A little under 40 years ago, one of the pioneers of modern football set off in his car from Belgrade in the then Yugoslavia on a very long drive, bound for a provincial town in England. Radomir Antic was 31 years old. He had already taken his talent as an elegant, ball-playing central defender - a true sweeper - across Europe, from his native Yugoslavia, to clubs in Turkey and Spain. But this, the last chapter of his playing career was truly intrepid.
Antic, who died on Monday aged 71, had been signed by Luton Town, then of the second tier of English football, territory which, back in 1980, welcomed few footballers from outside Britain. But Antic had something about him. “He was so smooth on the ball”, David Pleat, the Luton manager at the time recalls.
Three years later, Pleat and Antic would share in a moment of vividly expressed joy that has become iconic in English football. It featured excitable commentary and an exuberant Pleat, dressed in his suit, dancing across the pitch at Manchester City’s old stadium, Maine Road. Antic had, with four minutes remaining of the last match of the season, scored the only goal of the game. The consequences were huge: the 1-0 loss relegated City from the top division. Antic’s goal kept Luton in that division, to which the intrepid Serbian had helped them get promoted 12 months earlier.
Pleat and ‘Raddy’, as Antic was known in England, remained close ever after. “I remember how well he integrated, how his neighbours stayed his friends long after he left,” said Pleat. “He was ambitious, intelligent, and always tolerant.” And Antic seemed to have all the tools for a future career as a coach.
In management Antic would achieve something unique. He served as head coach of every one of Spain’s so-called ‘Big Three’ clubs: Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
The impact he had on first being appointed at each of them was positive. Real Madrid took on Antic in March 1991, after his impressive two years in charge of Real Zaragoza, where he had also played with distinction. He succeeded the Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano, and was presented with the formidable challenge of making Real into a team that could compete with Johan Cruyff’s brilliant Barcelona. Ten months in, he had, with Real top of La Liga, three points clear of Barcelona and progressing well in Europe and the Copa del Rey.
And he was abruptly sacked, the Madrid president calling the team’s football ‘boring’. Madrid went on to finish the season without Antic - and without a trophy.
After the first of two spells at Real Oviedo, Antic then joined Atletico, where nobody would ever tag his football ‘boring’. “Back in that time, he was a real innovator,” said the former Atletico striker, Kiko Narvaez, a key member of the Atletico who, under Antic, transformed from candidates for relegation into the self-confident, thrilling Liga and Copa Double winners of 1995/96.
Atletico’s success then bears comparison to their renaissance under Diego Simeone now, though the style of the 1996 side was perhaps easier on the eye. Under Antic, Atletico won their first Liga title for 19 years; under Simeone in 2014, they won their first Liga title for 18 seasons. At Atletico, where Antic also had two later spells, the song ‘Radomir, we love you,’ became a crowd anthem.
His reputation for gaining the trust of players, rebuilding self-belief made him a go-to coach. Barcelona called on Antic in 2003, with the club in deep trouble, and, having come in mid-season, Antic averted a crisis and qualified Barca for Europe, his prospects of staying beyond his short-term deal thwarted only by a change of president. He was taken on by Celta Vigo within months, charged with another rescue mission.
A patriotic Serb, who spoke out publicly against the Nato bombing of parts of his country during the Balkan conflict of the late 1990s, Antic had several offers to coach Serbia. He finally accepted in 2008. Under him, qualification for the 2010 World Cup was achieved, and at the tournament, Serbia beat Germany. But defeats to Ghana and Australia meant they went home at the group phase.
Ever intrepid, he travelled in his 60s to China, for what would be his last coaching adventures, guiding Shandong Luneng Taishan to a runners-up spot in the Chinese Super League in 2013. His sharp analyses of the game remained sought after in the media, particularly in Spain, to the end of his life.
“He was a man who dignified the profession,” said the striker Fernando Torres, who was climbing the ladder through Atletico’s youth ranks when Antic was there. “Radomir will always be in Atletico hearts.”
Overall standings
1. Christopher Froome (GBR/Sky) 68hr 18min 36sec,
2. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST) at 0:18.
3. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) 0:23.
4. Rigoberto Uran (COL/CAN) 0:29.
5. Mikel Landa (ESP/SKY) 1:17.
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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.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Roll of honour: Who won what in 2018/19?
West Asia Premiership: Winners – Bahrain; Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership: Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Winners – Dubai Hurricanes; Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference: Winners – Dubai Tigers; Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Unlike other mobile wallets and payment apps, a unique feature of eWallet is that there is no need to have a bank account, credit or debit card to do digital payments.
Customers only need a valid Emirates ID and a working UAE mobile number to register for eWallet account.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- 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
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: Now
England v West Indies
England squad for the first Test Cook, Stoneman, Westley, Root (captain), Malan, Stokes, Bairstow, Moeen, Roland-Jones, Broad, Anderson, Woakes, Crane
Fixtures
1st Test Aug 17-21, Edgbaston
2nd Test Aug 25-29, Headingley
3rd Test Sep 7-11, Lord's
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Tickets
Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.
