ABU DHABI // Eric Gerets, the Al Jazira coach, was taking a lot of positives from the fact that his team scored three second-half goals to win 3-0 against Emirates on Thursday.
“When my players came in for the break, I told them no matter what they did, we must win these three points,” the Belgian said.
“I can’t say it was a sensational win, but winning the three points was what mattered at the end. And for the first time in three games, we didn’t concede a goal, which was another positive we can take from this game.”
Mirko Vucinic's performance would make anybody feel good. He found the net three times in a 13-minute span of the second half to blow open the game.
“My team woke up in the second half and they gave a good performance, for which I can be happy,” Gerets said. “This performance gave me a good feeling and I will look more positively for the next game.”
One mistake was all it took for Emirates to throw it away at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium last night.
They held Jazira for more than an hour, but they conceded a penalty when Abdulla Ali handled the ball, accidentally it seemed, when he went up to challenge a high ball.
Vucinic, a forward from Montenegro, stepped forward to fire the spot kick into the corner of the net as Abdualla Moosa, the Emirates goalkeeper dived in the opposite direction, breaking the deadlock.
Thereafter, the former Roma and Juventus striker, 30, was on target two more times in seven minutes.
He dispatched a neat volley on a left cross from Abdulla Mousa and completed the stirring hat-trick when he headed a right cross from Jonathan Pitroipa to seal game for Jazira.
“The penalty was the turning point,” said Paulo Comelli, the Emirates coach. “We made a few mistakes, and when you do that against teams like Jazira, we have to pay a heavy price for it.”
Jazira did everything well but score in the first half.
They enjoyed possession, territorial advantage and a solid passing game, yet failed to get past a gritty Emirates defence.
Ali Mabkhout had an excellent chance to break the deadlock after a flowing move that prompted a series of passes before it was slipped toward the Emirati international – only to see him strike a wild shot over the crossbar.
Emirates did what they were supposed to do – play defence. They made some inroads toward the Jazira goalmouth from counter-attacks, but they were more content in holding their more illustrious opponent.
Fujairah 0, Al Dhafra 0
A victory in the new Arabian Gulf League season remained elusive for both Fujairah and Al Dhafra after they played out a goalless draw on Thursday. The result makes it three draws out of three for Dhafra, while newly promoted Fujairah have two draws and a loss to show for their early endeavours back in the top flight.
It was Dhafra’s Makhete Diop who went closest to opening the scoring in a tight first half in Fujairah as he saw his close-range effort come back off the post and bounce to safety, with Ayyoub Al Marzouqi in the home goal beaten. Boubacar Saanogo almost broke the deadlock for the home side after the restart, when his volley went just wide from close range after he had found space in the Dhafra box.
Defences largely dominated again in the second half, but substitute Ali Al Hammadi hit the bar in the fifth minute of stoppage time as Dhafra came close to a last-gasp winner.
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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.”
The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
