Zinedine Zidane had waited 518 days between Uefa Champions League nights at the Bernabeu. As he stood for the anthem, and dusk began to bring out the full, magical glow of floodlights on European football’s most fabled arena, he could briefly imagine not much had changed since the last outing.
There, in his starting XI, were most of the trusted warriors who allied with Zidane through his Midas-touch procession to successive triumphs in the competition, in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
He had his favoured midfield three: Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Luka Modric, with Sergio Ramos and Rafael Varane immediately behind, Karim Benzema up front. On May 1, 2018, when Zidane had last overseen a European Cup match in Madrid, Benzema scored twice in a tense semi-final against Bayern Munich to put Madrid through.
That game finished 2-2, featured an excruciating goalkeeping error, and a crushing start for the hosts, a goal conceded within the first 10 minutes.
On Tuesday night, the 2-2 against Club Brugge, there would be many deja vus. But then Zidane is in the business of deja vus. He left the job immediately after he had won his third European Cup, and returned to it last March because in his absence, Madrid collapsed. The president blindly imagined bringing Zidane back would rearrange the furniture to exactly how it used to be and, in a miraculous deja vu, put more European Cups in the trophy cabinet.
Brugge are not Bayern Munich. Yet the way they ambushed Madrid they might as well have been. Dennis Bonaventure, the Nigerian striker, scored the first of two well-worked but inelegantly finished goals with the last strains of the pre-match anthem barely quieted: nine minutes on the clock.
In another deja vu from the 2018 semi-final, there was a goalkeeper error, only this time it was not Bayern’s Sven Ulrich losing his bearings but Thibaut Courtois scrabbling around, late to to block the shot, and as the ball trickled past him, wearing the look of a man who knew the sound he would hear next.
Courtois was whistled loudest by a section of Madrid supporters after Bonaventure’s second goal, the keeper coming off second best in a one-on-one duel in which the striker made a point of trying to deceive Courtois with his eyes while forgetting to keep up his stride pattern. He still scored, with a scuffed effort. Zidane called both Brugge goals “laughable.”
Nobody associated with Madrid was chuckling, least of all Courtois, hurried away at half-time for treatment on a stomach complaint. His replacement, the summer signing Alphonse Areola, quickly made an impeccable one-on-one save and from that point, belief grew around the Bernabeu in a ‘remontada’, one of the stirring comebacks madridistas like to think are part of the club’s soul, especially on European nights.
Sure enough, captain Ramos, with a header, and Casemiro, with another, achieved it, to the relief of Courtois, still in physical pain and wondering where next for him on the Real rollercoaster.
The keeper’s bad luck is to have joined Madrid when they were serial European champions and then to be the last line defence through the subsequent decline. Courtois came to Real to live great European nights at the Bernabeu.
Here’s his last three: a 3-0 defeat to CSKA Moscow; a 4-1 crushing by Ajax in the game that dethroned the champions and hastened the return of Zidane; 45 minutes given the runaround by unfancied Brugge.
“We could point fingers at Thibaut, but we are all responsible, me first of all,” said Zidane, in a less-than-rousing defence of his keeper. Among the manager’s next responsibilities will be to decide whether Areola gets a long spell with the gloves.
Courtois, the coach reported, will recover from his gastric problem. His best form is another matter. The tall Belgian never willingly gives off signs of lowering confidence, but his time at Real has contrived all manner of ways to puncture his self-belief. He arrived to scepticism because he had a past with Atletico Madrid.
It grew once he displaced the popular Keylor Navas. He is now the keeper with the worst home sequence of results in Madrid’s long and distinguished European Cup history.
Having lost 3-0 at Paris Saint-Germain on Matchday 1, Madrid must go next to Galatasaray, hostile territory, with qualification for the knockout phase in genuine jeopardy.
“It’s about concentration, and getting good starts,” insists Zidane. He knows his former champions are being diagnosed with more fundamental flaws than that. “People need to stop saying there’s a lack of desire or ambition. It’s not that we don’t want it enough.”
The six points:
1. Ministers should be in the field, instead of always at conferences
2. Foreign diplomacy must be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation
3. Emiratisation is a top priority that will have a renewed push behind it
4. The UAE's economy must continue to thrive and grow
5. Complaints from the public must be addressed, not avoided
6. Have hope for the future, what is yet to come is bigger and better than before
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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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
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
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
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
TICKETS
Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.
