One of the few consolations available to the head coach of Milan now is that at least he knows how the system works.
Leonardo may be a relative novice in his current role but he has seen the job in detail from above and from below.
The Brazilian takes his beleaguered squad to Atalanta today for what is being heralded as perhaps his last match in charge should Milan lose their third match in a row.
He played under several different coaches as a Milan player. As a Milan executive, a role he had until June, he also worked at the club at a time of unusual loyalty towards the man in charge of the first XI.
That man was Carlo Ancelotti, whose departure to join Chelsea in the summer is now looking either a very shrewd move by the Italian, or a disastrous error by Milan.
Defeat at home to FC Zurich in the Champions League last Wednesday brought the club's competitive record under Leonardo for the season so far to three wins and three defeats in eight European and Serie A matches. Almost as damning is that Milan have not scored for their past 270 minutes. If they miss Ancelotti off the field, they demonstrably miss Kaka on it.
Adriano Galliani, the club vice president, held an emergency meeting with the players after the 1-0 loss to Zurich and reminded them of what he called the Three Commandments of their jobs.
First, that they were a "group of winners".
Second, that "nobody would be being shown the door until the end of the season at the earliest".
Third, that it was regarded that the club, as the bare minimum, should participate in the Champions League every year, and still be involved in it at the later stages. On form, those objectives are in jeopardy.
Milan are hovering in mid-table in a Serie A that awards automatic Champions League berths only to the clubs finishing the season first, second and third.
In the 2009/10 Champions League, meanwhile, they have the same number of points as Zurich in a group that also contains Marseille and Madrid, whom Milan must play twice in their next pair of fixtures.
But it is Galliani's second commandment that is attracting most scrutiny.
Leonardo is not so naive as not to believe in the possibility of his swift removal from what is his first job as a senior coach of a professional team.
The club's close relationship with Marco van Basten, the former Milan striker and Holland's head coach, who left his managerial job at Ajax in Amsterdam earlier this year makes him, a plausible candidate for a rapid replacement.
His agent has denied any contact over a possible vacancy between his client and Milan, but fans are already responding to newspaper polls in large numbers declaring their enthusiasm for the appointment of the Dutchman instead of Leonardo.
Walter Mazzarri, who left Sampdoria during the summer, is also available, as would be a number of candidates who would maintain the "continuity" principle on which the club decided to appoint Leonardo in spite of his inexperience.
For "continuity", read any number of ex-Milan players, such as Alessandro Costacurta, who retired from playing three years ago.
Nearer the summit, pacesetters Sampdoria are at home to Parma, while Juventus, still unbeaten under their "novice" head coach Ciro Ferrera, travel to Sicily tonight to play Palermo.
@Email:ihawkey@thenational.ae
Atalanta v AC Milan, 5pm, Aljazeera Sport +7
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Tim Paine (captain), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
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RESULT
Chelsea 2
Willian 13'
Ross Barkley 64'
Liverpool 0
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
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Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
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Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
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Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
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Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
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The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
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Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United v Brighton, Sunday, 6pm UAE
Specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%20train%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%20and%20synchronous%20electric%20motor%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20power%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E800hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20torque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E950Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEight-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E25.7kWh%20lithium-ion%3Cbr%3E0-100km%2Fh%3A%203.4sec%3Cbr%3E0-200km%2Fh%3A%2011.4sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E312km%2Fh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20electric-only%20range%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2060km%20(claimed)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Q3%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1.2m%20(estimate)%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate
It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.
