Like Manchester United, Casemiro has endured a difficult season, losing his starting place for the club he joined from Real Madrid in 2022. But on Thursday in San Sebastian, the Brazilian was selected and put in a good performance in United’s 1-1 Europa League first-leg last-16 tie against Real Sociedad.
“I’m happy with my game in particular, but the result could have been a little better,” he told The National after the game. “We controlled the game well; we had chances to score. We always see the negative side of things, but I know this stadium very well. I know how difficult it is to play here. The whole team suffered a lot. We controlled the game well, now it’s time to play at home with our fans.”
Injuries to Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte saw Casemiro given his start, and he and captain Bruno Fernandes combined effectively in midfield. United looked comfortable until a penalty was awarded on 70 minutes after Fernandes handled the ball. Mikel Oyarzabal gleefully dispatched. In front of Casemiro and Fernandes, Joshua Zirkzee was one of United’s better players and put his side ahead with his first European goal for the club.
“He’s a very good player,” Casemiro said of Zirkzee, a summer signing from Bologna. “He’s not a 9 who stays [in the middle] like Rasmus [Hojlund]. He’s a 9 who goes out more [to the wings], which is why he plays as a bit of a 10, which is what this coach likes. He’s very good, he’s got a lot of quality, he likes to control the ball, to spin. It’s a waste to have him standing there [up front alone]. He’s not a player who always wants to be up there, leading the attack and scoring goals that way. He’s more of a player who wants to play and create.”
Injuries and two impressive performances, since he also made a difference when he came on in the FA Cup fifth-round exit to Fulham last weekend, means Casemiro should play more.
“Of course I want to play, but I always say, and these are my values, I respect the coach a lot, I respect the club,” he said. “Every day I go to Carrington or Old Trafford I try to do my best. If a player is on the bench and is happy, that player is not worth anything for any team. I want to have more minutes, but the coach is the one who makes the decisions.”
Casemiro has a contract until the end of next season but of one of the best-paid footballers at the club, and United are radically cutting costs.
The 33-year-old Brazilian is cautious when asked about his United future. “It’s too soon to talk about next season, but of course I have another year of my contract and then an option [to continue playing at the club]. We have important games, and on Sunday we have Arsenal. I’m here, I’m available, with total happiness, and I’m ready for the coach and the club. As everyone knows, I’m a big character for the club.”
United play Arsenal at home in the Premier League on Sunday. Frustrated fans are planning to renew last week’s protests against the Glazer family, who still control the club.
“For everybody in our club it’s a really tough moment,” said United head coach Ruben Amorim. “It’s everything at the same time. The only thing I can do, and our players can do, is perform well and win. People have the right to protest. I think it’s a good thing to do that. It’s part of our club. Everybody has a voice. But our job and my job is just to improve the team and give them something in this moment because they deserve it and they are amazing.”
Amorim’s ability to rotate players is severely curtailed by injuries, with two goalkeepers making up numbers on the bench in Spain.
“When you are in this kind of club you cannot think like that with a small squad in this moment,” he said, when asked about possible rotations given his team have a key second leg against Real Sociedad next Thursday.
“We are trying to see all the players who are fresh and who are not in danger of getting an injury. Even with that we must risk a little bit, but we have to be competitive on Sunday.”
Amorim hopes that he will soon have more players to choose from, if not on Sunday.
“I think it’s just Amad [Diallo] and Lisandro [Martinez] but even Amad we will see in the last month,” said Amorim. “I don’t want to say anything but I have the hope to have Amad before the end of the season. Lisandro is out [for the season]. Kobbie can return. [Harry] Maguire we have to be careful. Manu [Ugarte] will return. I think Luke Shaw and Mason Mount can return also."
These are difficult times for United.
“Europa League is, in my opinion, so much harder than the Champions League,” said Amorim. “Not the game, but the recovery to play in the Premier League on the weekend. We have to deal with that.”
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
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
The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Name: Sari Al Zubaidi
Occupation: co-founder of Cafe di Rosati
Age: 42
Marital status: single
Favourite drink: drip coffee V60
Favourite destination: Bali, Indonesia
Favourite book: 100 Years of Solitude
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
THE TWIN BIO
Their favourite city: Dubai
Their favourite food: Khaleeji
Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach
Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
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
