When Barcelona's players returned for their first pre-season session under new coach Luis Enrique no one held the bragging rights of coming back from Brazil a newly crowned world champion.
Nine months on and the Catalan club's star-studded squad is on the brink of the compensation of becoming the first side to win the treble of league, Cup and Champions League twice.
All 11 of the side that will start against Juventus in Saturday's Champions League final suffered their share of World Cup disappointment.
The biggest humiliation was suffered by Barca’s six Spanish internationals, five of whom had won the World Cup four years previously in South Africa.
Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Pedro were sent packing after just two games in Brazil after heavy defeats by the Netherlands and Chile.
Yet, that pain has been Barca’s gain as significantly Pique, Busquets and Iniesta’s return to form in 2015 has played a huge role in the club’s run of 28 wins from 34 games since a shock 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad in January.
All five had also been part of the Spanish squads at Euro 2012 and the Confederations Cup a year later and the rest enforced by early elimination combined with Enrique’s persistent rotation policy early in the season has paid dividends as Barca have arrived at the end of the campaign in prime physical shape.
However, the key to Barcelona’s brilliant campaign has been the remarkable 120 goals struck by the lethal front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
All three had to deal with heartbreak or, in Suarez’s case, shame in Brazil that left them hungry for vindication in the form of trophies.
Barca weren’t perturbed by the four-month ban slapped on Suarez for biting an opponent for the third time in his career as they splashed out a club record transfer fee to secure his services from Liverpool.
The Uruguayan has rewarded that faith with 24 goals and 24 assists despite a slow start to his first season at the Camp Nou after missing the opening two months of the campaign because of his ban.
More importantly, though, Suarez’s aggression and work-rate has combined perfectly with the playmaking ability and pace of Messi and Neymar respectively.
Neymar dealt with the immense pressure of bearing the burden of Brazil’s dreams for a sixth World Cup on home soil brilliantly last summer until a terrifying collision with Colombia’s Juan Camilo Zuniga ended his tournament at the quarter-final stage with two broken vertebrae in his back.
That blow may have been a blessing for the 23-year-old as it meant he was not one of the culprits in Brazil’s historic 7-1 thrashing by Germany in the semi-final.
Neymar recovered remarkably quickly to start the season in top form as he has surpassed Barca legends like Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o, Thierry Henry and Rivaldo best ever goalscoring numbers in a single campaign with 38 goals.
Yet, even Neymar’s feats have been cast into the shadows by Messi’s return to his best form.
“The truth is I started the season in a different way after what happened last year,” the four-time World Player of the Year said recently.
“I went through a difficult year for what happened off the field, the injuries and my performance.”
The frustration for Argentines watching their compatriot rip apart rivals week in, week out in recent months was that the World Cup came a year too early.
Messi scored twice, including a scarcely believable individual run past four Athletic Bilbao players to open the scoring in last weekend’s Copa del Rey final to take his record to 20 goals in 23 finals for Barcelona.
The one final goal that got away was a typical Messi left-footed effort that slipped inches past Manuel Neuer’s far post as Argentina were pipped 1-0 by Germany in the World Cup final.
Given the same chance again, current form suggests Messi is unlikely to misfire in Berlin as he looks to become the first man to score in three Champions League finals.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Europe's top EV producers
- Norway (63% of cars registered in 2021)
- Iceland (33%)
- Netherlands (20%)
- Sweden (19%)
- Austria (14%)
- Germany (14%)
- Denmark (13%)
- Switzerland (13%)
- United Kingdom (12%)
- Luxembourg (10%)
Source: VCOe
RESULT
Manchester United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Man United: Dunk (66' og)
Man of the Match: Shane Duffy (Brighton)
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
THREE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS
Khalfan Mubarak
The Al Jazira playmaker has for some time been tipped for stardom within UAE football, with Quique Sanchez Flores, his former manager at Al Ahli, once labelling him a “genius”. He was only 17. Now 23, Mubarak has developed into a crafty supplier of chances, evidenced by his seven assists in six league matches this season. Still to display his class at international level, though.
Rayan Yaslam
The Al Ain attacking midfielder has become a regular starter for his club in the past 15 months. Yaslam, 23, is a tidy and intelligent player, technically proficient with an eye for opening up defences. Developed while alongside Abdulrahman in the Al Ain first-team and has progressed well since manager Zoran Mamic’s arrival. However, made his UAE debut only last December.
Ismail Matar
The Al Wahda forward is revered by teammates and a key contributor to the squad. At 35, his best days are behind him, but Matar is incredibly experienced and an example to his colleagues. His ability to cope with tournament football is a concern, though, despite Matar beginning the season well. Not a like-for-like replacement, although the system could be adjusted to suit.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lupita%20Nyong'o%2C%20Joseph%20Quinn%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Sarnoski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
SPECS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
