed in November, Crespo has masterminded Al Ain’s remarkable run to the title. The Garden City club defeated Saudi Arabian powerhouses Al Nassr and Al Hilal in the quarter-final and semi-final, respectively.
On Saturday, needing from the outset to overturn a one-goal deficit, they opened the scoring on eight minutes through Rahimi and added a second on the half hour via Kaku’s spot-kick.
Rahimi put Al Ain back in front overall on 67 minutes, taking the 2023/24 tournament’s top scorer to 13 goals for the campaign. Laba, a late substitute, then added Al Ain’s fourth and fifth in stoppage time.
Crespo, who tweaked the team's system slightly for the second leg, was interrupted during the press conference by his jubilant players who danced and sang all around him.
“I’m not a genius," the Argentine said. "I tried something different with my staff. But football is dynamic, and we must be ready. Everything is about the players, not about me.
“The only thing I said to the players was we must believe. We have talent to play football on the floor and find corridors and make our passes. And believe in themselves. I think that is the point.
"Trust to do what we did in the training session. But it’s not easy to make something like this performance at this high level in a final. It is difficult to see this superiority in a final, in terms of managing a game. It’s difficult to explain.
"Because I repeat, I’m not a genius. I tried to manage the game. Here, the most important thing is the players. They played with courage, they played with heart. It’s not easy to play these kinds of matches with this personality.”
In winning, Al Ain also qualified for next year’s inaugural, expanded Fifa Club World Cup in the United States. There, Al Ain will make up the 32-team tournament alongside the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and River Plate.
Again, emphasising his players’ commitment to capturing the Champions League, Crespo added: “They believed in their talent, they believed in the way that we want to play.
“The most important thing is they defended our identity. The identity is the way that we want to play, the way that we’re training every single day.
“They respect the time of every single training session and doing it in a final is not easy. And they did it. The performance was amazing.”
Meanwhile, Yokohama manager Harry Kewell lambasted referee Ilgiz Tantashev for the second-leg defeat, claiming the Uzbek official had been easily swayed by what he described to be Al Ain’s gamesmanship.
"My players were fantastic, it's just a shame that we got robbed tonight by a bad referee," the Australian said. "I thought the refereeing decisions were shocking; they were terrible. They were playing the game and he fell for it. But congratulations to Al Ain.
“The [Yokohama] support has been excellent; they're fantastic to travel the way they did. It's just a shame it wasn't a fair enough game to be able to put on a good show."
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
EXPATS
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SPECS
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%209
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
More on animal trafficking
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Honeymoonish
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Courses%20at%20Istituto%20Marangoni%2C%20Dubai
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The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Poland Statement
All people fleeing from Ukraine before the armed conflict are allowed to enter Poland. Our country shelters every person whose life is in danger - regardless of their nationality.
The dominant group of refugees in Poland are citizens of Ukraine, but among the people checked by the Border Guard are also citizens of the USA, Nigeria, India, Georgia and other countries.
All persons admitted to Poland are verified by the Border Guard. In relation to those who are in doubt, e.g. do not have documents, Border Guard officers apply appropriate checking procedures.
No person who has received refuge in Poland will be sent back to a country torn by war.
Profile of Tarabut Gateway
Founder: Abdulla Almoayed
Based: UAE
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 35
Sector: FinTech
Raised: $13 million
Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
More from Janine di Giovanni
The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
