The recent history of SC Internacional, much like the red-and-white emblem stitched on to the chest of the team's scarlet shirt, has a thread running through it; an uncanny thread that links the Brazilian club from Porto Alegre to the shores of the UAE. This month in Abu Dhabi, they hope to strengthen their incidental relationship by being crowned Club World Cup champions.
Internacional, not to be confused with Internazionale Milano who will also compete in Fifa's intercontinental club competition, which starts on Wednesday, are the last side from outside of Europe to win the competition. In 2006, they beat Barcelona - victors in the UAE capital last year. Their coach at the time was Abel Braga, now manager of Abu Dhabi-based side Al Jazira.
The success was followed in 2008 when they defeated Estudiantes de la Plata - finalists in Abu Dhabi last year - to become the first Brazilian side in nine years to win the Recopa Sudamericana. Their coach that year was Adenor Leonardo "Tite" Bacchi, who was, until October, manager of Al Wahda - the Abu Dhabi-based side that will represent the host nation in this month's tournament following their Pro League triumph last season.
Internacional, as Estudiantes discovered after heartbreakingly succumbing in extra time to the potent attacking arsenal of Barcelona in last year's final, will be aware that despite there being two Inters, there can be only one winner. And history is on their side.
The Colorado - the Portuguese translation for "Red" - have competed in the Emirates before, taking part in an exhibition tournament in January 2008. The Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid International Football Championships, referred to colloquially as the Dubai Cup, pitted Internacional against none other than Inter Milan in the final of a four-team knock-out competition.
The Brazilians, whose sole notable player that night was Brazil international Nilmar, won 2-1 over a Nerazzurri side boasting, among others, Maicon, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hernan Crespo, sending the Italian side home without the silverware they had arrived expecting.
Founded in 1909 by a trio of Brazilian brothers who were ineligible to play for their city's only football side - Gremio Porto Alegrense - because they lacked German heritage, Internacional soon became known as "The People's Club", open to anyone regardless of race and religion.
Today, they remain one of only three sides to have competed in the Brazilian top flight every season since its inception in 1971. And with a roster that has at times included the likes of Dunga and Taffarel, both World Cup winners in 1994, and Lucio and Alexandre Pato, now plying their trades in Milan with Inter and AC, respectively, Internacional have a pedigree for producing talent.
While Sandro, their tough-tackling, precociously gifted midfielder, departed for Tottenham Hotspur within 24 hours of his side's Copa Libertadores victory on August 18, one pivotal figure remains. Rafael Sobis scored in Inter's 3-2 second-leg win over Guadalajara, but a month earlier he had been playing his domestic football for Al Jazira in the UAE capital. The Brazilian will return to the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on December 14 when the Colorado start their campaign against either TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo or the Mexican outfit Pachuca. This time, however, he may feel a little more at home: more than 6,000 Brazilians are expected to make the trip from Porto Alegre to cheer on their side in Abu Dhabi.
"We know this team has some fanatical supporters because we are bringing them," said Thiago Monteiro, online operations manager with Moinho Tur, a Brazilian tour company organising package deals to fans across the Atlantic. "The team has already won the Club World Cup once in Tokyo in 2006 and we know a lot of them are travelling, a lot of them are expecting to win again and a lot of them plan to make plenty of noise.
"Here in Brazil, the Fifa World Club is more important than it is for [European football fans]. Our calendar goes from February to December, and this competition ends the schedule for us. It is the biggest title that a Brazilian team can win as it provides the players a chance to let the world know their names and also that of the team."
The name of Internacional is no stranger in the UAE, but success this month in the last Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi before it returns to Japan, would cement the team's place in the history of world football. It would also add another stitch to the thread of success that links them with the Emirates.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
Information
Home: Porto Alegre, Brazil
How qualified: Won Copa Libertadores
Founded: 1909
Coach: Celso Roth
Domestic titles: 3
Key victory: Alecsandro's away goal in the second leg of the semi-final with Sao Paulo was decisive when Sao Paulo's Ricardo Oliveira, previously of Al Jazira, scored late.
How to vote in the UAE
1) Download your ballot https://www.fvap.gov/
2) Take it to the US Embassy
3) Deadline is October 15
4) The embassy will ensure all ballots reach the US in time for the November 3 poll
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Key facilities
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Moment of the day Dinesh Chandimal has inherited a challenging job, after being made Sri Lanka’s Test captain. He responded in perfect fashion, with an easy-natured century against Pakistan. He brought up three figures with a majestic cover drive, which he just stood and admired.
Stat of the day – 33 It took 33 balls for Dilruwan Perera to get off the mark. His time on zero was eventful enough. The Sri Lankan No 7 was given out LBW twice, but managed to have both decisions overturned on review. The TV replays showed both times that he had inside edged the ball onto his pad.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
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Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
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Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Milkman by Anna Burns
Ordinary People by Diana Evans
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Circe by Madeline Miller
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United v Manchester City, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match is on BeIN Sports
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