Cosmin Olaroiu really does not need to audition for the job of UAE coach. The Romanian can just point to the steady stream of trophies he has won across Asia, including 14 with three different teams in the UAE alone.
But if a reminder was required as to just what the 55-year-old coach can offer as the next man in for the national team, his Sharjah side provided it in stunning fashion late on Tuesday night.
They were 1-0 down on aggregate deep into injury time at the end of the second leg of their AFC Champions League Two semi-final against Saudi side Al Taawoun.
Still, they would not let up. In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Ousmane Camara, who had a bandaged head and had not stopped running all night, bundled in an equaliser.
The packed stands at Sharjah Sports Club were ecstatic that they had 30 more minutes in which to try to find a way through to another final.
They didn’t need it. In the ninth minute of the 10 that were to be added at the end of the game, substitute Firas Ben Larbi lashed in the winning goal.
It means Sharjah will face the winners of Wednesday’s second semi-final, between Sydney FC and Lion City Sailors, in the final of the continental tournament.
That is in addition to the President’s Cup final, in which they will face Shabab Al Ahli. And they are not yet out of the UAE Pro League title race, either.
All of which is Olaroiu’s magic at work. It is little wonder he is said to be the next UAE coach in waiting. It is understood he is set to fill the role left vacant since Paulo Bento was dismissed at the end of last month.
Ahead of the first leg against Taawoun, Olaroiu said that nothing had yet been finalised with the national team. He is reportedly set to be given the chance to finish what he has started with Sharjah before making the switch at the end of the season.
If that does come to pass, the window with which he will have to ready the national team for two vital World Cup qualifiers – against Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in June – will only be brief.
And yet if anyone can motivate the players to believe they can turn around the four-point deficit to the Uzbeks, and claim one of the two automatic qualifying berths for the World Cup, it is surely Olaroiu.
The never-say-die attitude of the Sharjah players in the stunning late turnaround against Taawoun was evidence enough. It is a trait of all Olaroiu’s teams.
“You have to achieve these things over time,” Olaroiu said. “The players have to believe. They have to believe in the work they have done, and have the motivation.
“I was talking to the coach from Taawoun [Mohammed Al Abdali] before the game, and he said he tried to motivate them. I said, ‘Look, it is very difficult to motivate someone. The words that we tell them are an activation not a motivation'.
“The motivation comes from inside them, and shows itself in the times that you need it. These guys [the Sharjah players], they have it.
“Always, we try to make them understand the power they have inside them to go over any obstacle in life. It is not just about football; it is about everything in life.
“Life is a challenge, and a football game is always a challenge. If you don’t believe [in yourself] you are better off not coming.”
Caio Lucas, the Sharjah and UAE forward, said the players all respect Olaroiu because of what he has achieved in the game.
“Speaking about the coach is very simple,” Lucas said. “He played football, and he knows so much about football.
“He is a really good guy who knows how to speak to players. He knows how to treat the players, and we respect him a lot because we know he has won everything.
“In terms of this game, we worked so hard. Now we have to enjoy this, rest, and work hard before the final.”
While the late comeback win thrilled Sharjah fans, there were also supporters spotted in the stands wearing Al Wasl and Al Ain shirts.
Olaroiu said he hopes his side’s presence in the final – at a venue yet to be disclosed – will make the whole country proud.
“The players are very happy to be in the final, the supporters are happy, and I hope all fans of UAE football are proud of this team and these players,” Olaroiu said.
“The most important having arrived here is we have to go till the end. We have been in eight finals in three and a half years, and we have to go ahead and try to win this trophy, and now we have the chance to do it.”
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Top goalscorers in Europe
34 goals - Robert Lewandowski (68 points)
34 - Ciro Immobile (68)
31 - Cristiano Ronaldo (62)
28 - Timo Werner (56)
25 - Lionel Messi (50)
*29 - Erling Haaland (50)
23 - Romelu Lukaku (46)
23 - Jamie Vardy (46)
*NOTE: Haaland's goals for Salzburg count for 1.5 points per goal. Goals for Dortmund count for two points per goal.
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
Muguruza's singles career in stats
WTA titles 3
Prize money US$11,128,219 (Dh40,873,133.82)
Wins / losses 293 / 149
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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.
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The view from The National
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
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The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
AUSTRALIA SQUADS
ODI squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Twenty20 squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
