With limited resources, mounting debts and a half-empty stadium for most games, the Spanish Primera Liga club Levante need to be enterprising in the transfer market.
Their policy has been to catch still-youthful falling stars and re-ignite their careers.
They took Ivorian striker Arouna Kone on loan in 2012, four years after Sevilla paid €12 million (Dh60.2m) for him.
He had scored just one goal for Sevilla in that time, but he was so successful at Levante they had to rest him because he was scoring too many goals and Sevilla were about to recall him.
Obafemi Martins was another immediate hit. Levante approached the Nigerian striker in 2012, just two years after Russian side Rubin Kazan paid €17m for his signature.
He had played just 20 times for Kazan before moving to Birmingham City on loan in the English Premier League, where he scored the winning goal in the 2011 League Cup final against Arsenal, before returning to Russia.
With no future apparent at Kazan, Levante signed him for free on a two-year contract – an incredible feat given his pedigree of playing for Inter Milan and Newcastle United, whom he cost €15m in 2006 and became the first man to wear the coveted No 9 shirt after club legend Alan Shearer had retired.
Martins scored four in five games and, ever the showman, celebrated each with an elaborate back flip. One was the winner in the Valencian derby.
Ecuadorean striker Felipe Caicedo was arguably Levante’s most profitable coup. They signed him for free from Manchester City in 2010, then sold him for €7.5m to Lokomotiv Moscow less than a year later.
Caicedo’s goals ensured that Levante rose up the league from a relegation-threatened position to the top half of the table in the 2010/11 season.
“When we got him from Manchester City,” their sporting director Manolo said when The National spoke to him in early 2011, “we benefited because other deals had fallen through for him.
“City wanted to sell him, but there were no buyers. So we really pushed for him and City were good to deal with. We signed him one hour before the deadline with an option to buy him.
“City still pay most of his wages, but we give him football every week in a very good league. I think he likes it here.”
It was not as though Levante could have paid a transfer fee for Caicedo. They have not paid for a player for more than five years, during which time 38 professionals have made their way to Manolo’s office.
Like the others, Caicedo used Levante to resurrect his career. It says much about Levante’s financial limitations that they were outbid for Martins by Major League Soccer franchise the Seattle Sounders, while Kone moved to then-Premier League Wigan Athletic. He is now at Everton.
Caicedo’s move to Russia worked out well, though not spectacularly so. He scored 11 times in 52 matches for the Moscow club.
He has never been a prolific goal-getter, more a powerful centre-forward to hold the ball up and bring the other attackers into play, but he had only managed one goal in 13 league games this season and that a header in a comfortable 5-0 win against Hansa Rostock.
After being a regular starter at the beginning of the season, Caicedo’s lack of goals meant he started four of his side’s last six games from the bench before his transfer to Al Jazira on January 16 for a reported €6.1m.
Born in Ecuador’s biggest city, Guayaquil, by the Pacific Ocean, Jariza’s new player is only 25 and has already played 46 times for World Cup finalists Ecuador, scoring 15 goals.
Caicedo can play on each side of an attacking front three, too, but he is strongest as a centre-forward.
His last international was against Argentina in November, and he said he hopes Ecuador can impress in a World Cup group containing Switzerland, France and Honduras this summer in Brazil as much as they did in qualifying, where they finished fourth, ahead of Uruguay.
England will play Ecuador in a Miami friendly ahead of the World Cup finals.
It does not reflect well on Caicedo that he is at his seventh club at 25, but three of those clubs were loan deals.
His arrival in Abu Dhabi should help last season’s third-placed team push for the title this time around.
He will also be a big asset in the 2014 Asian Champions League for Walter Zenga’s side. Just ask Levante.
sports@thenational.ae
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Health Valley
Founded in 2002 and set up as a foundation in 2006, Health Valley has been an innovation in healthcare for more than 10 years in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
It serves as a place where companies, businesses, universities, healthcare providers and government agencies can collaborate, offering a platform where they can connect and work together on healthcare innovation.
Its partners work on technological innovation, new forms of diagnostics and other methods to make a difference in healthcare.
Its agency consists of eight people, four innovation managers and office managers, two communication advisers and one director. It gives innovation support to businesses and other parties in its network like a broker, connecting people with the right organisation to help them further
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
