Marco Verratti looks younger than his 22 years – you might even describe him as slightly baby-faced – though the piercing blue eyes do make his gaze rather steely, even severe.
Mostly he plays with the poise of a 30-something veteran, but sometimes he has bouts of impetuousness.
The Italian's maturity as a footballer is much discussed in and around Paris Saint-Germain, in whose midfield he carries a very adult responsibility Wednesday night at Stamford Bridge.
Verratti told RMC radio ahead of the second leg of the Uefa Champions League last-16 tie against Chelsea, which is poised intriguingly at 1-1 after the Paris meeting, that he expects a game of "special emotions, high pressure".
It will require a distinct approach from his side from the one they took to the same venue in the quarter-finals of the competition last year, when they let a 3-1 first leg turn into defeat on away goals.
“We have to be bolder this time,” Verratti said.
On the same RMC, a station French football fans tune into if they want robust opinions and feverish punditry, the former PSG coach Luis Fernandez was recently telling listeners how he found Verratti frustrating.
“He does the things a midfielder has to – winning the ball, keeping possession – but after that he slows things down,” said Fernandez, who was a forthright midfielder in the talented French national team of the 1980s.
Fernandez would like the Italian to use his fine distribution skills more quickly.
Laurent Blanc, the PSG coach, also has spoken out over the irritations Verratti causes him: not so much the quickness of his instincts with the ball at his feet, but the quickness of his temper.
Fact is, Verratti seldom goes through any match unnoticed by the referee.
It is not so much the tackles: the timing, technique and courage of his challenges is sound, when he stays focused and calm.
It is the backchat to match officials and his level of aggression that Verratti struggles to keep under a sensible ceiling.
“He gets too many yellow cards, and if that continues, it’s going to give him problems,” Blanc warned Verratti in January. “People say ‘he’s still young’, but it’s been an issue for two-and-a-half years.”
Blanc has since been gratified to note that since he upbraided Verratti publicly on that theme, the Italian’s card-count has diminished considerably with just the one booking – against Chelsea in Paris – in his past seven matches.
At the beginning of the season, he was collecting cautions at a rate of more than one every two games.
The statistics that measure the frequency of his decisive passes are far more flattering.
Verratti, who generally slots in on the right of PSG’s midfield trio, leads the club’s rankings for the number of assists for goals this season, evidence of the clever eye for a telling pass that made him stand out even as a very young player with Pescara, the provincial Italian club close to where he grew up.
When PSG plucked him from there in 2012 he was 19.
They still paid well over €10 million (Dh39.5m), a high price for his age, given that he had only appeared in Serie B, Italy’s second tier, at that stage and that his goalscoring record was modest – as it remains.
He had already been labelled the “New Andrea Pirlo” because of his precise passing, particularly over long range from deep positions and because he also has a broad repertoire of tricks on the ball.
He likes to dribble and take opponents on, as well as deliver inch-perfect lobs into the path of colleagues such as Edinson Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Javier Pastore.
His rise while at PSG has been prolific.
Two Ligue 1 titles and promotion to an Italy national team for whom he was a starter in their opening World Cup match last summer.
Not far into that match, he was combining with Pirlo to set up a beautifully engineered goal against England, scored by Claudio Marchisio.
In Brazil, he earned the blessing of his hero Pirlo.
“He can become one of the best midfielders in the world,” Pirlo said.
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Results
ATP Dubai Championships on Monday (x indicates seed):
First round
Roger Federer (SUI x2) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) bt Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1, 7-6 (7/5)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x4) 6-4, 6-1
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Milos Raonic (CAN x7) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
RESULT
Bayern Munich 5 Eintrracht Frankfurt 2
Bayern: Goretzka (17'), Müller (41'), Lewandowski (46'), Davies (61'), Hinteregger (74' og)
Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')
