As the 2016 FA Cup Final clicked over into extra time in front of almost 90,000 at Wembley Stadium, the suited Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew stood in his technical area hollering instructions.
Wearing a blue rose on his chest, he’d been on his feet animated for almost the entire game, dancing with the misplaced confidence of an uncle at a family function when his side took the lead after 78 minutes.
Pardew was said to be supremely confident of victory, of his side rising to the big occasion. He planned to keep things tight for an hour and then go for it.
His plan nearly worked, but he cursed as Juan Mata levelled three minutes later after an inspired run by United’s captain Wayne Rooney. Pardew is a showman who contested decisions very visibly as he lived the game he’d played in 26 years previously kick-by-kick.
• Read more: Richard Jolly – Jesse Lingard rewards Louis van Gaal's most redemptive habit, and Manchester United win FA Cup
• Also see: Manchester United win FA Cup on Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata strikes – in pictures
Five metres to his left, the track suited and slighter frame of Ryan Giggs stood watching the game with equal intensity. His boss Louis van Gaal prefers his assistants to sit close to him and his clip board, which was well used as United finished the game with six players playing outside their best positions.
Long before that time, Giggs had strode forward from the bench to communicate and get closer to the action. Giggs would like to replace Van Gaal as United manager – and that was the club’s plan to happen in 2017. A poor season means speculation about Van Gaal’s exit has been intense since a dismal December run.
The club are clear about Giggs’ ambitions and have listened closely to him and how the development of youth is core to the future of United. If United lose that, Giggs reckons, the club will become like any other.
Will they appoint Giggs if, or when, they change Van Gaal? The club’s record appearance holder is not the favourite to replaces his boss, not with fans or the BBC, who reported at the match’s conclusion that Jose Mourinho. He is, however, with United’s players including Rooney.
Amid six months of constant speculation, nobody, it seems, apart from Ed Woodward, knows what will happen. Giggs has been criticised for not being active enough this season, for sitting on the bench with the 1000-yard stare of a shell-shocked First World War Tommy as United fail to impress week after week, but he doesn’t want to go against his boss, feeling his job is to support. Whatever, Giggs’ stock has been damaged.
As the FA Cup final moved into a second period of extra time, it was Giggs instructing the fans to raise their game, Rooney to change position and encouraging Anthony Martial as 10 men United sought to win a joint record 12th FA Cup. Did United consolidate and hold out for penalties? Or push forward for a win with a man missing? Giggs shouted for Michael Carrick, who charged forward and headed wide.
After 110 minutes on a dank grey north west London afternoon, United took the lead for the first time when Jesse Lingard, a player who’s been with United since the age of seven, half volleyed the ball past Wayne Hennessey at the end where 31,000 United fans stood.
As the players celebrated, Giggs was soon joined by Van Gaal and fellow coach Albert Stuivenberg in celebration. Whether any of the trio will still be at the club when the squad reconvenes at the start of July ahead of two game pre-season games in China hangs in the balance.
But for one evening in May, they deserved to enjoy the moment as United won a first trophy for three years at the end of an FA Cup run which has shone light into a dark season.
Fans didn’t sing Van Gaal’s name and there were even some boos when he strode forward to lift the cup near the end, but they were outweighed by loud cheers when Lucky Louis lifted his first trophy in England. If it’s to be his last game, a man who has been a great manager – if not at United in two years – can leave with dignity and a smile.
Giggs? The 42-year-old’s future at a club he’s been at since he was 13 is very uncertain.
“It has been too long,” said a beaming Giggs of the first FA Cup win since 2004. Indeed.
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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
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
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PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
Netherlands v UAE, Twenty20 International series
Saturday, August 3 - First T20i, Amstelveen
Monday, August 5 – Second T20i, Amstelveen
Tuesday, August 6 – Third T20i, Voorburg
Thursday, August 8 – Fourth T20i, Vooryburg
Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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57%20Seconds
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
MATCH INFO
Borussia Dortmund 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Kimmich 43')
Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now