Category Archives: Misc
The festival belonged to Barca
As FC Barcelona’s 17 year-old Lamime Yamal celebrated his goal against Real Madrid, a one-word text reached me from an enduring Barca fan : ‘Festival !’ As Clasicos go, the latest encounter between two giants of La Liga and historic football club icons of the global game, certainly earned its place in the history books. From a Barca perspective it brought back memories of the golden days of Johan Cruyff, of Guardiola, of the magical moments of teams inspired by the likes of Ronaldinho and Messi. But it also fuelled …
Una final de la Eurocopa angloespañola
Una final de la Eurocopa angloespañola en Berlín Escribe Jimmy Burns Marañon Nací en Madrid, hijo de madre española y padre inglés, educado en Inglaterra, pero criado bilingüe y en constante intercambio entre los dos países que heredé. Soy angloespañol de corazón y alma, y mi lealtad en lo que respecta al fútbol nunca está definida por los prejuicios nacionales sino por mi amor por un juego jugado al máximo, con pasión, belleza y decencia. Ciertamente, como aficionado al fútbol angloespañol, no podría haber esperado una gran final internacional mejor. …
An Anglo-Spaniard’s Euro Final
An Anglo-Spaniard’s Euro final in Berlin I was born in Madrid , the son of a Spanish mother and English father, educated in England, but brought up bilingually and in a constant interchange between the two countries I inherited. I am an Anglo-Spaniard in heart and soul , my loyalties when it comes to football never defined by national prejudice but by my love for a game played at its best , with passion, beauty and decency. Certainly , as an Anglo-Spanish football fan, I couldn’t have hoped for a …
Hans Küng RIP
Swiss theologian Hans Küng died on Tuesday at the age of 93 in his home in Tübingen, Germany It was a real godsend to be able to see him and talk to him seven years ago when I was researching Pope of Good Promise and when his mind and body was still with him. It was the first and last time I met him and what a privilege it was to be with him. He was a prophet for the Church in our time ! This was my account of …
A Test of Our Humanity
News of the evacuation at the end of January from coronavirus-hit Wuhan including 83 British and 27 EU mainly Spanish citizens was largely overshadowed, in the British and Spanish media at least, by coverage of the UK’s official exit from the EU. Nonetheless reports focused on the evident sense of relief felt by some of the evacuees at getting out , as well as a sense of uncertainty about their health prospects.. The only certainty about the coronavirus itself is that it has affected not inconsiderable numbers in China, enough …
El sentido liberal
El sentido liberal Es estos días que avanzan las fechas de elecciones en España y el Reino Unido, dos países que por sangre de madre y padre me unen en un compartido sentido de patriotismo, quería reflejar sobre aspectos que me llaman la atención ya que tienen que ver con algunos valores de conducta cívica además de política. De los recién acontecimientos, quería remarcar en dos que se vivieron por separado en ambos países a principios de esta semana y que por algunas horas dominaron la cobertura mediática nacional. …
Falklands War-History & Legacy
The Falklands War, following the Argentine military occupation of disputed British territory in the South Atlantic, involved the biggest British naval deployment since WW2, lasted 74 days and cost the lives 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders . It ended in British victory, the collapse of Argentina’s military regime, and contributed to Mrs Thatcher’s reelection as prime-minister. To a new generation of young European adults, the Falklands War not only barely features in their collective memory, but is largely ignored as a subject worth …
The shame of Argentine Football
In the Paraguayan Capital of Asuncion , hardly an icon of historic accountability, a group of South American football executives will meet tomorrow (Tuesday) to decide when and how, if at all, the second leg of the continent’s club championship Copa Libertadores final between River Plate and Boca Juniors of Argentina will be played. This is no routine meeting. It comes after the match initially scheduled for last Saturday was cancelled twice over the weekend as a result of a violent attack in Buenos Aires on the Boca team bus …
England vs Spain Football
Nothing like being a bicultural (British-Spanish) European citizen in a rowdy pub in south London to experience the high and lows of an England-Spain football match at Wembley. Let me say from the outset that my well-known enthusiasm as an author for Spanish football had me in a minority of two in a pub that last Saturday was packed to the rafters with mainly young well tanked English males determined to drink as much beer as possible and back the home team. The pub and most of Wembley were of …
Messi’s Rites of Passage
We have grown used to Messi speaking through his football, but on Tuesday night against Nigeria he showed a less typical, for him, capacity to play the leader. While his opening goal showed the vision, touch, composure and accuracy that has marked his genius for more than a decade, as illustrative of personality was his talk to his team-mates at half time, and the celebration of Argentina’s second goal. The talk just before Argentina walked out for the second half, by all accounts, involved not a huge speech but a …
