AL AIN // Ivan Jovanovic struggled to watch, pitched yards away from where the Al Nasr bench lined the touchline, arms wrapped around one another and with nerves frayed.
The Serbian coach had witnessed his side prevail on penalties during the President’s Cup semi-final only days previously, but here they were, at the UAE’s gleaming Hazza bin Zayed Stadium contesting the country’s most coveted prize.
Oussama Assaidi, Luis Jimenez and Abdelaziz Sanquor all missed from the spot for Al Ahli, soon to depart Al Ain beaten and broken.
Nasr, though, stood strong: first Pablo Hernandez, then Renan Garcia, then Ibrahima Toure. With three swipes of the boot, a 26-year wait was consigned to history; Nasr had a fourth President’s Cup.
Read more:
– Photo gallery: Al Nasr edge Al Ahli in penalty shootout to secure President’s Cup title
– Ali Khaled: Al Nasr’s Brett Holman and Al Ahli’s Luis Jimenez sign off on years in contrasting fashion
Finally, blue is the colour. Jovanovic, last seen mobbed by members of his back-room staff as the rest rushed onto the pitch, emerged post-celebrations with pride etched across his face.
“I believe as a team that we absolutely deserved to win this cup,” he said. “Because if you see the teams we had to qualify against, after we played against opponents like Sharjah, Al Ain, Al Shabab and today, Al Ahli, the value of this cup is great. I must congratulate the efforts of my players, they did a very big job.”
For the majority of normal time, it appeared not to be enough. Contesting their third successive President’s Cup final, Ahli seemed set to seal the trophy for a record ninth time when Ahmed Khalil headed them in front on 36 minutes. From there, they dominated possession, always carried the greater threat.
Nasr had struggled to penetrate Ahli until right at the death, but were gifted a lifeline once Kwon Kyung-won sliced Ahmed Ibrahim’s cross into his own goal. There was one minute of normal time remaining; it was Nasr’s first attempt on target.
Extra time negotiated in devilishly draining conditions, Nasr proved spotless from the spot. Not that it looked it at the time, but Jovanovic thought the outcome was never in doubt.
“I know in a penalty shoot-out you cannot predict what will happen,” he said. “But as team we showed throughout the game that we had confidence. And I was calm because I knew that before and during the game we had done what we could as a team.
“If you want something you have to suffer the consequences. The final is only one game and it doesn’t mean that the team with more quality will win. But the team who wanted it more won this cup.”
So last year’s GCC Clubs Cup champions, and this season’s Arabian Gulf Cup winners, now have a third crown to cradle. In two seasons with Nasr, Jovanovic has turned a club without a trophy in 25 years into silverware specialists. The next step? Well, there is only one way to go from here.
“When a coach wins trophies like the Gulf Cup, the League Cup and then President’s Cup with his team, the next one is the league,” said Jovanovic, whose counterpart Cosmin Olaroiu did not speak after the game.
“All these trophies can only make Al Nasr stronger to try and win more titles, to compete for the league.
“As a coach, and as a team, we need to make the next step and that’s build a side that can try to win the league. All together, we’re going to do our best to make the team stronger for next season.”
Thanks to the victory, next season includes a return to the Asian Champions League, too. Another fresh target, it was lost in the hullabaloo that followed.
“Ah, I forgot the President’s Cup gave us the Champions League,” Jovanovic said when reminded. “I’m more happy now.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
The%20specs
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How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Dubai Rugby Sevens, December 5 -7
World Sevens Series Pools
A – Fiji, France, Argentina, Japan
B – United States, Australia, Scotland, Ireland
C – New Zealand, Samoa, Canada, Wales
D – South Africa, England, Spain, Kenya
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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