By Lionel Messi's exceptional standards 2014 was a year to forget. For the first time in six years he went trophyless at club level with Barcelona, while arguably his best ever chance to win a World Cup with Argentina came and went.
His listless performances particularly in the latter stages of the World Cup, despite being controversially named player of the tournament, led many to believe he could never return to the level that dazzled as he became the first man to win four consecutive World Player of the Year awards between 2008 and 2012.
Fast-forward a year and Messi’s displays in the past six months may even have eclipsed anything that came before.
After a brief stand off with coach Luis Enrique when Messi was left out of the opening game of the year after returning later than his teammates from their winter break, Messi has dragged Barcelona from the verge of institutional crisis to within one game of a treble when they face Juventus in the Champions League final on Saturday.
“Last year I had an inconsistent season. I was out for a long time due to injuries and I missed a lot of matches. When I returned to the field I never felt right,” Messi admitted recently.
“It was a year I tried to forget quickly and recover my best form thanks to the joy, hard work and effort that I have always had and thankfully now I feel very good.”
Messi’s change in physical state has come about thanks to a radical change in diet. The 27-year-old has lost a reported 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) since starting to work with Italian dietician Giuliano Poser at the start of the season.
A noticeably more slimline Messi has not only got to the end of the season in prime physical condition despite playing all but 70 minutes of Barca’s full La Liga and Champions League campaigns, he has recovered the pace in short bursts that makes him practically impossible to stop.
In last weekend’s Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao he scored one of the most memorable of his 412 Barcelona goals by showing a combination of strength, speed and incredible skill to burst past four Athletic defenders before firing in at the near post.
Even the coach that arguably knows Messi best of all was powerless to stop him. On the eve of Pep Guardiola’s return to the Camp Nou as Bayern Munich managaer, he declared that Messi’s current form meant that “there is not a system or coach to stop talent of his magnitude”.
A day later and Guardiola learned how it felt to be on the other side of Messi’s genius as a two-goal salvo in three minutes took the tie away from Bayern.
“He is back, he is there where I had the privilege to train him,” Guardiola said after the tie.
“He is definitely back at his best.”
Juventus have defied the odds to get back to the top of the European game, but the task of not just stopping Messi but also Neymar and Luis Suarez may prove one too far.
The star South American triumvirate have combined for 120 goals this season, while the whole Juventus squad have managed 103.
Moreover, after a dry spell, Barca are in no mood to let the chance of becoming the first team to ever win the treble slip away.
“We came from a time when we won everything, every year we would win a title and maybe the fans like us didn’t give it the value it deserved,” Messi added.
“We went through a year where we didn’t win anything and now when the success arrives we give it the importance it deserves and enjoy it more because we know how hard it is to achieve.”
Messi may have dropped his weight, but his hunger for titles remains undiminished.
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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)
RESULTS
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $49,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner RB Frynchh Dude, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.05pm Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner El Patriota, Vagner Leal, Antonio Cintra
7.40pm Zabeel Turf – Listed (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,000m
Winner Ya Hayati, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Althiqa, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm UAE 1000 Guineas – Listed (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Soft Whisper, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Bedouin’s Story, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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Brief scores:
Everton 2
Walcott 21', Sigurdsson 51'
Tottenham 6
Son 27', 61', Alli 35', Kane 42', 74', Eriksen 48'
Man of the Match: Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
Apple product price list
iPad Pro
11" - $799 (64GB)
12.9" - $999 (64GB)
MacBook Air
$1,199
Mac Mini
$799
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Vikram%20Vedha
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Gayatri%2C%20Pushkar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hrithik%20Roshan%2C%20Saif%20Ali%20Khan%2C%20Radhika%20Apte%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
Jawan
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAtlee%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Nayanthara%2C%20Vijay%20Sethupathi%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Trippier bio
Date of birth September 19, 1990
Place of birth Bury, United Kingdom
Age 26
Height 1.74 metres
Nationality England
Position Right-back
Foot Right
Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
World Cup warm-up fixtures
Friday, May 24:
- Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
- Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)
Saturday, May 25
- England v Australia (Southampton)
- India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)
Sunday, May 26
- South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
- Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)
Monday, May 27
- Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
- England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)
Tuesday, May 28
- West Indies v New Zealand (Bristol)
- Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
Spec%20sheet
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Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
%3Cp%3ECory%20Sandhagen%20v%20Umar%20Nurmagomedov%0D%3Cbr%3ENick%20Diaz%20v%20Vicente%20Luque%0D%3Cbr%3EMichael%20Chiesa%20v%20Tony%20Ferguson%0D%3Cbr%3EDeiveson%20Figueiredo%20v%20Marlon%20Vera%0D%3Cbr%3EMackenzie%20Dern%20v%20Loopy%20Godinez%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETickets%20for%20the%20August%203%20Fight%20Night%2C%20held%20in%20partnership%20with%20the%20Department%20of%20Culture%20and%20Tourism%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20went%20on%20sale%20earlier%20this%20month%2C%20through%20www.etihadarena.ae%20and%20www.ticketmaster.ae.%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A