Infuriating domestically for Al Nasr, on the continent Nilmar often seemed inspired. The Brazilian forward, once a regular starter in the Primera Liga with Villarreal, ran counter to the argument that the Asian Champions League represented a considerable step up from the Arabian Gulf League.
Profligate in the UAE’s top tier last season, he proved much more productive in the continent’s leading club competition. In six appearances in the group stages for Nasr, Nilmar scored three times, a goal-every-two-games ratio that helped his team progress to the knockout stages for the first time. It also provided a timely reminder of why the club brought him back to the Gulf region from Brazil last summer.
More on Al Nasr:
• John McAuley: Jires Kembo Ekoko and Al Nasr travel to El Jaish 'confident' of result
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In the Arabian Gulf League, though, the former Internacional striker never really shone, but then he was simply the wrong fit at the wrong time. Wanting to build upon successive cup final victories and in need of a replacement for the maverick Ibrahima Toure to propel a league title bid, Nasr plumped for a diminutive attacker when they required an infinitely more robust spearhead.
However skilled, Nilmar was blatantly not that man. The consensus was, place him anywhere across the three attacking midfield positions, and his impact would increase.
As it was, he scored 13 goals in 30 domestic appearances. Eleven in the league last season consigned Nilmar to 11th in the division’s scoring charts. With Al Ahli and Al Ain sparring for the championship, Nasr did not possess the requisite firepower to challenge and eventually settled for a fourth-placed finish.
So once more needing a lead striker, and with an inaugural run at the Champions League quarter-finals to come, the club resolved this summer to fill the void. A protracted pursuit of another Brazilian concluded with the feeling Nasr are now better equipped to have a tilt at an unlikely continental crown.
Wanderley, who shone at Sharjah across the two previous seasons, arrived in July. Six weeks later, he is set to make his Champions League bow. Unlike Nilmar, the powerful striker has no truly elite-level experience, but he did enough for Sharjah to suggest he merits the opportunity to prove his capabilities.
In 51 Arabian Gulf League appearances in total for Sharjah, a side struggling against relegation, Wanderley struck 31 times. His 15 league goals last season were bettered by only three others: Sebastian Tagliabue at Al Wahda, Ali Mabkhout at Al Jazira and Fabio De Lima at Al Wasl. All three represent top-six clubs.
Wanderley is the striker Nasr should have recruited last summer, when Toure played truant and thus paved the way for his exit. The replacement to his replacement should now excel, should improve his new team.
Granted, Wanderley is untested in the Champions League and it remains to be seen if six weeks with the club is enough to fire them past El Jaish across two legs. Yet, initially at least, he appears a considerable upgrade on Nilmar.
Wanderley’s first examination comes in the first leg in Doha on Wednesday. It is exactly the sort of fixture for which Nasr have signed him.
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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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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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
