When the Borussia Dortmund’s famous Yellow Wall sways and sings, three sides of their 80,000-capacity Westfalenstadion watch in admiration.
Dortmund’s home, with its steep stands, can lay claim to being the finest football stadium around. The wall, otherwise known as the South Tribune, is the largest terrace in world football, with space for more than 25,000 fans to stand.
Ticket prices are cheap in the working-class city, the atmosphere consistently loud and colourful. It is one reason German football is so admired.
Inspired by Dortmund, Real Madrid want to introduce their own White Wall at the Bernabeu, though fan culture is so different in Spain it will be a challenge to duplicate the German experience.
Also, Madrid fans are not allowed to stand, not even behind rail seats, which can be converted to seating for European competition.
Football fans often want numerous changes made, from new players to lower ticket prices. Not in Dortmund.
“There’s not a single thing I’d change about this club,” says the season-ticket holder Jens Hoellering, a 54-year-old dentist from nearby Arnsberg. “Jurgen Klopp isn’t quite a god, but he’s close to one here. He has worked a miracle, but he’s not the only one.
“The chief executive is very good. Borussia was close to administration five years ago, but now it’s very well-organised and successful.”
Klopp, the coach, and Dortmund have many admirers. Agreeing that Klopp is “a genius”, Manchester United’s chief executive Ed Woodward said: “Their wage bill is lower than half the clubs in the Premier League, but he’s really got a lot out of them.”
Woodward, like many, is an admirer of the German football model and Bayern Munich, in particular. “They do a lot of things extremely well,” he said.
“They built a stadium with the right financing structure. They’ve paid a lot of their debt down. They bought out Munich 1860’s stadium shares and increased their revenues that way.
They have a lot of sponsorship deals and they’ve kept their ticket prices at a reasonable level.
“All of that has fed into an incredibly successful team on the pitch. It has taken years to build, but three Champions League finals in four years …”
Bayern have an affordable ticket-pricing plan – €120 (Dh607) for a terrace season ticket. One third, or 12,500, of the club’s season tickets are at this price.
Uli Hoeness, the club president, said: “We could charge more than €120. Let’s say we charged €300. We’d get €2 million more in income but what’s €2m to us? In a transfer discussion you argue about that sum for five minutes. But the difference between €120 and €300 is huge for the fan.
“We do not think the fans are like cows, who you milk. That’s the biggest difference between us and England.”
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Germany’s clubs have a strong connection with their supporters. Vincent Leggett, who since 1990 has lived in Cologne, Germany’s fourth biggest city, said “98 per cent” of the fans at FC Koln matches are from Cologne.
“It’s an extension of the community. The players feel like they’re letting them down if they don’t play well. We feel a very strong feeling with the crowd,” said Roman Golobart, a Spaniard who plays in front of 50,000 for second-division Koln after moving from England’s Wigan Athletic.
“That’s at least 10 times the crowd you’d get in the Spanish second division. We’re the 13th-best-supported team in Europe and we’re in the second division.
“We took 10,000 fans to Bochum recently. We applaud the fans; we see them at training. We think they’re crazy at times, but it’s a wonderful atmosphere in which to play football.”
Fans have significant power and influence in Germany; clubs give financial support to fan groups for their choreography and banners.
These can be edgy, with political messages, and fans can feel as if they have been asked to join a movement as well as a crowd. Harmony does not always prevail and hooliganism is an issue in Dortmund. But, overall, the German model works.
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If there was a flaw, it was financial.
Because their clubs did not charge as much for tickets as the Premier League, because they did not sell foreign television rights to the Bundesliga until 2005 – Dubai Sports has the Mena rights until 2015 – and because they were not as commercially astute as the leading English clubs, they could not afford to pay top wages.
German teams were a distant third to English and Spanish teams in Europe for most of the past decade.
In 2009, Manchester United’s best-paid player earned £50,000 (Dh301,000) per week more than the best-paid at every German club.
But times are changing.
When Bayern and United went head to head for a player, Thiago Alcantara, in June, Bayern won.
German law stipulates that their football clubs must be majority-owned by their supporters.
Bayern Munich are 82 per cent owned by their 225,000 members. That prevents takeovers. When the regulation was introduced, in the 1990s it was considered counterproductive.
How could a club attract an investor if that investor could not have control?
There are moves to change the structure; at Hamburg, it has been suggested that 24.9 per cent of the club’s equity could be sold as stocks to raise investment.
Those behind the plan want to raise finances to buy better players. They play in one of Europe’s richest cities, average crowds of more than 50,000 and have 71,000 members, yet they feel shackled by the status quo and want “flexibility at a financial level”, a more capitalist, less socialist mentality.
Dortmund, the last German team to be involved with the stock market, nearly went bust as result of chronic bad financial management in 2005.
Member influence does not protect a club from financial problems, nor is it a panacea for all of football’s ills.
Finances remain tight for clubs below the top level, but even leading German clubs still lose money – €9 million at Hamburg last year – but these losses are scrutinised carefully by the owners, the supporters.
This relative prudence means Uefa’s Financial Fair Play initiative particularly benefits German sides.
Add in a huge pool of home-grown talent from Europe’s most populous country, sound coaching and solid infrastructure in a rich nation and the winning formula becomes apparent.
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Bayern Munich, the European champions who will try to become world champions next week at the Club World Cup in Morocco, have always been the powerhouse, the “locomotive” of German football, according to their chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
Their €433m revenue last season was €130m more than the second team, Dortmund.
Such inequality led the Eintract Frankfurt coach Heribert Bruchhagen to suggest that the money German clubs earn from playing in the Champions League should be shared around the Bundesliga.
Rummenigge says that Bayern have to compete not only at a national level, but against richer foreign rivals.
He announced this week that they plan to build on their success with an international campaign of marketing and summer tours.
They will follow Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United by opening offices abroad, in Bayern’s case in the United States and China. They want other clubs to follow because they know a high-profile Bundesliga is good for them.
“The German ownership model is something I’d like to look at going forward,” said United’s Woodward.
“Their fans are not really getting any economic ownership and I don’t think that’s important to the fans.
“They are not getting things that they can vote on and I don’t think that’s important for them. I think it’s more about a feeling, a connection with their club.”
Not that Woodward foresees any change to United’s structure.
“I’m not proposing fans own part of the club. I want to investigate what the fans get from their stake in a German club.
“If it is a closeness, access and communication, I want to see if we can break down the parts and consider what we could do.”
German football is not perfect and the Manchester clubs have recently beaten Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen, currently first and second in Germany, but the Bundesliga’s considerable strengths are the result of sound long-term practices and safeguards.
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Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
if you go
The flights
Emirates offer flights to Buenos Aires from Dubai, via Rio De Janeiro from around Dh6,300. emirates.com
Seeing the games
Tangol sell experiences across South America and generally have good access to tickets for most of the big teams in Buenos Aires: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Independiente. Prices from Dh550 and include pick up and drop off from your hotel in the city. tangol.com
Staying there
Tangol will pick up tourists from any hotel in Buenos Aires, but after the intensity of the game, the Faena makes for tranquil, upmarket accommodation. Doubles from Dh1,110. faena.com
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Profile box
Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
Mercedes V250 Avantgarde specs
Engine: 2.0-litre in-line four-cylinder turbo
Gearbox: 7-speed automatic
Power: 211hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.0 l/100 km
Price: Dh235,000
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
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Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
