CSKA Moscow travel to Sevilla in the Champions League last 16 tonight, underdogs after a 1-1 first leg home draw in the Russian capital. It would have been worse if Mark Gonzalez had not equalised with a wonder goal after Alvaro Negredo's away strike had put the Spanish side in front.
Gonzalez has had an interesting career. A Chile international, he will represent them in the World Cup finals in the country of his birth. Born in Durban, South Africa, his father, Raul, was a professional footballer. When he was 10-years-old, Gonzalez's family returned to Chile and, as a promising teenager, he was signed up by Everton, mainstays of the Chilean first division rather than the English Premier League outfit.
There he was spotted by Universidad Catolica, the biggest team in Chile, and from then on his progress was swift, becoming a Catolica regular and making his international debut against Costa Rica in the summer of 2003.
A year later Gonzalez joined Albacete, a town famous for making knives and having a team who habitually divide their time between Spain's top two divisions. The jet-heeled winger - unsurprising nicknamed 'Speedy' - enjoyed a good first year in Spain. His acceleration troubled even the most accomplished defences and he scored five goals in 2004/05, including a brilliant equaliser against Barcelona - only for Xavi to give the Catalans a late victory.
Yet despite his excellent crosses, free-kicks and ability to play on either wing or up front, Gonzalez could not stop Albacete from finishing bottom of the Primera Liga.
Gonzalez's form brought him to the attention of Paco Herrera, Liverpool's first team coach, who recommended him to Rafa Benitez. Gonzalez agreed to go on loan to Liverpool for the 2005/06 season with a view to a permanent move, but in August 2005 he was denied a British work permit because Chile's Fifa ranking was too low.
A cruciate knee ligament injury further depressed Gonzalez, but Liverpool kept faith in the player and signed him for a reported £1.5 million (Dh8.25m) in October 2005, with Gonzalez loaned back to Albacete to continue his recuperation. He was then loaned to Real Sociedad until the summer of 2006.
Gonzalez excelled with the Basque side and few were surprised that San Sebastian's finest wanted to sign him permanently, yet appreciating Liverpool's patience, the thought of going anywhere but Anfield barely crossed his mind.
Still only 21, he joined Liverpool in 2006 yet what should have been his most exciting venture proved to be a disappointment as he made just 25 first-team appearances during a season once again disrupted by injury. He joined Real Betis a year later. Sevilla fans are unlikely to welcome him back to the city he left in 2009 following Betis' relegation to join CSKA Moscow for a not inconsiderable ?6.5m (Dh32.5m) fee.
He was thus doubly pleased with his goal in Moscow.
"When I was with Betis, Sevilla were our biggest opponents," he said. "Thank God I played well and scored. It was my first official Champions League goal and an important one at that."
Gonzalez, now 25, admits that he would have approached his time at Liverpool differently had he been more experienced, but, like the rest of his career, it was part of a learning curve. Tonight he is eagerly awaiting another chance to show how far he has progressed.
sports@thenational.ae
Sevilla v CSKA Moscow, 11.45pm, Aljazeera Sport + 5
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
NBA Finals results
Game 1: Warriors 124, Cavaliers 114
Game 2: Warriors 122, Cavaliers 103
Game 3: Cavaliers 102, Warriors 110
Game 4: In Cleveland, Sunday (Monday morning UAE)
Squad: Majed Naser, Abdulaziz Sanqour, Walid Abbas, Khamis Esmail, Habib Fardan, Mohammed Marzouq (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalid Essa, Muhanad Salem, Mohammed Ahmed, Ismail Ahmed, Ahmed Barman, Amer Abdulrahman, Omar Abdulrahman (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif, Fares Juma, Mohammed Fawzi, Khalfan Mubarak, Mohammed Jamal, Ahmed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Ahmed Rashid, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Wahda), Tariq Ahmed, Mahmoud Khamis, Khalifa Mubarak, Jassim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Yousef Saeed (Sharjah), Suhail Al Nubi (Baniyas)
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Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.
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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.”
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5