The inaugural edition of the Derby of the Americas comes to Doha on Wednesday evening. It’s a grand name for a stepping stone fixture whose chief reward for the winners is, effectively, a semi-final in the Intercontinental Cup against Cairo’s Al Ahly and, there, the right to meet Real Madrid in the final of Fifa’s rebrand of the old-style Club World Cup.
Some minds, among players and staff of Brazil’s Botafogo and Mexico’s Pachuca, respective champions of their continents, may already be focusing on the bigger Fifa event next summer, the expanded 32-team Club World Cup in the United States. Some individual minds may be straying beyond the Americas altogether.
It is in the nature of football’s global economy that a talented footballer playing in South or Central America is encouraged to think of success there as a stepping stone to a contract in an elite league somewhere across the Atlantic.
There are coveted stars in both teams, above all Pachuca’s Oussama Idrissi and Botafogo’s Igor Jesus, attacking footballers with unusually globetrotting pasts and with an intrepid streak.
Last year, when Idrissi, a skilful winger with an eye for goal and magic in his quick, nimble feet, joined Pachuca from Spain’s Sevilla, he broke a mould. Idrissi is a Morocco international, and for that, he was quite the novelty in the upper echelons of Mexico’s vibrant league.
By the following April, he was adored by Pachuca’s supporters, not least for his impact in the CONCACAF Champions League, where Columbus Crew, of the US, were defeated 3-0 in the final. Idrissi, drawing two defenders towards him with one of his trademark runs, cutting in from the left, slipped the ball to Salomon Rondon for the third goal. It was his sixth assist in seven games in the competition.
Nobody had done more to stamp Pachuca’s ticket to the big global showpieces that the InterContinental Cup and the 2025 Club World Cup represent.
Idrissi is 28 and was born in the Netherlands, where he played his club football until 2020, when he joined Sevilla from AZ of Alkmaar, later returning to Dutch football for spells with Ajax and Feyenoord when his career in Spain failed to take off.
His zigzag of loans – to the two Dutch giants and, in between, to Cadiz – were badly timed in that they preceded the 2022 World Cup. Morocco did not pick him in their final squad, so he missed out on the historic march of the Atlas Lions to the semi-final of the Qatar tournament. He’d be forgiven for reflecting, on this trip to Doha, that he’s in a place he ought to have got to know intimately two winters ago.
He won the last of his nine international caps 18 months ago. While Morocco head coach Walid Regragui has monitored Idrissi’s excellent impact in Mexico, where his stylish dribbling and vision is so appreciated and his match-winning statistics so impressive, the current Morocco squad have a fleet of other talented wingers, most of them playing closer to home in various leading European leagues.
Idrissi may be regularly dazzling along the left touchline in front of huge audiences in big stadiums, but he is doing so in a faraway time zone.
At least he has been for the last 18 months. That may change. There is interest in signing Idrissi from clubs in several major European leagues during next month’s transfer window. Club America, Mexico’s most decorated club, have meanwhile made no secret of their enthusiasm for poaching him from a local rival.
Pachuca have him on contract until next summer, so he’s a saleable asset now but will not be then and after a disappointing last domestic campaign, the July to December Apertura, a period of squad upheaval is anticipated.
“Unfortunately we had a difficult season,” Idrissi acknowledged to Fox Sports, “but we’ve analysed that and had a positive mini-preseason to get ready for this next challenge. We’re proud to be here in Doha and it’s a very special tournament, where any player wants to take the opportunity to show their quality.”
Up against Botafogo, who celebrated winning Brazil’s Serie A title at the weekend, and won their first Copa Libertadores – South America’s version of Champions League eight days earlier – Idrissi knows his club are deemed the underdogs. “Obviously the form you’re in coming into the game is important and we know that any South American opponent has a lot of quality and talent. But we’re ready to compete.”
Among Botafogo’s standout talents would be Igor Jesus, a player who has taken as roundabout and unlikely a route to a bid for club football’s top prize as Idrissi did. Barely five months ago, the 23-year-old was employed in the UAE, having completed the best of his four seasons up front for Shabab Al Ahli.
The Dubai club had scouted him as a teenager with a just handful of top division appearances in his native Brazil and, though his success in the UAE Pro League might easily have taken off the Brazilian radar, Botafogo kept tabs on him.
He signed for them in the summer. “I had quite a few offers,” he recalled, after sealing his domestic and continental Double on Sunday. “Botafogo convinced me and I saw here a good, united group of happy players there and they’ve given me a lot of confidence. But I didn’t imagine all this happening so quickly.”
By “all this” he means his Gulf form – 43 goals and 20 assists in his 88 games for Shabab Al Ahli – translating so quickly into the highest level of South American football.
Jesus contributed three goals and two assists in his five appearances in the Copa Libertadores knockout phase and his hard running and pressing in a side reduced to 10 men from the first minute of the final against Atletico Mineiro helped push Botago to a 3-1 win.
In October he was fast-tracked into Brazil’s national team, scoring on his debut. He’s been Brazil’s starting centre-forward in every match since.
However he performs this evening, and perhaps through two further InterContinental Cup games, he should anticipate a busy January of enquiries. Clubs in England’s Premier League, in La Liga and in Italy have taken note of the rise of Igor Jesus in the short months between his leaving Dubai and mounting the global stage in Doha.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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
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
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Benevento (Kick-off 11.45pm)
Saturday Crotone v Spezia (6pm), Torino v Udinese (9pm), Lazio v Verona (11.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Atalanta v Fiorentina (6pm), Napoli v Sampdoria (6pm), Bologna v Roma (6pm), Genoa v Juventus (9pm), AC Milan v Parma (11.45pm)
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
The bio
Favourite book: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Favourite quote: “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist
Favourite Authors: Arab poet Abu At-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi
Favourite Emirati food: Luqaimat, a deep-fried dough soaked in date syrup
Hobbies: Reading and drawing
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh135,000
Engine 1.6L turbo
Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode
Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm
Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh130,000
On sale: now
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
The years Ramadan fell in May
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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)
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