Vilified and vulnerable, it has been a difficult first season for Dimitar Berbatov at Manchester United.
In a campaign in which their achievements have been unrivalled, it would seem churlish to highlight the negatives. But the disappointment has been vocal about the Bulgarian striker's contribution.
Bought on deadline day last August for £30.75million (Dh176m) from Tottenham Hotspur, he has admittedly failed to live up to expectations and has become increasingly unpopular, particularly due to the affection the club's supporters have for his frontline rival Carlos Tevez.
The charismatic Argentine is expected to leave when his two-year loan ends this month; tomorrow's Champions League final could be his farewell.
Many of the fans feel that Tevez should continue his United love affair, with Berbatov shown the exit door.
Their contrasting styles do not favour the latter, whose goal tally of 14 is one less than his counterpart. Tevez is rampaging and spectacular, while Berbatov's cool demeanour and seemingly casual approach - highlighted by a weak missed penalty in the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Everton - creates an apparently uncaring attitude.
It is something he rejects. Sir Alex Ferguson's belief is that Berbatov's ability allows him to make things look easy, in the manner of Eric Cantona, the Frenchman whose finesse helped him become an Old Trafford legend.
"You know when someone has great qualities, sometimes they don't have to put much effort into things," says Berbatov. "Sometimes the things I do look effortless, but it's not like that. It's very difficult, but because of my style of play maybe I make it look easy.
"I didn't score as many goals as I wanted and people are maybe a little disappointed with that, but I always put the team first.
"For me, it's better for the team to be champions with me scoring the least goals than me scoring 100 and we finish sixth. I don't see the point of that.
"The only person who can tell me if I need to change is the boss. If I have to say something personal about my season, then of course I can do a lot better, but in the end it's only important what the boss is going to say to me, if he is happy or not. If he says he is not then I need to work to improve so I can be better next season."
Berbatov adds: "I know one million people are going to like me and one million are not. There is always pressure. I am realistic and I am my biggest critic.
"I know that when they pay a lot of money for a player the expectation will be higher, even sometimes it's ridiculous.
"I am used to that and I know everyone is expecting even more from me. I know what I did wrong [with the penalty against Everton], but I try to get over things like that.
"It's very difficult when you make a mistake and everyone is trying to attack you. It hurt a lot, but you try to be strong.
"I don't like to show my emotions, but the toughest part is when people, even before they know you, say, 'he's not good'.
"It's always painful to listen to that. Maybe it motivates you to show them that they are not right. I have tried to do that all my life. Everyone can think whatever they want, but I will keep on fighting and I hope when I finish in football I'll be happy with what I've achieved."
A Premier League winners' medal has cheered Berbatov, providing the success he craved when he left White Hart Lane and fulfilling some of the dreams he held as a child honing his skills with a basketball in the former mining town of Blagoevgrad.
But he does not feel fully settled in to Ferguson's team just yet. That will only come if they beat Barcelona tomorrow.
"I am part of this team, but I don't feel fully part of it because I didn't win the Champions League," he said. "That's a little bit painful. I was jealous when the guys won last year because they were lifting every cup in football. I thought, 'I just want to be part of this team and feel what it is to lift the cup'.
"If we can do that again this year, with me in the team, it will mean so much. Then I will feel fully part of the team."
Berbatov experienced the pain of losing a final to Spanish opposition in 2002 with a Zinedine Zidane volley giving Real Madrid a 2-1 win over his former club Bayer Leverkusen. He came off the bench that night and was denied a late leveller by a save from Iker Casillas. "This memory is haunting me," added Berbatov. "If I can make it right this time it will be good."
He always hoped for such a second chance and being a hero in Rome may afford him the same with the United faithful.
akhan@thenational.ae
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The five pillars of Islam
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
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Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
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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.
Company%20Profile
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Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
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Results
STAGE
1 . Filippo Ganna (Ineos) - 0:13:56
2. Stefan Bissegger (Education-Nippo) - 0:00:14
3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:21
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:24
5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) - 0:00:30
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 4:00:05
2. Joao Almeida (QuickStep) - 0:00:05
3. Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep) - 0:00:18
4. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) - 0:00:33
5. Adam Yates (Ineos) - 0:00:39
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million