ABU DHABI // There are worse ways to begin a season than with a trophy, but Zlatko Dalic was not entirely happy with the performance of his Al Ain side, even as they won a third title under his coaching.
Al Ain secured their third Arabian Gulf Super Cup of the professional era with a 4-2 triumph over Al Nasr at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Saturday night.
Emmanuel Emenike began the post-Asamoah Gyan age with two goals but Dalic was left expecting more from his foreign contingent, especially former Liverpool star Ryan Babel.
The Netherlands international turned in a classy assist for the opening goal but that was about the sum of his contribution on his competitive debut with Al Ain.
He was subbed before the hour, Dalic unhappy that he had “stopped running”.
“I’m not fully happy how my team played tonight,” Dalic said. “I want more, I want better, especially from my foreign players.
“They need more time but I expect more, especially from Babel.
“He almost stopped running. He was tired and so I made the change.”
Match report: Al Ain's post-Gyan era begins with Arabian Gulf Super Cup triumph over Al Nasr
The weather was punishing. The temperature at kick off was 36° Celsius with a “feels like” temperature of 44°C as the humidity soared after sundown.
Al Ain’s foreign players collectively did better than Al Nasr’s, who were chasing a third trophy in 2015 under Ivan Jovanovic.
The league and President’s Cup winners may feel the final scoreline a bit harsh, but they were punished for several lapses in concentration.
“Of course I’m disappointed but I can’t complain with the effort my players made in difficult conditions at the start of the season,” Jovanovic said.
“The reason we lost the game was when we equalised in the second half, we conceded two quick goals in a short period of time after that.
That made things difficult for us.
“Everyone makes mistakes, mistakes play a great role in football.
“Every mistake we made today, we conceded a goal, and we were playing against a quality team who can take advantage of any mistakes.”
Arabian Gulf League play begins this week with Al Ahli hosting Fujairah on Thursday.
Al Ain are home to Al Dhafra in an early game on Saturday, and Nasr welcome Emirates to the Al Maktoum Stadium later that night.
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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
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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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
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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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US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
