During the long build up to the Tokyo Olympics, before the pandemic rescheduled the event, one of the most decorated footballers of the 21st century declared his interest in taking part.
He was already a veteran, would take up one of his country’s three allowed ‘over-age’ places and clock in at 12 years above the under-24 limit imposed on most participants in the men’s tournament. But he very much liked the idea of adding an Olympic medal to his clean sweep of other club and international titles.
In the end, 36-year-old Sergio Ramos was not considered for the Spain squad who on Saturday take on Brazil for the gold medal in Yokohama. But one great, ageless legend of the modern game will be involved in the final, hoping to join the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar among the celebrated modern players who count an Olympic title among their prized possessions.
He is Brazil’s Olympic captain Dani Alves, who made his professional debut 20 years ago. Since then, he has won league titles in Brazil, Spain, Italy and France. He has three Champions Leagues and two Uefa Cups to his name. He was named player of the tournament when he collected the second Copa America trophy of his career in 2019.
Alves is 38.
He is, strictly speaking, a defender, but has never been the sort of defender who limits his running in such a way as to carefully preserve his energies. Rather, Alves has spent a large part of his two decades at the top redefining the role of the modern right-back and fixing jet engines to it. At his peak, he covered so much ground, so fast and so effectively he could give the impression that the admired Barcelona teams he played for were competing with 12 men on the pitch.
When Messi, a Barcelona colleague for eight years, lists his greatest ever allies, Alves’s name features prominently: Forty-three of Messi’s club goals were served by Alves passes. He had been one of Pep Guardiola’s first signings as Barca head coach, bought from Sevilla for what, in 2008, looked like a hefty fee, some €30 million ($35.5m), for a defender. Guardiola knew that he was investing in no ordinary, conventional defender but somebody exceptionally dynamic, tireless and versatile.
An extrovert, too, who livens up a dressing-room, be it at Camp Nou, at Juventus, where he went on to win a Serie A title, or Paris Saint-Germain where he won Ligue 1 twice before returning to Brazil and Sao Paulo, from where he relaunched his 118-cap international career.
A gold medal on Saturday would resonate for many reasons. “Everybody knows my affection for Spain,” said Alves, of what he called his ideal final. “Because of my past I feel half Spanish, half Brazilian.”
That past means not only eight years at Barcelona, and six more with Sevilla, who signed him as a teenager, but reaches back to his landmark first trophy in the colours of Brazil. He lifted it at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi after buzzing here, there and everywhere through the final of the 2003 under-20 World Cup against the Spain of a young Andres Iniesta.
Those who were there will remember the effervescent, mop-haired Alves hitting the crossbar in the opening six minutes with an athletic overhead volley, and Alves curling in the corner from which Fernandinho headed in the only goal of the game with three minutes left.
In Yokohama, in the stadium where Brazil won the World Cup in 2002, the veteran version of Alves will be seeking out the likes of Everton’s Richarlison, who has five goals at the Games so far, with his precise passes. He will be imposing his experience on a Spain team that has, even with no Sergio Ramos, plenty of senior knowhow of its own.
Six of the Spaniards who reached the semi-final of the European championship last month are looking to make amends with an Olympic gold. The match-winner in the Games semi-final against Japan, Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio - who has two Champions League titles - should be restored to the starting XI, and at some point Alves will find himself directly up against Barcelona’s Pedri, in a true contest of different epochs.
Pedri is 18. He was not even born when Sevilla arranged the signing of an irrepressible full-back from Bahia, scarcely imagining that the player had two more decades of elite football in him or that, in his 39th year, Dani Alves would be on an Olympic podium.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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RESULTS
5pm: Maiden | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Makerah, Adrie de Vries, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Hazeme, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Handicap | Dh85,000 | 2,200m
Winner: AF Yatroq, Brett Doyle, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Shadwell Farm for Private Owners Handicap | Dh70,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Nawwaf KB, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh100,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Treasured Times, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
