The most famous name on the cast-list for La Liga’s restart is the one displayed across the main stand at Real Madrid’s ‘new’ home ground. Spanish football may be returning to action without spectators, but its most successful club will play in front of a resonant backdrop – the arena named after the footballer they owe their greatness to.
The Alfredo Di Stefano stadium is the centre-piece of Madrid’s training site, a 6,000-seater that normally stages home matches for Castilla, the Madrid reserve and feeder team.
A part of Di Stefano, who galvanised Madrid to five successive European Cups from 1956 to 1960 and who died in 2014, would be gratified that the stadium bearing his name is temporarily staging competitive first-team fixtures, starting on Sunday against Eibar, with construction work under way at Madrid's usual home, the Bernabeu.
But a part of Di Stefano might very well have also found something to grumble about in the make-do-and-mend approach La Liga has had to adopt to enable fixtures that were postponed during the pandemic to now take place.
Eibar manager Jose Luis Mendilibar has been grumbling about the venue for his team’s return to action. “I’m not sure it should be permitted to change your stadium in the middle of a season,” said Mendilibar, who will need little reminding that the last time Madrid played a league match at such a small arena, they won 4-0. That was away at Eibar, when the Primera Division’s most compact regular venue was full to its 6,900 capacity.
Eibar have been defying the limitations of their size, and budget, for six years in the top flight. Mendilibar fears the remaining 11 games of this season are going to be an extended scrap against relegation. They were 16th in the league when matches were suspended in March. They operate with the only 16th-biggest budget of the 20 clubs in the Primera, which amounts to about a 16th of Real Madrid’s €640million (Dh2.6bn) annual spend.
With five substitutions per team, per game now permitted, the Eibar coach believes inequalities of resources will be emphasised further. “It’s clear,” said Mendilibar. “The big clubs have more homogenous squads than the smaller ones, so on the bench at a bigger club you have more footballers you can bring on without risking a drop in the level of performance.”
The big clubs have more homogenous squads
Mendilibar will look at Madrid’s line up of substitutes and see that, for Zinedine Zidane, his opposite number, the restart looks very much like a fresh start. Though injuries keep winger Lucas Vazquez and back-up striker Luka Jovic out of contention, the three months of delay, imposed because of a terrible public health crisis, means two important players are far closer to match-readiness than they were in March.
Eden Hazard has recovered from a fracture just above his ankle that was to have curtailed his first campaign with Madrid with a mere 10 league matches under his belt. Marco Asensio, the breakthrough Madrid player when Zidane led the club to a Liga and European Cup Double in 2016-17, is also back. His diagnosis, when he tore his cruciate ligament last July was for no club football in 2019-20. He may get 11 Liga matches now.
“That is the good news from what has been a difficult time,” said Zidane. “Marco Asensio is training fully again, as is Eden. They are both available for selection.”
So is Gareth Bale. So is Vinicius Junior, a star in the 2-0 win over Barcelona in March that kept the title race very much alive. So is Rodrygo, the other teenaged Brazilian striker with bright prospects. So are Isco and James Rodriguez, two established talents also competing for what is likely to be one starting place in the front three, alongside Karim Benzema and Hazard.
“As always, picking the team will be a headache,” said Zidane, “but that’s Real Madrid, where we have the best players. Apart from three or four injured, they are all in good shape. We can have no excuses from here. We’ll have three games within a week sometimes, but we are used to that.”
There’s a personal milestone for Zidane. He will take charge of his 200th match as coach of Madrid’s first team. He was first elevated to the role in 2016, from Castilla, who call the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium home. So the venue was Zidane’s springboard to what would be an astonishingly successful managerial career so far. He has never been in charge of Real Madrid for a full season without winning a major trophy. He has five weeks to protect that record.
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
more from Janine di Giovanni
The biog
Prefers vegetables and fish to meat and would choose salad over pizza
Walks daily as part of regular exercise routine
France is her favourite country to visit
Has written books and manuals on women’s education, first aid and health for the family
Family: Husband, three sons and a daughter
Fathiya Nadhari's instructions to her children was to give back to the country
The children worked as young volunteers in social, education and health campaigns
Her motto is to never stop working for the country
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30-December 2, at The Sevens, Dubai
Gulf Under 19
Pool A – Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jumeirah College Tigers, Dubai English Speaking School 1, Gems World Academy
Pool B – British School Al Khubairat, Bahrain Colts, Jumeirah College Lions, Dubai English Speaking School 2
Pool C - Dubai College A, Dubai Sharks, Jumeirah English Speaking School, Al Yasmina
Pool D – Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Ain Amblers, Deira International School
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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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sucker%20Punch%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%202%20to%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
PSL FINAL
Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
8pm, Thursday
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
The view from The National
Friday's schedule in Madrid
Men's quarter-finals
Novak Djokivic (1) v Marin Cilic (9) from 2pm UAE time
Roger Federer (4) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 7pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Alexander Zverev (3) from 9.30pm
Stan Wawrinka v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11.30pm
Women's semi-finals
Belinda Bencic v Simona Halep (3) from 4.30pm
Sloane Stephens (8) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 10pm
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
The biog
Name: Maitha Qambar
Age: 24
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Education: Master’s Degree
Favourite hobby: Reading
She says: “Everyone has a purpose in life and everyone learns from their experiences”
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sunday's results:
- UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
- Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
- Oman v Hong Kong, no result
Tuesday fixtures:
- Malaysia v Singapore
- UAE v Oman
- Nepal v Hong Kong
