Louis Van Gaal, Manchester United's manager, anticipates feeling a chilly breeze as he approaches pitchside at Southampton's St Mary's Stadium on Monday night. It will come not off the nearby English Channel, but from the direction of the opposition bench. An old friend, turned formidable foe, will be trying to blunt Manchester United's top-four momentum.
Van Gaal has declined to talk much about his relationship with Ronald Koeman, manager of Southampton, because it is a tricky subject, a long back story of broken trust and some ill-tempered words.
Koeman wanted to sidestep the issue, too, but both men realise that a rare meeting as direct opponents is bound to stir interest in their chequered history.
Indeed, last week, an old black-and-white photograph from 1982 was circulated. It showed a hot-tempered moment from a Dutch league game between Groningen and Sparta Rotterdam, in which a Sparta midfielder was leaning over a prone Groningen defender and clearly shouting at him about a perceived slight. The blond defender wore a slightly sly smile.
The ranter was Van Gaal, the subject of his attention was the younger Koeman.
Back then, Koeman probably knew he was Van Gaal’s better in one respect: as a player. He went on to win almost 80 caps for the Netherlands, made himself one of the finest free-kick specialists of his generation. He won a European Championship with his country, and two European Cups with different clubs, PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona, for whom he scored the winning goal in the 1992 final.
Van Gaal was always more of a thinker than a gifted athlete. But as a coach, the older man developed many, many strengths, including a shrewd eye for up-and-coming managerial talent.
When Van Gaal was appointed as Barcelona coach for his first stint at Camp Nou, in the late 1990s, he promoted two young men to his staff: Jose Mourinho and Ronald Koeman. The irony that both are now in charge of teams who look down on his United in the current Premier League table has not been lost on anybody.
Koeman and Van Gaal fell out 10 years ago and the enmity endured. As Koeman relates the story, the relationship got off to bad start when, following their Barcelona tenures, they were reunited at Ajax.
Koeman’s coaching apprenticeship under Van Gaal at Barcelona, coupled with an impressive season in charge at Vitesse in Arnhem, had helped him gain the Ajax manager’s job at age 38.
But when Van Gaal, who led Ajax to a European Cup in 1995, later joined in a director’s role, he rubbed the younger man the wrong way. Van Gaal quickly announced he would be “evaluating” Koeman’s performance, to which he received the cool answer that he was reaching beyond his job description: “I don’t know if you’ve looked at my contract, but it says there I am answerable to the general manager.”
They clashed over the sale of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Juventus, and disagreed on what represented realistic ambitions for Ajax, with their limited budget. Van Gaal left, once it became apparent that he had fewer allies in the boardroom than Koeman.
After that, they communicated as little as possible for many years, though some arrows were fired through the media. Van Gaal at one point called Koeman “weak” in his later seasons at Ajax. When the two men both purchased holiday homes in the same region in Portugal, Van Gaal reportedly boasted that his abode was bigger, while Koeman bragged about his home having a superior view from his terrace.
They two men had career setbacks to face, too. Van Gaal’s problems as an executive at Ajax came after failures with Holland’s national team and in a second stint at Barcelona. Koeman, having enjoyed highs at Benfica and PSV, had a brief, unsuccessful stint at Valencia.
They came face to face on a touchline in the Dutch Eredivisie in 2006/07, when Van Gaal was rebuilding his reputation at AZ in Alkmaar and Koeman was at PSV. The two matches were both away wins.
More dramatic was the final day of the season. Van Gaal’s AZ began it on top, with Koeman’s PSV in third. A loss by AZ meant they let the title slip in 90 minutes, and PSV seized it, based on goal difference.
As fate would have it, Van Gaal eventually led AZ to the championship in 2009 and was hired by Bayern Munich immediately afterward. By then, Koeman was looking for a job, and was named Van Gaal’s successor at AZ. “King Louis” proved a tough act to follow, though. Koeman, whom Van Gaal reckoned was “not first choice” for AZ’s decision-makers, lasted less than a season.
“We shook hands just the other day,” Koeman said, insisting the two men maintain a normal, professional relationship. It had improved over the last three years, he added, when, with Koeman coaching Feyenoord and Van Gaal employed again as Holland head coach, they needed to consult.
Indeed, Van Gaal had several reasons to thank Koeman. Under his watch, young Feyenoord players such as Stefan De Vrij, Bruno Martins Indi and Jordi Clasie matured quickly and well enough to help Holland and Van Gaal to a bronze medal at the 2014 World Cup.
“It’s fine between us,” Koeman said.
It is certainly a very fine line between them in the points table – a gap of exactly one.
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The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
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.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
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Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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
The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Dunbar
Edward St Aubyn
Hogarth