Luis Enrique admitted he was feeling “very emotional” as Paris Saint-Germain fans paid tribute to his late daughter after the French club claimed Champions League victory for the first time.
PSG routed Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich on Saturday as Desire Doue’s double, as well as goals from Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and substitute Senny Mayulu, secured a historic treble for the French league and cup winners.
After the game, PSG supporters unveiled a tifo paying tribute to Enrique’s daughter Xana, who died in 2019 at the age of nine from cancer.
Enrique said: “I’m very happy. It was very emotional at the end with the banner from the fans for my family. But I always think about my daughter.”
Enrique joined PSG last July and has overseen the development of a brilliant young team following the departure of star striker Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid.
It was the 55-year-old’s second treble as a manager after winning the Champions League, LaLiga and Copa del Rey at Barcelona in 2015.
The Eiffel Tower was lit up in the red and blue of PSG to mark their first Champions League triumph, and only the second by a French club after Marseille in 1993.
Enrique said: “Since day one, I said I wanted to win important trophies, and Paris had never won the Champions League.
“We did it for the first time. It’s a great feeling to make many people happy.
“I tried to keep the pressure down for a club that had never won the competition. Inter are a great side, but we were fantastic in our pressing.
“Every player improved this season, and so did the team.
“A coach needs to control their emotions – you need to deal with the pressure in order to help the players.
“We prepared the final with the necessary calm to put the excitement in the right place. Now we can enjoy it; we can take the trophy back to Paris.
“We had a great start to the game, dominating from the beginning. But I wanted them to keep pushing, scoring, to ensure we won the game.”
Inter hurt by 'heavy defeat'
Inter boss Simone Inzaghi promised his side would bounce back from their Munich mauling, when they conceded twice in the opening 20 minutes and never recovered.
“We need to learn from defeats and come out stronger,” said Inzaghi.
“This hurts like the Istanbul final (2023 defeat to Manchester City).
“It’s a heavy defeat because it comes in a final. We can come out stronger from this defeat, like we did in 2023 and then won the league the following season.
“Paris deserved to win this game and the trophy. We’re disappointed, but the path to this point was great.
“The game, of course, wasn’t good enough on our part.
“I thanked my players for what they did this season. We didn’t win a trophy, but I am proud to be their coach.”
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
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Dubai Creek Open in numbers
- The Dubai Creek Open is the 10th tournament on this year's Mena Tour
- It is the first of five events before the season-concluding Mena Tour Championship
- This week's field comprises 120 players, 21 of which are amateurs
- 15 previous Mena Tour winners are competing at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club
MATCH INFO
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs: 2019 Subaru Forester
Price, base: Dh105,900 (Premium); Dh115,900 (Sport)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 182hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 239Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.1L / 100km (estimated)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sour%20Grapes
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EZakaria%20Tamer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESyracuse%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E176%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Dubai World Cup Carnival card:
6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) | US$175,000 | 2,410 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (Dirt) | $100,000 | 1,400m
7.40pm: Handicap (T) | $145,000 | 1,000m
8.15pm: Dubawi Stakes Group 3 (D) | $200,000 | 1,200m
8.50pm: Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (T) | $200,000 | 1,800m
9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m
Scoreline:
Manchester City 1
Jesus 4'
Brighton 0
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
