Lucien Favre has hinted he may leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the 2019/20 season following Tuesday's defeat to Bayern Munich that left the Rurh Valley club seven points adrift of the Bundesliga leaders.
With only six games remaining, it seems unlikely Dortmund will reel in the Bavarians to stop them being crowned German champions for a record eighth successive season.
For the second season running under Favre, second-placed Dortmund find themselves wanting at the tail end of the campaign that only restarted two weeks ago following a two-month shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Swiss gave a resigned grin when asked if Tuesday's 1-0 home loss to Bayern, settled by Joshua Kimmich's delightful chip, proved breaking Bayern's stranglehold on the championship was beyond Favre's reach.
"That's been said here for months," said Favre, 62, who has a year left on his Dortmund contract.
"I know how these things go and I will talk about it in a few weeks.
"I'm staying calm and I trust in myself."
The home defeat in Dortmund came on the back of a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Bayern last November at Munich's Allianz Arena.
"It's going be difficult - seven points [to make up] in six games, that is brutally hard," said Favre.
According to German daily Bild on Wednesday, Dortmund's bosses made contact "in the past few months" with Niko Kovac, who was sacked by Bayern in November, as a possible successor to Favre.
Bild also claim that RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann is Dortmund's ideal candidate, but the 32-year-old is under contract until 2023.
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
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If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
