Roma have been enjoying the fact that during the past six days that they can look down on Juventus in the Serie A table.
True, it is only one match into the campaign, but for the serial runners-up to see the champions without a point or a goal, it feels encouraging.
Roma may not have revved up fully yet, but Juve have barely taken off the handbrake.
Truth is, Romans have learned to savour rare moments of advantage against the Juve juggernaut during the last 12 months. Across the 38 match days of 2014/15, they held a higher position than Juventus in the table only twice, and never after September.
Go back to 2012/13, and the challenge was more sustained. Roma’s remarkable start to that campaign had them top of the league throughout the autumn, and for 12 weeks they peered down on Juventus before the champions reeled them in.
This time, the two leading contenders for the championship meet early. Sunday’s contest in the Italian capital should focus minds and provide an insight into how far Roma might close what has been a yawning gap between first and second, the past two seasons.
Roma finished 17 points behind Juventus as the Turin club marched to their third successive title in 2013; for their fourth, last May, Juve maintained the same margin over Roma.
Neither team sparkled on the opening weekend of the season, although Roma coach Rudi Garcia said he was reasonably happy with the 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona, a result and performance put into flattering relief by Juve’s 1-0 loss to Udinese.
The broadly-shared idea that Juventus might have teething problems this month and next was always based on the substantial changes to the spine of the team that the summer departures of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez entailed.
To see Juve struggling to find their bearings against Udinese was to realise there really is work to do for coach Max Allegri.
Charged with filling the hole left by the energetic Tevez is Mario Mandzukic, a different type of striker but one who brings with him some of Tevez’s worldliness and football intelligence.
Mandzukic has a Uefa Champions League title to his name – won with Bayern Munich – and a reputation to repair after a mixed season at Atletico Madrid, where he turned out not to be the best man to replace Diego Costa, although he had his moments before rubbing up badly against Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone.
Roma have brought in a striker with some of Mandzukic’s assets, too. Edin Dzeko is tall, good in the air and keen to prove that last season, by far the least successful as a scorer of the four-and-a-half he spent with Manchester City, was not a sign of long-term decline.
Dzeko and Mandzukic are both 29, and they are old friends, too. Mandzukic once described the Bosnian Dzeko to me as “the best striker in Europe”.
At the time they were colleagues at Wolfsburg, the surprise German champions, thanks in large part to Dzeko’s 26 league goals, only two behind teammate Grafite for the most in the Bundesliga.
Wolfsburg had firepower in abundance. The strong striking partnership Dzeko enjoyed with the Brazilian Grafite, later of Al Ahli, meant Mandzukic being asked to play in wide positions, often on the left.
Back then, Mandzukic did not begrudge his fellow Balkan taking centre stage.
“When I came to Wolfsburg, because we spoke the same language, he looked after me and we spent a lot of time together off the pitch,” Mandzukic said of Dzeko. “He’s a good guy.”
Tomorrow afternoon, they share a pitch no longer as newcomer and chaperone. The Croatian will want to better his Bosnian friend and record his first Serie A win, and his first Serie A goal, before Dzeko does.
sports@thenational.ae
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
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The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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MATCH INFO
Argentina 47 (Tries: Sanchez, Tuculet (2), Mallia (2), De La Fuente, Bertranou; Cons: Sanchez 5, Urdapilleta)
United States 17 (Tries: Scully (2), Lasike; Cons: MacGinty)
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)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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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
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Red Sparrow
Dir: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Egerton, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons
Three stars
Without Remorse
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
Starring: Michael B Jordan
4/5
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more from Janine di Giovanni
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
