Former Spain international Raul could be just 90 minutes from lifting one last trophy on Sunday, capping a remarkable playing career in professional football with a win in the North American Soccer League’s championship game.
Raul launched the New York Cosmos into the final — and postponed his retirement — with a goal in the previous game, a strike that ensured the final against the Ottawa Fury FC will be played in the Cosmos home stadium in Hempstead, New York.
The championship game also marks the retirement of Cosmos teammate and former Spain international Marcos Senna.
“As coach, you want these players in the final. They’ve been there before, they know what to do,” Cosmos coach Giovanni Savarese said. “They are great people, great human beings. It’s going to be very hard for us to replace them.”
Raul, 38, joined Cosmos in October 2014 after a career helping Real Madrid win six Primera Liga titles and three Uefa Champions League titles. He also played for German club FC Schalke 04 and in Qatar for Al Sadd.
Raul, a product of Real Madrid’s youth academy, made his debut for Real Madrid’s senior team at the age of 17, eventually making 741 appearances and serving as captain from 2003 to 2010.
His professionalism over the last year was an example for younger players, said Cosmos defender Carlos Mendes. “You just try to watch them every day and learn what you can,” he said.
The NASL is the second tier of professional football in the United States, after Major League Soccer (MLS). It has drawn interest from recognised stars such as former Italian national team captain Paolo Maldini, who co-owns a Miami team set to play in the league in 2016, and Brazil’s Ronaldo, who owns a stake in the NASL’s Fort Lauderdale team.
Ottawa reached the final in the Canadian team’s second year in the league, ending the combined spring and fall seasons even on points with the Cosmos.
“There’s nothing wrong with Raul retiring and us winning the league,” Fury coach Marc Dos Santos said. “We want to make sure it is a big day for the Ottawa Fury.”
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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Napoleon
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last 16, first leg
Liverpool v Bayern Munich, midnight, Wednesday, BeIN Sports
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Education reform in Abu Dhabi
The emirate’s public education system has been in a constant state of change since the New School Model was launched in 2010 by the Abu Dhabi Education Council. The NSM, which is also known as the Abu Dhabi School Model, transformed the public school curriculum by introducing bilingual education starting with students from grades one to five. Under this new curriculum, the children spend half the day learning in Arabic and half in English – being taught maths, science and English language by mostly Western educated, native English speakers. The NSM curriculum also moved away from rote learning and required teachers to develop a “child-centered learning environment” that promoted critical thinking and independent learning. The NSM expanded by one grade each year and by the 2017-2018 academic year, it will have reached the high school level. Major reforms to the high school curriculum were announced in 2015. The two-stream curriculum, which allowed pupils to elect to follow a science or humanities course of study, was eliminated. In its place was a singular curriculum in which stem -- science, technology, engineering and maths – accounted for at least 50 per cent of all subjects. In 2016, Adec announced additional changes, including the introduction of two levels of maths and physics – advanced or general – to pupils in Grade 10, and a new core subject, career guidance, for grades 10 to 12; and a digital technology and innovation course for Grade 9. Next year, the focus will be on launching a new moral education subject to teach pupils from grades 1 to 9 character and morality, civic studies, cultural studies and the individual and the community.
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
SPECS
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