When Diego Maradona arrived in Dubai, he was off the grid. He had just had a bad time with the Argentina national team at the 2010 World Cup and he was off the radar.
Then he arrived at Al Wasl and you quickly realise he never disappeared from people’s hearts.
Suddenly, the entire world wanted to know what he was up to in Dubai. It was a crazy time, a surreal period that I count myself lucky to have been there for.
We had started working on Al Wasl’s PR a month before, just basic stuff. Then I got a text message – an SMS because WhatsApp wasn’t introduced here in the UAE yet – saying: “Dear Tariq. Please prepare yourself, because you will be announcing the appointment of Diego Maradona as our coach.”
You just don’t get messages like that. Ever. No meeting to discuss a plan for it. Just a casual text message. I replied to say: “Let’s be serious. What is the actual announcement?”
I was told Maradona was coming to look at the ground, and that eventually he would be appointed. I could not believe it. I had to keep it hushed, but people started making news about it, so we had to make the announcement sooner.
Suddenly, I was preparing to manage the biggest press conference I’d ever even been to in my life. That was how it started.
Then it somehow just happened that I became associated with every one of his press conferences, translating. It was not planned at all.
Fifteen minutes before the first pre-match press conference, I told the club that a lot of RSVPs had come from English press, so we needed a translator. They said: “Tariq, please, you do the translation into English.”
I said OK. It was quite an overwhelming experience. I had never done something like that before. I had Diego on my left. I was looking out at a minimum of 12 TV cameras, jam-packed next to each other in a small room.
People were all over each other, sat on the floor, and there had never been so many microphones at Al Wasl.
The Spanish to Arabic translator started to talk and I didn’t realise how much Diego spoke. I didn’t even have a pen and paper in front of me. I was trying to keep track of what he was saying in my mind. I started speaking and luckily the journalists were very happy and appreciative. Diego was happy, too, then after that, we started perfecting it.
I started to sit with Diego before and after each match, giving him the heads up of what to expect, updates on things he might be asked. But he never really cared. He just said: “Let them ask what they want.”
Sometimes he would say: “Tariq, at the end of today, ask me if I have anything to add. Remember that.”
He would want to get something across and he would worry that the media would not ask him about it, as it was nothing to do with Al Wasl v Al Wahda, for example.
I did that one day and he pretended he wasn’t prepared. Then he said: “Yes, there is something I do want to add.”
It was about Pele. I was always intrigued when he spoke about Pele. I was always evaluating whether they would take jabs at each other because they genuinely dislike each other, because each one thinks they are the greatest.
Or do they have this cunning plan between them because they thought, with [Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and Neymar around, people might forget about them, and the best way to stay in the limelight was to continue like this?
It was very funny. You would see pictures of them hugging each other, then the next day they were taking jabs at each other. This time, he wanted to say something.
He said: “There’s this guy, I don’t know if you know him, his name is Pele. He has come out saying Neymar is better than Messi.
“Now, listen. I have no doubt that Neymar is a phenomenal footballer. But please, let’s not compare anyone to Messi. There is no debate there.
“The reason this is happening is because Pele takes pills. He has a night pill and a morning pill. Sometimes he mixes them up.”
_______________________________________________________________________
Gallery: Maradona's time as Dubai Sports's Council's Ambassador
_______________________________________________________________________
The journalists wrote this up and people started going crazy. I had to translate all that. He was speaking in Spanish and I didn’t know what he was saying until the Arabic guy had translated.
As he was translating, I was thinking in my head: “Oh my gosh. I’m going to have to say all this stuff about Pele now!”
There was always an entertaining moment with him. I did have to filter what he said a couple of times, but only a couple.
For someone with his spikiness and his charisma, I was worried at the beginning. But, in a year-and-a-half, he did not do anything that was completely wild, or unmanageable.
Yes, he would talk about world politics, Argentina, Messi, Pele, the Champions League, a million things.
But he loved it here. He loved Dubai, he loved the club, he loved the fans, he loved the journalists, and even became friends with a number of them.
The process of translating from Spanish to Arabic to English was time consuming, and at one press conference I was talking, and he pretended to fall asleep.
He was snoring, and I could hear him. What was I supposed to do? It was him who had spoken for five minutes. They used the picture of him asleep in Al Ittihad newspaper.
He played the role, and did not go out of character. When I was finished I had to nudge him, and say: “Diego?” He woke up and said in Spanish: “Are you done?”
_______________________________________________________________________
Gallery: Argentina in mourning
_______________________________________________________________________
Another time I had to set up a meeting between Peter Reid, who was working as a TV pundit in Abu Dhabi, and Diego.
Peter, who was the England player who chased after Diego from the halfway line for the famous goal in 1986, wanted to arrange it.
He said: “Tariq, I want you to know the reason I want to meet Diego. It is because I want to see him from the front. I’ve only ever seen him from the back.”
I ran it by Diego, and he said he was most welcome. They met, they hugged, then they held each other’s hands. Peter said: “Oh, this hand!”
Diego said, in English: “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
Then, unconsciously, Peter kissed his hand. I don’t know why he did that – perhaps because Diego was saying he was sorry and giving him puppy dog eyes.
Abu Dhabi TV caught it, showed it on the TV, and published it on YouTube. You should have seen the backlash of the English public. I felt so sorry for Peter. He was a very nice guy.
It was like that all the time. People just wanted to meet him. Roberto Carlos came to the club. Robin van Persie came with his family, asking if he would be able to meet Diego.
That was him. He was like no other person that I have met, ever.
Tariq Al-Sharabi managed Al Wasl Football Club’s PR and communication and was Diego Maradona’s English-language translator during his spell as manager. He is the managing director of Cicero and Bernay PR.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 1:39:46.713
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 00:00.908
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 00:12.462
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 00:12.885
5. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 00:13.276
6. Fernando Alonso, McLaren 01:11.223
7. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 1 lap
8. Sergio Perez, Force India 1 lap
9. Esteban Ocon, Force India 1 lap
10. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren 1 lap
11. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso 1 lap
12. Jolyon Palmer, Renault 1 lap
13. Kevin Magnussen, Haas 1 lap
14. Lance Stroll, Williams 1 lap
15. Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber 2 laps
16. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber 2 laps
17r. Nico Huelkenberg, Renault 3 laps
r. Paul Di Resta, Williams 10 laps
r. Romain Grosjean, Haas 50 laps
r. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 70 laps
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
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RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Foah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Faiza, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: RB Dixie Honor, Antonio Fresu, Helal Al Alawi.
7.30pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard.
Company profile
Name: Oulo.com
Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
Number of employees: 5
Sector: Technology
Funding: $450,000
more from Janine di Giovanni
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Aston martin DBX specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Top speed: 291kph
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: Q2, 2020
2019 ASIA CUP POTS
Pot 1
UAE, Iran, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia
Pot 2
China, Syria, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Qatar, Thailand
Pot 3
Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Palestine, Oman, India, Vietnam
Pot 4
North Korea, Philippines, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, Turkmenistan
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MATCH INFO
UAE Division 1
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 12-24 Abu Dhabi Saracens
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey
Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Hot%20Seat
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
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
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
How it works
Booklava works on a subscription model. On signing up you receive a free book as part of a 30-day-trial period, after which you pay US$9.99 (Dh36.70) per month to gain access to a library of books and discounts of up to 30 per cent on selected titles. You can cancel your subscription at any time. For more details go to www.booklava.com
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
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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 Predator'
Dir: Shane Black
Starring: Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Keegan-Michael Key
Two and a half stars
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
The five pillars of Islam
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Honeymoonish
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Results
5pm: Reem Island – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Farasah, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi
5.30pm: Sir Baniyas Island – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: SSR Ghazwan, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Astral Del Sol, Sean Kirrane, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Al Maryah Island – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Toumadher, Dane O’Neill, Jaber Bittar
7pm: Yas Island – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Mukhrej, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Saadiyat Island – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,400m; Winner: Celestial Spheres, Gary Sanchez, Ismail Mohammed
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
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
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: JAP Almahfuz, Fernando Jara (jockey), Irfan Ellahi (trainer).
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Momtaz, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
6pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,400m
Winner: Yaalail, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Listed (PA) Dh180,000 1,600m
Winner: Ihtesham, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Dahess D’Arabie, Fernando Jara, Helal Al Alawi.
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2.200m
Winner: Ezz Al Rawasi, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi.
