ABU DHABI // Paul Posa, the Auckland City coach, admits his side are underdogs ahead of tonight's Club World Cup opening match with Dubai-based Al Ahli, but insists the New Zealanders are ready to pull off a surprise win.
The two teams take to the pitch at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium this evening, with the winner setting up a quarter-final tie with Mexican side Atlante FC on Saturday. Posa, whose side arrived in the UAE last week, says he has studied his opponents in depth as he bids to gain the upper hand.
"All Ahli's games are broadcast on TV here [and] there are a lot of expat New Zealanders in the UAE who have sent us videos of all the matches," said the Auckland coach.
"My assistant, Ramon Tribulietx, has done a lot of analysis - he knows all about every single player and each of their strengths and weaknesses. So we have done everything we could to gather the information that can help us win this match."
Auckland qualified for this year's event after winning the Oceania Champions League, yet Posa believes his side will need to raise their game if they are to compete with the Pro League champions.
"Of course, it is a step up," said Posa. "But we, as a team, aspire to play at a higher level. That is the incentive of the Club World Cup: to raise the bar in terms of the quality of our league. We know we are the underdogs, there is no question about that, but if we didn't think we could get a result we would not have come here."
Ivan Vicelich, the Auckland captain, is equally as bullish about his side's chances this evening.
"We came here saying we weren't here just to make up the numbers, but we are also realistic and know we come here as the underdogs," said Vicelich, who has 65 caps for the New Zealand national team.
"Saying that, there is no reason why we can't cause an upset. We are here to get a result and if that means beating Al Ahli in our first game then that's what we'll be looking to do."
The Ahli coach Mahdi Ali, however, has no intention of crashing out of his home tournament at the first hurdle and believes a recent upturn in league form has provided his side with a much-needed confidence boost ahead of the game.
Ahli were rooted to the foot of the table when Ali replaced Ioan Andone last month, but since then they have gone four games unbeaten - including a 3-0 rout of Ajman last Friday, climbing to seventh in the Pro League.
"The Club World Cup is the biggest club competition in the world," said Ali. "So far we've been concentrating purely on the league given the position we were in, but, fortunately, that has improved recently and now we have been able to turn our attention to this competition.
"We've been watching Auckland and they are a very good team. We see them as a complete team, organised with strong, physical and experienced players.
"They are well disciplined and there isn't one danger man as all of the players are of a very high standard; both in attack and defence. We know the match won't be easy for us, but we're ready and we hope to do the country proud."
@Email:gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
Al Ahli v Auckland City, KO 8pm, Aljazeera 2
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Company%20Profile
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MATCH INFO
Hoffenheim v Liverpool
Uefa Champions League play-off, first leg
Location: Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim
Kick-off: Tuesday, 10.45pm (UAE)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
