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Oil, sheikhs, and the risks for British horseracing By Christopher M. Davidson

ACK IN 1969 few would have guessed that the two dusty racetracks that had just opened in Al-Qusais and Za’abeel on the outskirts of Dubai would give birth to a vast oil-financed and multi-billion-dollar industry. Soon it would not only stretch through all six of the oil-rich Gulf states, but would also become increasingly intertwined with many of the most lucrative and prestigious horseracing events in the world. With the British Empire’s preeminence in the region dating back to the early 19th century, and with London maintaining close political, military, and economic relations with the Gulf monarchies long after its oﬃcial withdrawal in 1971, it was in many ways inevitable that Britain would become the prime destination for such Arab horseracing investment. Spurred by early victories such as the 1982 St Leger with Touching Wood, Dubai’s Al-Maktoum ruling family led the charge, soon joined by sheikhs and princes from Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and eventually gas-exporting Qatar. Translating victories on the track into major horseracing industry businesses, from the

Shadwell Farm and the Harwood Stud to the Darley Group and then Godolphin in the mid-1990s, the UAE’s rulers and their Gulf counterparts were soon much more than the mere owners of some of the best British horses money could buy. With their interests rapidly expanding into almost all aspects of the sport, especially in flat racing, this elite group of

Horseracing is estimated to be worth close to £3.5 billion and sustains an estimated 17,500 full-time British jobs investors and sponsors have come to dominate British horseracing. Welcoming such generous foreign investment is essential to the sport here, as it is to almost all other industries and sectors of the liberalising and open-for-business British economy. But, as in any other sector or sport, the emergence of such powerful and extensive monopolies would usually be a cause for concern, and the now intrinsic ties

between Gulf investment and British horseracing should be no exception. Most obviously, with such well-financed heavy-hitters as the Al-Maktoums, the AlNahyans, and the Al-Thanis on the scene, most meaningful competition seems to be getting crowded out, with some of Britain’s leading trainers reporting that half or more of their horses are now Arab-owned, and with the Racing Post’s Julian Muscat recently observing that “the influx of Middle Eastern potentates continues at such a pace that British owners are increasingly frozen out”. Much more seriously, however, if the source of wealth underpinning these substantial foreign investments is in jeopardy, as now seems to be the case for many of the Gulf monarchies in the wake of the 2014 oil price crash, the implications for British horseracing, and indeed the broader British economy, may be very serious. Indeed, the sport is now estimated to be worth close to £3.5 billion and sustains an estimated 17,500 full-time British jobs while indirectly supporting the jobs of over 67,500 others in leisure, hospitality, and catering. For years the prospect of a decline in Gulf investment has been deemed unlikely,

mostly because previous dips in oil prices have been fairly short-lived. Moreover, such investments have been assumed to be somehow ‘ringfenced’ from any austerity measures because the influence enjoyed by the Gulf’s rulers in British horseracing is understood to transcend any economic considerations, as it is seen as being directly tied into the regime survival strategies of these autocratic families. The huge stakes that the Gulf elites have developed in Britain’s and other horseracing industries certainly go far beyond mere commercial interests for these families or even their governments’ stated policies of trying to diversify oil-based economies into new sectors such as leisure and tourism. Ties to horseracing along with other sporting or cultural events have historically provided these monarchies with considerable ‘soft power’ back at home. Through the ‘sport of kings’ the sheikhs and princes can hob-nob with the British aristocracy and beam back images of themselves in top hats and tails to their own populations as they share carriages with British royals and shake the hand of Queen Elizabeth. Indeed, the photographs →

02 → of the Bahraini king sitting alongside the Queen at the Windsor Horse Show (which he sponsors) are not really for British consumption but unfailingly feature on the front pages of the Bahraini press. Less obviously, such investments and high-powered connections provide these monarchies with important soft power in countries like Britain, which are ultimately those that matter to them the most. As small and wealthy states in what can simply be described as a very dangerous neighbourhood, their basic security need is to make sure they do not get attacked or invaded by more powerful neighbours, and that if they do then they have even more powerful allies able and willing to come to their rescue. In this sense, the spectre of Saddam Hussein’s march into Kuwait in 1990 still looms large, as does the realisation in all the Gulf’s palaces that Kuwait was liberated only because the US and its allies were willing and able to intervene.

NVOLVEMENT IN SPORTS, and especially those such as horseracing which provide plentiful elite-level relationship-building opportunities, is thus an excellent vehicle to build relations with leaders of countries that are mostly likely to serve as military protectors and security guarantors. Beyond horseracing, this strategy also helps explain why the Gulf monarchies have invested in other high-profile ventures in Britain, few of which can be rationally considered as sensible investments. Abu Dhabi’s acquisition of Manchester City, for example, wins the emirate countless headlines and photo-opportunities in Britain, but it has cost the Al-Nahyan family dearly, at least in terms of money spent. Similarly, Qatar’s purchase of Harrods in 2010 for £1.5 billion was considered far above its market value,

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but from the ruling Al-Thani family’s perspective it cemented Qatar’s reputation in some of the highest British circles. The question, then, is whether the current oil and gas price decline will really start to undermine these expensive soft power strategies, including investments in horseracing, and whether the Gulf monarchies can continue to safeguard them from austerity measures. On the face of it things are looking bleak: many of the states rely on crude oil or natural gas exports for more than 80 per cent of their government revenues. In summer 2014 oil prices began to plummet from highs of over $100 a barrel to around $50, and by the end of 2015 they were only $37. To put this in perspective, Bahrain and Oman have breakeven oil prices of over $120 a barrel, while Saudi Arabia needs oil to be over $90. To make matters worse, there are strong signs that the new oil price dynamic is not just another cyclical downturn. Instead new technologies have made it commercially viable for many other parts of the world to begin producing oil, causing a fundamental shift in international oil supplies. Notably, the ‘shale revolution’ has almost overnight turned the US into the biggest oil producer in the world, eclipsing Saudi Arabia and Russia. The Gulf monarchies have responded by increasing their oil output so as to drive prices lower and hold on to their market share. But with US production remaining more or less constant as its nimble new producers cut their costs and introduce new eﬃciencies, their Middle Eastern rivals have merely been accelerating their own demise. Even the OPEC cartel, historically dominated by Saudi Arabia, has now admitted that oil will not reach $100 a barrel again until 2040 at the earliest, while the IMF has warned that the kingdom now has only five years of financial assets remaining. CNBC analysts have even predicted Riyadh will “go broke” by summer 2018, while prominent hedgefund manager Zachary Schreiber has claimed it will be “structurally insolvent” within two or three years. Already there are signs that these doomsday predictions may be playing out, with reports that major construction firms in Saudi have been unable to pay their workers’ salaries for several months, with gasoline subsidies and even meat subsidies

being cut across the region, and with major riots and strikes having begun. In Kuwait, more or less the entire oil industry workforce downed tools for three days in protest over pay cuts. Remarkably, in the UAE and Qatar low oil prices have also started to bite, with swathes of development projects being frozen or downsized. Both have begun to sell bonds on international markets to plug widening deficits. As one would expect in such authoritarian states, the political elites, including their ruling families, are unlikely to be the first to suffer, and their personally managed projects, including horseracing investments and other sports-related soft power ventures, seem safe for now. Instead it will almost certainly be the average citizens who bear the brunt, with unemployment rising and the introduction of regressive taxation on the near-term horizon. But it is perhaps only a matter of time before things start to get worse at the top, too, not least as the elite’s primary source of wealth starts to dry up and forces the selloff of expensive and unprofitable assets. From Britain’s perspective, almost all the sectors in which Gulf trade or investment plays a key role will likely suffer, from the arms export industry to luxury London real estate projects. Undoubtedly the worst effects will be felt by those sectors in which

THURSDAY 7 JANUARY INVESTED £99,000 SELECTION Wigan @ 20/21

Wigan vs Gillingham

the Gulf monarchies are the predominant players, and it seems hard to find a better example than the horseracing industry. Indeed, a fairly compelling argument can be made that the fortunes and future of British horseracing have long since been directly connected to the oil markets, as too little has been done over the years to diversify its sources of investment and sponsorship. Understandably, perhaps, over the past few decades the industry seems to have simply gravitated towards and oriented itself around its biggest patrons. What, then, can be done? If the worstcase scenario for the Gulf monarchies does prove realistic, then it is perhaps only a matter of a year or two before their links to Newmarket start to feel the pressure. As a matter of urgency, much stronger eﬀorts must be made to re-market and better ‘internationalise’ British horseracing, so that much greater levels of investment can be procured from elsewhere. After all, for every oil-producing state on the cusp of a serious shortfall, there will soon be an oilimporting state able to cut its energy bills drastically and, perhaps for the first time, experience a significant windfall. ■ Christopher M. Davidson is an author,

a Reader in Middle East politics and a Fellow at Durham University.

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14:45 Doncaster Southern Stars @ 9/2 16:05 Sandown Ladweb @ 11/4 16:55 Doncaster

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Grand National, Aintree

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(1st scorer) @ 80/1 Tottenham vs West Brom

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Premier League champions

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innings runs 3rd Test: South Africa vs England (Cricket)

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RETURNED £50,150

MONDAY 18 APRIL INVESTED £1 E/W PATENT (£14) SELECTION King Simba @ 20/1

SUNDAY 15 MAY SOLD £2,000/PT (on 22 August 2015) SELECTION 76 Chelsea points

18:10 Huntingdon Englishman @ 7/1 18:20 Windsor Secret Look @ 12/1 19:50 Windsor

Premier League points 2015-16

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2016

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04 SPEAKER’S CORNER Nick Luck

A RACE AGAINST TIME

RANKIE DETTORI TOOK TWO generous handfuls of Anthony Oppenheimer’s cheeks, positioned himself three millimetres from his face, bellowing “You won the Derby!” over and again. The significance was lost on neither the assailant nor his victim. For one, this was the most glorious redemption; for the other, the plumpest fruit that generations of bloodstock investment could yield. For those of us who adore this day, who revel in its madcap juxtaposition of the unashamedly elitist and the colourfully populist, Golden Horn’s win 12 months ago provided the perfect story. Yet the Derby nowadays somehow struggles to land a meaningful blow on the national psyche, drifting gently away from the front pages. No racing event has been the subject of more hand-wringing over the past two decades, many citing its move from Wednesday to Saturday, or from the BBC to Channel 4, as contributory factors to its disappearance from the cultural mainstream. But these arguments, whatever their validity, must now be consigned to the deep archive. After all, the idea that parliament would now adjourn for a weekday horse race to create a Melbourne Cup-style national holiday is the stuﬀ of misty-eyed fantasy. And, with ITV assuming control of the event from 2017, the race will be switching networks for the fifth time in as many decades. Epsom’s executives look enviously at the Grand National – a race which, let’s face it, has not always had the smoothest ride. They wonder why the Derby’s TV audience is less than a quarter of the Grand National’s, why national newspapers don’t all include a sweepstake, why other broadcast networks aren’t threading their output with Derby strands and cross-promotion. The answer is simple: like it or not, very few sporting events can command attention today simply via their existence, historical renown or heritage. The Derby’s hinterland can provide wonderful context, but the foreground must equally provide striking narrative. If, from an initial entry of 450, there are regularly fewer than a dozen runners, there really isn’t much to go at. If half the field – and most of the recent winners – are in the hands of the same connections, it becomes still harder to sell in an era that is so much more reliant on the

Leading Light (right) edges out Estimate (centre) by a neck in the Ascot Gold Cup in June. Ryan Moore, riding Estimate for Her Majesty the Queen, acted within the rules, while Joseph O’Brien received a ban for striking the winner 11 times.

human interest story. This is hardly the fault of Coolmore/Ballydoyle, whose reassertion of the Derby’s importance to the breed over the past 15 years has done more to burnish the internal reputation of the event than anything else. And that credibility to the purist is important – if we don’t believe in the race ourselves, how can we expect racing’s occasional fans to switch on? More horses, more participants, more competition, however, should ensure a better spectacle and a wider range of storylines. To that end, the entry system must be revisited to reward horses that have already established some level of achievement or notoriety, in the manner currently adopted by the Kentucky Derby.

Horsemen may hoot with derision, but unless the sport puts the Derby at its centre, how can it expect a major TV network to do the same?

oosting the prestige and prize funds of several late-season two-yearold races and established Derby trials in order to provide a qualification system for the race would have a twofold eﬀect. First, connections would be incentivised by the financial inducement of the ‘Road to Epsom’, forcing them to consider campaigning their horses more boldly. Second, the public would build some familiarity with the likely participants along the way and be persistently signposted towards the first Saturday in June as the ultimate destination for any thoroughbred. Horsemen may hoot with derision, but unless the structure of the sport puts the Derby at its centre, how can it expect a major TV network to do the same? On which note, it is my fervent wish that ITV can use its heft to insist on a later start time for the race, preferably around 6pm, opening the door that Channel 4 tried several times without success. The move of the Grand National showed this to be a no-brainer in terms of audiences – simply, more people watch TV during those early peak hours, and the inherent ITV share will ensure a significant boost. If many of us remain thrilled by the horses, the spectacle, the unusual and heady essence of Derby day, there must be a chance that some clear thinking in terms of its promotion and place within the sport can mean that the shark has not quite been jumped. ■ Nick Luck presents racing for Channel 4 and NBC.

Frankie Dettori celebrates his victory on Golden Horn in the 2015 Derby

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Champagne Pol Roger

Lochnager gave trainer Mick Easterby some of his most memorable successes – including a 1975 win at Now then, a story about my best sprinter Lochnager. I bought him privately as a foal in 1973 for a

modest sum, and he proved a rare bargain. Some people spend tens or even hundreds of thousands at the Yearling Sales in the hope of securing a high-class horse. But Lochnager wouldn’t have fetched much at public auction as a foal or a yearling: he had an unfashionable pedigree, y’see. His sire Dumbarnie was a high-class miler, but he had limited success in a long period at stud. He was 22 years old, and Lochnager’s dam Miss Barbara was the last mare he covered. She was a fair sprinter, winning six races, but she had an undistinguished family background. I knew Lochnager had potential because I worked him as a two-year-old and he was big. Very, very big. I gave two runs, maybe three runs, something like that, and thought I’d put him away, let him develop and grow into himself. He was a strong, good-bodied colt and a good walker. He made great strides as a three-year-old, so we entered him in a five-furlong sprint at Haydock. We went overnight to Haydock and I took £5,000 with me to have on. He’d developed into a really good type of sprinter, a flying machine, and the only question mark was the ground – I thought he didn’t want too soft ground. It rained overnight – I spent all night waking up listening to the f-ing rain patting against the window. I woke up at two o’clock and it was still raining and I thought, “Bah, bloody hell, I’ll only have three grand.” And I woke up

Bottom left: Mick Easterby with jockey Edward Hide. Left: Hide pilots Lochnager to victory

Haydock that was an absolute breeze for the sprinter at three o’clock, still raining, and thought, “I’ll only have two grand.” When I woke up in the morning it was still raining, so I thought I’d just have a grand. We had this big punter called Mr Wrigley to help us get most of the money on. Then there were another seven runners who were given smaller stakes, plus their own money. The idea was that my wife Alice was going to stand up in the stands and everyone was going to line up in front of the bookmakers and pounce at the same time when she took her hat off. She was very nervous – she knew it was important as I had been through the rigmarole a few times. To add to the complications it also turned out to be a very windy day and her hat nearly fell off, so she had to pin it on. At the time of the race, Mr Wrigley was stood at the bookmaker’s pitch waiting for the signal. He looked up at the stands and saw her going for her hat because of the wind and he stepped forward to ask: “What price Lochnager?” He had quite a posh voice! “8/1, sir,” replied the bookie. “Oh right, OK,” he said, and as he turned to look back up at Alice there’s another gust of wind, so she goes for her hat again. So he asks again: “What price Lochnager now?” “6/1, sir,” the bookie replies, and Mr Wrigley looks round to see that she still has her hat on so he backs off. But the others think they’ve had the signal, so they’ve broken ranks to get the money on and the price starts crashing.

Lochnager is 4/1 when I give Alice the nod to take her hat off, but she’s forgotten she’s pinned it and it takes her a while to get it off! Mr Wrigley, being the big hitter, was supposed to go in first, but unfortunately he waited for her to take the hat off. So by the time Mr Wrigley asks again and gets the money on he has to take 6/4. “I wonder why the silly cow didn’t taken her hat off?!” he said – that is true to the letter! By the final count I managed just 200 quid at 6/4. Lochnager won hard held – he won as far as he wanted! All my other runners broke their word and got their own money on. Mr Wrigley was the only man to stand his ground, the only man who didn’t break his word. We discovered afterwards that Peter O’Sullevan was the one who pinched the price. Gospel truth. He didn’t know what we were doing, but he got a tip off from somewhere. That’s normal when you get these tips. I wasn’t angry with Alice. She was shaking after the race, but it was just one of those things. I couldn’t celebrate afterwards because I’d missed the price, but it wasn’t too bad – Lochnager won every handicap barring one and then the following year he won every Group race. Lochnager was the best sprinter I’ve ever had and will ever have. ■ Mick Easterby and Lochnager won the King’s Stand Stakes, July Cup and Nunthorpe Stakes in 1976.

6 May 2016 – 7am

This is the first morning I am waking as a challenger for a world title belt. I have slept unusually well. I spoke with my wife and kids before I slept. This is the advantage of fighting on this side of the world, in Singapore: we are ahead in time, so speaking and Skyping the family is a bonus before bedtime. The previous night had been exactly the same as every fight I’ve ever had. My cousins and uncles come to every fight – we always have dinner together and spend the night talking about the way I should fight the next day. I have a rule in the mornings, though. I have my breakfast and make sure nobody is talking about fighting in the morning. The minute conversation turns to fighting, your adrenalin starts to flow and the appetite disappears. This fight is unlike any I have had so far. I have trained to make a weight of 93kg middleweight, but they have made this title fight at 105kg. I can eat as much as I like! I made the weight easily this time. You have no idea what methods people use to cut weight at the last minute. Sauna and runs are well-known methods, but they can be very tiring. Not many people realise that it is common to see a fighter with a mouth full of chewing gum (to generate saliva) and a bottle in his hand for spitting into. I have seen a fighter lose 1kg using this method in the last hour before the weigh-in! Not for me this time. One time I had to make such a low weight that I fainted in the shower before the weigh-in. I had a big cut on my eye. Crazy Renzo, my cousin, glued the cut back together so the doctor couldn’t see it, or he would have cancelled the fight.

12 noon

I have been relaxing in my room for the morning and now I go and have a gentle walk and some lunch with my team. Then it’s back to the hotel for some promotion interviews and maybe some gentle rolling and pad work to start gearing the mind to the night’s work.

DIARY

OF A FIGHT DAY by Roger Gracie

5pm

We leave for the venue and now things start to happen in an automated fashion. I let Renzo and my team take over and I am usually keeping my mind relaxed and focused and listening out for instructions from them about when to leave, where to sit, when to move. I don’t need to think of any detail now; I just get carried along by the family.

7pm

I am feeling strong. I hear the music, I hear my name, I see the lights, it’s fight time…

The final preparations start now. Hand-wrapping, warming up, pad work, wrestling. Fighters come in and out of the area, some smiling , some bleeding. But every emotion is blocked out. The only thing I allow is laughter with Renzo, who always keeps the mood free of anxiety right into the ring. I am ready to leave the dressing room. I know I could be the first Gracie to leave the arena with a world title. I can’t remember feeling calmer than at this point right now. I have trained harder than before, working with my cousins and Don Charles. Thanks to Don, my last fight here was a TKO, my first win by knockout. I am feeling strong. I hear the music, I hear my name, I see the lights, it’s fight time… Everything in my head goes quiet. Everything around me is getting louder and my mind is getting quieter. Michal Pasternak, my opponent, circles the cage for the first minute. I stay patient, and then I lock up an arm-triangle choke. I know he’s in trouble – once that choke is on I know he’s done. The stoppage comes two minutes and 13 seconds in. It feels awesome. I dedicate the belt to my family. We’ve been fighting for years, we’re a family of fighters. Now I want the middleweight belt. That’s my division. I want two belts. ■ Roger Gracie is the ONE light-heavyweight mixed martial arts champion and

a 10-time black belt Jiu-Jitsu world champion. He comes from a long line of Brazilian fighting Gracies.

rogergracie.com

THE DOTCOM DELUSION, DREAMS OF EUROVISION AND A LIFE ON THE TILES Jonathan Maitland recalls how the new millennium was anything but an anticlimax for him

RECENTLY HAD THE GOOD fortune of meeting Fitzdares’ founder, Balthazar Fabricius, and was struck by something he said: that one of the reasons for starting his business was that gamblers were more interesting than your average person. I agree. We might be impatient, dysfunctional and reckless but I like to think this manifests itself in positive, sociable and entertaining ways. Except when we’re losing, of course. Hence this article. Balthazar suggested I write about my most traumatic year ever. Funnily enough it was arguably also my most successful, professionally, for reasons which will become apparent. It started (and I’m sure the date had something to do with it) on 1 January 2000. I was on a train reading about the dotcom boom when an idea for a book flew into my brain. I would mortgage my house for £50,000 and try to turn it into a million by day-trading on the stock market. The book would be a diary of my efforts.

It started well. Even though it was the tail-end of the boom (if only I’d known that), some stocks were performing like Jack’s beanstalk on steroids. One day a company called Autonomy — run by the so-called “British Bill Gates”, a bearded, sax-

playing software entrepreneur called Mike Lynch – doubled overnight. I’d bought £30,000 worth of shares, so made that amount, again, in a flash. It couldn’t last, of course. I had the none-too-bright-idea of betting on the FTSE 100 to go up just as it started to plummet. Then I made the fatal mistake of chasing my losses. End result: badly mangled fingernails and a £70,000 bill from IG Index. There were silver linings. How to Make Your Million from the Internet (And What to Do if You Don’t) topped the financial bestsellers list for several weeks and I made a handful of entertaining and successful TV shows about my experiences. And my enterprising accountant realised that my huge loss was sustained in the course of a professional engagement, and thus tax-deductible. Deep joy. In the circumstances. It also made me realise what was sensible and what was not: nowadays I limit myself to punting no more than £100 a week. And if Mark Hughes has been made manager of Manchester United (odds: 66/1, thank you Fitzdares) by the time you read this, you will also conclude that, thanks to my misfortunes, I have developed a modicum of good judgment as well. Nowadays I get my kicks from writing plays and (don’t laugh) Scrabble. I’m nationally rated:

currently ranked around No 250 in the UK. And I’ve met some interesting – OK, weird – people on my travels. Such as the old lady who asked me what ‘ORGASM’ meant when I played it during the course of a game. Once I’d defined it, her expression turned from bemusement to the verbal version of post-coital satisfaction. “Goodness,” she said. “I must tell my husband when I get home.” Later she asked if the word took an “S” at the end. “Yes,” I said, thinking of the jokes I could have cracked but didn’t. The thirst for adventure which led

me into my spread betting nightmare also propelled me to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest of 2002 with my heroically average covers band, Surf ’n’ Turf, with a song written by my brother called I Give In. The tune was sprightly. We weren’t. (I was 41 at the time.) We did, however, reach the finals of the televised Song for Europe contest on BBC1, which was fun. But then we came fourth out of the four acts, trailing the third-placed song by a distressingly large margin. Still, that’s what gambling’s about, right? Learning how to lose. Pity I’ve had so much practice. At least it makes me interesting. ■ Jonathan Maitland is a British

playwright, broadcaster and author.

UNLIKELY COMEBACKS Rocky Bleier After his first NFL season in 1968, Bleier was then drafted by the US Army and sent to Vietnam. On his first mission a grenade exploded by his left foot and he was told he was unlikely to walk normally again. Four years later he returned to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ lineup and went on to win four Super Bowls. Niki Lauda In 1976, Lauda was leading the F1 World Championship when a crash at the Nürburgring caused his Ferrari to burst into flames. His face was incinerated and he lapsed into a coma. Just 43 days later, still bandaged, he climbed back into his Ferrari and took fourth place at Italian GP. After retiring in 1979, he returned to F1 in 1982 and won his third world title in 1984. Greg LeMond In 1986 LeMond won the Tour de France, but in 1987 the American went turkey hunting and was accidentally shot by his brother-in-law, losing 75 per cent of his blood. By 1989 he was back in Le Tour, but no one considered him a contender. He went on to win (by just eight seconds) and successfully defended his yellow jersey in 1990.

THEO FENNELL

HANDMADE BRITISH SILVER THEOFENNELL.COM

12 Hamann celebrates after scoring at Anfield on the way to the 2005 final

PENALTY PRINCES Three non-Germans who knew just what to do from 12 yards out

The penalties Zidane converted for France in high-pressure situations illustrated his class and coolness. His late conversion against England at Euro 2004, followed by others at the 2006 World Cup in the semifinal and final, proved Zidane to be the man to rely on when the stakes were at their highest.

Want to know how to prevail in a penalty shootout? Just ask a German, of course. Dietmar Hamann recalls how he helped Liverpool win the 2005 Champions League

E DIDN’T DO ANY penalty practice before the Champions League final. In July, 10 months earlier, we went to the USA in pre-season, where after training manager Rafa Benitez would get everyone to take three penalties. I don’t know if he made notes, but that was the only time I took a penalty all season. He had a pretty good idea who was going to take one, and after extra time he went around asking the people he had chosen if they wanted to. He came to me and said: “You’re taking one.” I nodded, and two minutes later he came back and said: “You’re taking the first one!” At the time I didn’t know who would be taking the other four because I think it is very important to concentrate on what you have to do. Luis Garcia went up to him as he wanted to take one, but Rafa said no. I don’t know if it’s any different going first or going fourth. You’re in the zone and concentrating on what you’re doing and I didn’t have a problem taking the first penalty; to be honest I just enjoyed the responsibility. My task was made slightly easier because Serginho missed, so even if I did it would still be level, but at the same time I knew I could put us ahead for

the first time on the night, which psychologically was a big thing. I only found out a couple of days later that I had a stress fracture in my foot. I had felt a little crack in my foot five minutes before the end of extra time when I came down from a header. But the adrenalin was flowing and we had made all our substitutions, so at the time it didn’t even enter my head to think that this warranted treatment or even going oﬀ, so it never crossed my mind. You’ve got to pick your spot. You can miss your penalty, but if you do, you have to miss it for the right reasons. The most important thing is to commit; you can compare it to a putt in golf, where

if you leave it short it can’t go in. Dida, the AC Milan keeper, is a big man, and as I walked up I thought that it’s easier to generate power going across your body, so I was always going to go to my left. I did think that if he moved early I might change my mind, so I stuttered my run up to see. I tried to hit it a certain height, because if you hit it above 3 and a half feet you’ve got a 90 per cent better chance of scoring – all penalties that are saved are down low or at knee height. I didn’t want to hit it too hard, but I was focused on getting height on the ball without taking the chance of knocking it over the bar. The closer you get to the target, the bigger it should be. Unfortunately that’s not how

The first successful kick in the 2005 shoot-out

it looks when you stand over the penalty, as there are a lot of places to miss. Dida is an imposing figure at 6ft 5, so when he stands upright there isn’t an awful lot of space underneath the crossbar and you think: “Bloody hell, where can I put this?” Put it this way: when I took one in preseason in America I reckon the goal was quite a bit bigger! Dida moved to his right for every single penalty, also in regulation play when Alonso missed his, which I had kind of forgotten about. So in my run-up I delayed briefly to see if he was doing anything, but he was just static, so I thought: “If that’s the case I’ll go across you.” The overriding emotion when the ball hit the back of the net was relief. You’ve done your job and now over to the boys. You’re only a fifth of the way there, but you’re 1-0 up. In penalties I always feel going first is an advantage and obviously we didn’t do that, so to make the most of them missing was quite important. We then went 2-0 up and thought: “That’s us now,” but then three penalties later all of a sudden it’s 2-2. You can never be too sure or take anything for granted and the bigger the occasion the harder it is to score.

Technically brilliant while languid in style, “Le God” missed just one penalty from 49 in the top flight for Southampton, and is considered the greatest penalty taker ever to play the game. His success at penalties and free-kicks, alongside his boyhood support of the club, gave him hero-status among Saints fans.

JOSE LUIS CHILAVERT

The madness of South American football was illustrated in the 1990s by the sight of Paraguayan goalkeeper Chilavert leaving his goal to score penalties and freekicks. His technique gave him the edge for penalty duties over his outfield teammates, and he may have benefited from knowing what it was like to face penalties.

You should expect a footballer to hit the target from 12 yards. Just don’t let the occasion get to you. The taker should always be strong favourite to score a penalty. There is a psychological thing too, but there’s no reason why England can’t win a penalty shoot-out. If England win one I wouldn’t put it past them to win three or four. I don’t think there’s a big secret to it; some goalkeepers are better than others at it and you need a slice of luck. Just try to stay as calm as possible and commit. ■ Dietmar Hamann won 59 caps

for Germany, two Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich... and one Champions League with Liverpool.

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14 It’s decision time: Adam Cheng, George Elek and Michael Cox predict who will leave Euro 2016 early and who

WHO GETS YOUR EURO 1. Which of the favourites are most vulnerable in their group? Adam Italy. The Azzurri were undeserving winners of their qualifying group, being dominated by Croatia home and away and scraping single-goal wins against Malta and Azerbaijan. At the time of writing, they are five friendlies without a win and will be missing their best midfielders, Marco Verratti and Claudio Marchisio. Sell Italy Group Index (25/10/5/0) @ 11.25. George I don’t think Spain will enjoy Group D against Croatia, Czech Republic and Turkey, who will all pose serious problems. They are 15/2 to finish third and 16/1 to finish bottom. Michael Antonio Conte is a fine coach and can depend on his old Juventus back three – but Italy are desperately short of quality in the final third, while the absence of Verratti is a huge blow. A defeat to Belgium in their opening game and Italy will be up against it. Back Italy not to qualify from Group E @ 4/1.

2. Where does the value lie in getting behind a biggerpriced team to progress? Adam Turkey are underrated and are a good bet to qualify from Group D at 5/4. Spain, Croatia and

Czech Republic look tough opponents on paper, but there may be a lack of goals in the group and attacking Turkey can take advantage. George I think Turkey represent great value @ 5/4 to progress. They eased past the Netherlands and the Czechs in qualifying, and in Burak Yilmaz they have a marksman who can fire them through the group stages. Michael Romania are not particularly impressive, and certainly not attractive. But 11 goals scored and just two conceded in 10 qualification games suggests they could frustrate better sides. Someone could scrape through with results of 0-0, 0-0, 1-0 – and it might be them. Back Romania to qualify from Group A @ 5/6.

3. Exciting times with four British and Irish nations in the finals (sorry, Scotland). How many will progress from the group stage? Adam One, England, who should win Group B. Wales will struggle if there are doubts over Gareth Bale’s fitness, while Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland look up against it. Back one home nation to qualify @ 10/3. George I’m fairly confident that England will get through and

believe Wales will pose the biggest problems to them topping the group. I wouldn’t be surprised if Northern Ireland ended up pointless, while ROI will likely miss out too – although they do have an outside chance if they can beat Sweden in their opener. Two teams to qualify looks the safe bet, though, @ 11/10. Michael England should progress comfortably and Wales are the second-best team in Group B, with an organised defence and dynamic attack. The Republic of Ireland’s qualification victories over Germany and Bosnia were encouraging, and they could surprise one of the big boys. Northern Ireland, though, probably lack quality. Three to go through @ 21/10 looks a fair price.

4. There is a new positivity surrounding the youthful England team. How do you see the Three Lions faring,

FRANCE 100/30 THE HOSTS Key attacker Antoine Griezmann lit up the Champions League in a defensive-minded Atletico Madrid team. He could do some serious damage here for Les Bleus, surrounded by plenty of attacking talent. Key defender Raphaël Varane has a huge future in world football and the 23-year-old will have to hold together a defence which leaves many unconvinced.

and which bet would best exploit that?

SPAIN 11/2 THE FALLEN HEROES

Adam England’s team is at a similar level to that of recent major tournaments, so I’d expect a similar performance. They continue to lack the required nous in midfield and, unless mentality has drastically improved, will likely again exit in the quarter- or semi-finals against a team who keep the ball better. Quarter-final elimination is best value @ 3/1.

Key attacker This is the question Vicente del Bosque must ask himself every day! A carousel of attacking players including Álvaro Morata, Diego Costa and, most recently, 35-year-old Aritz Aduriz have failed to convince that they are the ones to lead the line.

George I think England will do well. I was slightly concerned with how players like Dier and Walker lost their heads in the pressure cooker of the Chelsea v Spurs game, but this team should play with freedom and without fear so it should be an enjoyable campaign. Kane to be England’s top scorer @ 5/2 looks very tasty. Michael England are well organised with plenty of attacking talent, and they should have few problems defeating Russia and Slovakia. A Group B straight forecast of England-Wales at 5/1 looks pretty good. As usual, however, England will probably be eliminated by the first serious contender they meet.

5. Who do you think will be the top goalscorer? Adam Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane are interesting, as

Key defender Sergio Ramos may no longer be the force of old, like many of his national teammates, but he has won this competition twice and Spain will need him at his best. Concerns For years Spain had the aura of sporting invincibility that could be compared to the likes of Tiger Wood and Roger Federer in their pomp. World Cup 2014 saw the wheels fall off, as the defending champions bowed out in the group stages, and there are few signs of recovery, especially with a tough draw in Group D. Positives Much of the talent that propelled Spain to dizzy heights will be in France. The likes of Andrés Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Sergio Busquets still form a magnificent midfield that gives Spain some hope of a return to the top. TIP Group D looks tough to me and the Spanish will be anxious to avoid another humiliation. 15/2 on them to struggle to escape and finish third in the group is big.

Concerns There are question marks at the back, and inexplicably midfielder N’Golo Kanté is not certain to start games. Striker Karim Benzema, meanwhile, will be missing under a cloud of controversy. Finding the right balance among so much talent will be Didier Deschamps’ hardest task. Positives France’s attacking talent is the envy of world football. With Griezmann alongside the likes of Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet and Kingsley Coman, they will have no difficulty creating chances.

The highly talented French squad includes Dimitri Payet

TIP I am not convinced that France can go all the way, but they should make hay in what looks like an easy group. Griezmann to be their top scorer @ 9/4 is more than fair.

Sergio Ramos and Spain are clinging on to past glories

15 will remain triumphant on 10 July

VOTE? out-and-out strikers are lacking in general and these two could score three or four in their relatively weak groups. Austria’s Marc Janko is a big price at 66/1. George At the current prices you have to like the chances of the resurgent Eden Hazard @ 50/1. When he’s in form Hazard can be free-scoring and you’d expect him to have at least an each-way chance if the Belgians progress to the latter stages. Michael Despite a terrible campaign for Chelsea, Eden Hazard continued scoring at international level – he netted in each of Belgium’s final four qualification games. 50/1 seems high for the man who will captain his nation in Vincent Kompany’s absence – especially as Hazard is on penalties.

6. Who is a good bet to win Player of the Tournament? Adam Eden Hazard (16/1) and Kevin de Bruyne (18/1) are coming back to form at the right time and are key attacking players in a team that will go far. Cristiano Ronaldo is a poor-value favourite. George Manuel Neuer looks like he could be worth a poke at the 33/1 on oﬀer. Germany are a team without obvious stars and many feel Neuer has not had the recognition he deserves for his career so far. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the keeper getting the nod if Germany prevail. Michael 16/1 for Antoine Griezmann, on home soil, looks good. He’s a devastating counterattacker given licence to burst forward in advance of lone striker Olivier Giroud. The Atletico man hasn’t yet shown his best form at international level, but 32 club goals this season speaks volumes.

7. Which team do you expect to exceed expectations? Adam With the likes of Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic and Mateo Kovacic in their ranks, Croatia have arguably the best midfield in the tournament and are of significant interest at 33/1,

ENGLAND 8/1 THE YOUNG LIONS Key attacker Harry Kane has shown over the past two years that England now possess a proper centre forward. There is no doubt that he knows where the back of the net is, but can he do it while carrying the hopes of the nation? Key defender With a youthful team in front of him, Gary Cahill will need to step up and be the senior defender this summer. His experience and nous will be central to England if they do have a good tournament. Concerns “We’ve seen it all before” was sung prior to Euro 96 in the song Three Lions, and this is the worry yet again for England. This is not the first time a new generation of players has promised fresh hope for the English team, and there would be a sense of déjà vu in France should they bow out in the early knockout rounds, probably on penalties. Positives The English public had fallen out of love with its national team and a sense of indifference cast a shadow over the ill-fated 2014 campaign in Brazil. With young talents like Dele Alli, Ross Barkley and Kane going to France the feelgood factor is back, with many seeing this fresh start as a chance for England to produce. TIP England eased through their qualifying campaign against weaker nations, so I expect them to do the same in their group. Back them to top Group B @ 10/11.

Harry Kane epitomises England’s exciting new generation

selfless, functional No 9 who thrives at major tournaments. Buying Croatia on the Outright Index @ 20 looks like a good way of getting with them.

8. Finally, who do you think will win Euro 2016? Adam France, who have arguably the best team and home advantage, are worthy favourites. Belgium, who are better than they showed in World Cup 2014, at 12/1, and Croatia, at 33/1, are the bestvalue alternatives.

George At the current prices I would be backing the Germans to follow up on their World Cup success. Their form may not be ideal but I expect them to regain their swashbuckling swagger after what should be three easy group games and make use of their winning experience.

Read more from guest expert Michael Cox throughout Euro 2016 on www.zonalmarking.net

Michael France have the most complete squad, with plenty of attacking options, plus an astute manager. Discipline has been problematic, but their squad has fewer troublemakers now and are

Key attacker Thomas Müller has proven himself to be a World Cup goalscoring specialist, with 10 goals from two tournaments, but he’s yet to get off the mark in the Euros. That will change in France as Muller spearheads the German challenge.

GERMANY 100/30 THE WORLD CHAMPIONS

Key defender A good keeper is key in tournament football, and in Manuel Neuer the Germans have arguably the best.

despite their tough group. They should be a shorter price than both Italy and Portugal.

Concerns The Germans have suffered mixed fortunes since winning football’s biggest prize in Brazil. They failed to beat the Republic of Ireland at home, losing the return fixture, and have suffered against the likes of Poland and Australia as well.

George I’m going to plump for the Turks again. Their group is winnable and if they can get through that stage they’ll pose a threat to any team. Buying their performance on the spreads @ 12.5 appeals. Michael Croatia could progress far. They have two of the best playmakers in Modric and Rakitic, and their fine organisation compensates for the lack of world-class defenders. Mario Mandzukic is exactly the type of

well placed to replicate their 1998 World Cup win on home soil. ■

Positives Group C will pose no problems, and the winning feeling is a hard one to shake. The team is still littered with world-class players in Neuer, Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos and Müller, among others.

Germany’s rivals must find a way past Manuel Neuer

TIP The quality team in the competition despite form doubts. Back them to reach the semis @ evens and double your money.

Elite athletes are a focused breed – but their actions at decisive moments can paint vivid psychological portraits. Dr Peter Collett analyses the body language to look out for at the Rio Olympics The Arm-stretch

As an athlete crosses the finishing line, you’ll often see them extending their arms sideways, as if they’re about to take off. Because this expansive action increases the apparent size of their body, it’s clearly a primitive dominance signal – giving the impression that they’re bigger than they really are. Equally, it looks like the athlete is about to clasp someone in a loving embrace. The Arm-stretch therefore conveys both an assertive and an inclusive message – it says in effect: “Look at how impressive I am, and share this moment of celebration with me!”

The Clenched Fist

A number of celebratory actions involve a clenched fist. First there’s the “Air Punch”, where the athlete thrusts their fist above them. Then there’s the “Fist Curl”, basically a static pose achieved by bending the arm, forming a fist and flexing the biceps. Finally

there’s the “Fist Pump”, where the fist is jabbed up or forward, rather like a boxer delivering an uppercut or a blow to the chest. The Air Punch seems to be more common among track athletes, while the Fist Curl and Fist Pump are favoured more by field athletes and swimmers. All these actions are essentially power displays, ways of symbolically celebrating the defeat of one’s enemy.

The Roar

Here the mouth is opened wide, the teeth are exposed and the athlete emits a mighty roar – not unlike the threatening actions of lions, tigers and gorillas. Some roars are extremely noisy while others are almost silent. However loud they are, roars are designed to release tension, which is why they feature so prominently in explosive field events such as javelin, discus and hammer, where athletes will often roar encouragement at their

projectile long after it’s been released and is sailing through the air. But roars aren’t only a means of letting off steam; they’re also used as a victory celebration by athletes.

The Smiling Face

Smiling is a universal human response to joy and happiness, which is why it’s so common among winners and so rare among athletes who feel disappointed. In spite of the powerful, positive emotions evoked by victory, gold medal winners don’t actually smile all the time. They’ll smile broadly as they step on to the podium and while they’re acknowledging the spectators’ applause, but they usually avoid doing so during the playing of the national anthem. In fact, at this point they’re more likely to start crying or to try to suppress their tears.

The Surprise Face

When athletes don’t have high expectations but still manage to win,

they’re likely to react with a facial expression of surprise – eyebrows hoisted up, eyes expanded and mouth opened wide. We were treated to a marvellous illustration of this during

Losers often appear blank because they’re trying to put on a brave face.

the 2012 London Olympics, when, having already won the 10,000m, Mo Farah completed the double in the 5,000m. If you look at the photograph of Farah’s face as he crossed the line, you could be excused for thinking he’d just seen a ghost, so intense was his expression of surprise. Another version of the Surprise Face was in evidence at the 2004 Athens Olympics, when Kelly Holmes stunned everyone, including herself, by winning the 800m. With several world-class competitors in the line-up – including Holmes’s remarkable training partner, Maria Mutola – there was every reason to expect someone else would take gold. But Holmes won the race convincingly. As she crossed the finishing line an unusual hybrid expression appeared on Holmes’s face: her eyebrows were up, her eyes were enlarged and her mouth widened into a massive smile. This was a “Surprised Smile” – showing that

win their event, being beaten can be a shattering experience. You can see this very clearly in their body language. Immediately after defeat, you’ll often find the loser slumped down, sometimes even in a state of collapse. Whereas the winner celebrates by making himself or herself look bigger, with their head held high, the loser does the exact opposite – with head down and eyes averted, the loser tries to appear smaller and unimposing, even invisible. Differences are also evident in the face and eyes – whereas the winner’s face is usually animated and expressive, the eyes engaging, the face of the loser tends to be more deadpan and expressionless, with the eyes downcast or averted. Losers often appear blank because they’re trying to put on a brave face. In many instances, however, their true feelings are revealed in fleeting expressions of sadness, disgust and even fear. These contrasts are also physiological: while victory is often accompanied by a

she was both horrified and thrilled to be the winner.

cocktail of feel-good hormones such as adrenalin, testosterone and endorphins, defeat frequently brings a dose of the anxiety hormone, cortisol. When Olympic competitors mount the rostrum to receive their medals, you’d expect to find the winner producing the most intense display of pride, followed by the people who came second and third, in that order. However, that’s not usually the case. Psychologists have made the extraordinary discovery that while the winner smiles more than the other two, the silver medallist often smiles less than the bronze. The explanation for this is that while the bronze medallist compares himself with all those who failed to make it on to the podium – and is overjoyed to be among the medals – the silver medallist engages in what psychologists call “counterfactual thinking”. The runner-up becomes preoccupied with “what if?” – what

Here comes the science bit

There are a number of reasons why winners feel the need to perform a triumph display. One is the sheer release of tension that victory aﬀords. Then, of course, winning provides a legitimate excuse to draw attention to oneself and remind spectators of one’s achievement. Finally, there is the primitive desire to lord it over opponents – to behave in an overbearing manner that makes you look unbeatable, and which hopefully discourages rivals from entertaining the idea that they could win next time round. In this respect, triumph displays may be seen as a special class of threat signals – a means of establishing a pecking order. But what about the behaviour of losers? Well, for an athlete who has spent years training and expects to

would have happened if only he’d got a better start, made a bit more effort, not got boxed in on the curve, or timed his sprint better into the finishing straight? With these sorts of questions bouncing around in his

head, there’s very little room left for happiness or contentment. Although winners have good reason to celebrate, there are often hidden costs associated with victory. Chief among these is other people’s

disapproval. If, for example, you’re the world champ and you’re consistently beating everyone else, you’re likely to attract envy and opprobrium. In order to diffuse the latent animosity that losers may harbour towards them, winners will often behave modestly, praising their opponents or minimising their own achievement. This helps to explain why gold medal winners are so quick to congratulate those who come second and third, and why they’re so keen to invite them on to the top step of the podium at the end of the medal ceremony. Not all winners, or for that matter all losers, behave so graciously. At the Moscow Olympics in 1980, Steve Ovett unexpectedly beat Seb Coe in the 800m. As they were standing on the podium, Ovett turned towards Coe, smiled and extended his hand. Coe cautiously took Ovett’s hand, but was unable to muster even the faintest smile. Describing Coe’s apparent reluctance to take Ovett’s hand, Clive James quipped that “it looked like he’d just handed him a turd”. Winners’ unbridled expressions of joy appear to be innate – they’re even produced by congenitally blind athletes who are disadvantaged when it comes to modelling their behaviour on the responses of others. Some triumph displays are culturally determined, being more prevalent in certain countries. Then there’s the

Kelly Holmes was both horrified and thrilled to win.

new, theatrical breed of individual triumph displays – like Usain Bolt’s “lightning bolt” and Mo Farah’s “Mobot”. Such signature poses have so far only been used by athletes who are world beaters. It’ll be interesting to see whether it stays that way. ■ Dr Peter Collett is a leading

behavioural psychologist.

ROLE PLAYERS Joe Hodgson’s search for a sporting hero to replace Bowie as his idol led to a terrifying realisation

N 10 JANUARY 2016, David Bowie died. There have been an unusually high number of celebrity deaths since that date, but, as was so often the case, it was Bowie who initiated the fashionable trend. It was a sad day for music fans around the world. Some may have hummed Starman to themselves on the way to work that morning. Others may have dusted down their old vinyl copy of Hunky Dory and given it a nostalgic spin after supper. And if you were going ‘full hipster’ you may even have bought yourself a brand new vinyl copy of Diamond Dogs on the way back from the salon. But what about me? My Bowie fandom is such that I already own all the albums – even the terrible ones. I’ve got both Tin Machine albums, I’ve got the Buddha of Suburbia soundtrack, and I’ve even got the truly wretched Never Let Me Down album of 1987. I also happen to think that his oft-mocked ‘jungle’ album Earthling is really good. Does that make me a better fan? Yes, of course it does! Though, sadly, establishing that fact isn’t the sole purpose of this article. What I’m getting round to saying is that Bowie’s death left a huge space in my life. A cavernous void, more sparsely peopled than the Etihad Stadium during a third round Capital One Cup tie against Yeovil Town. And now that the music scene seems to consist entirely of Adele, Kanye West, and Beyoncé’s perpetually oscillating buttocks (though I admit they are hypnotic), I’ve found myself turning to the world of sports in order to find a new idol. Someone who can oﬀer hope and inspiration when I am bereft; someone I can turn to for guidance in times of crisis and conflict. The first name that came to mind

was, somewhat surprisingly, Juan Mata. What’s not to like about the Spanish midfielder? Great shortpassing game, impeccable first touch, frequenter of art galleries, writer of erudite blogs – Juan and I have so much in common already! I could picture us laughing and joking into the early hours over a bottle of Rioja Reserva as we attempt to determine which of Goya’s Los Desastres de la Guerra series was our most cherished. But I quickly snapped out of my sunbaked Iberian reverie when it dawned on me that I wasn’t looking for a drinking buddy, I was looking for a hero – a deity among mortals. And, to put it bluntly, over the past couple of years Mata’s on-pitch form has been decidedly secular. Nobody would erect

thing, but, like Rafael Nadal’s everencroaching underpants, I couldn’t quite remove it. It was the trousers. Those Wimbledon trousers. The white ones. Worn with the equally white blazer. The image was embedded uncomfortably in my mind. Why? Because it was somehow too perfect. At the time I secretly wanted someone to spill their Vimto on him as he walked to the court. Perfection with a racquet I can handle, but this was something else, Sporting Perfection by Calvin Klein. And the whiﬀ of it made me feel slightly nauseous.

We warm to mavericks because most of us are either too scared or too untalented to become one.

a statue for a player whose most memorable contribution to the season was getting sent oﬀ against West Brom. Mediocrity, I concluded, does not easily lend itself to idolatry. Someone who could never be accused of espousing mediocrity is Roger Federer. So, after leaving Juan behind in the gallery gift shop buying postcards, it was into RF’s strong, fragrant arms I speedily ran. Now here was a sportsman by whom I could set my watch. An undisputed icon of his craft, a born winner, able to remain impeccably groomed and sweat-free after five hours of gruelling tennis in sweltering temperatures. Arguably Federer’s greatest single achievement is that his record, on and oﬀ the court, remains to this day remarkably unbesmirched, unlike those of Tiger Woods and Thierry Henry (his co-stars in those terrible Gillette adverts). However, something began to trouble me. It was only a very small

HEROICNUMBERS Juan Mata Spain caps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 World Cup wins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 European Championship wins . . . . . . . 1 Champions League wins . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Europa League wins . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Roger Federer Wimbledon titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Other Grand Slam singles titles . . . . 10 ATP Tour Final wins . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Davis Cup wins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Olympic singles gold medals . . . . . . . . 1 Nick Kyrgios Code violations in a single Wimbledon match, earning a one-game penalty . . .3 Times booed by spectators at Wimbledon for not trying . . . . . . . . . . 1 Fine (plus suspended 28-day ban) for sledging Stanislas Wawrinka by telling him another player had “banged” his girlfriend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 Complaints that “It's biased as shit, this game” after another code violation . . . 1

Because, as much as we all love to see greatness, we also love to see flaws in great people. It makes them easier to love, makes them more like us. (Admittedly Tiger Woods perhaps went slightly too far in his attempts to appear like a ‘normal’ person.) The reason I adored Bowie is because he took risks and, inevitably, made mistakes. But it was his constant desire to keep changing his approach to his music that was inspiring. I have never sought perfection in my own life, so why should I seek it in my heroes? I deduced, therefore, that what I was really looking for was a maverick. We warm to mavericks because most of us are either too scared or too untalented to become one ourselves. And as a profoundly lazy person, I’ve always admired sportsmen with the ability to stand out despite doing (or appearing to do) as little as possible. Dennis Rodman, Matt Le Tissier, Alex Higgins: unconventional, undoubtedly gifted, but incapable of the pristine brand of perfection presented by Roger Federer. These were my people! We want our sporting idols to be

extraordinary, but also in a style that is a reflection or, in most cases, a magnification of our own character and personality. My problem was that all the people I listed above are very much retired or very much dead. I need someone alive! Someone, ideally, at an early stage of their career. Someone whose feats of skill will allow me to vicariously live out my own tragically unfulfilled desires of being a sporting maverick. Could it be that the only person who in any way meets these criteria is Nick Kyrgios? An Australian? And the very worst kind: a gobby Australian? I retreated quietly to the loft with a vinyl copy of Hunky Dory held tightly in my arms, praying for guidance in this time of crisis and conflict… ■ Joe Hodgson is a writer who blogs at

www.fitzdares.com and tweets @fitzdares

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All investments carry some degree of risk and investors may not get back all they have invested. Private Bank since 1796 Geneva · Amsterdam · Bermuda · Brussels · Dubai · Frankfurt · Fribourg · Gibraltar · Hong Kong · Lausanne · London Lugano · Luxembourg · Madrid · Milan · Montreal · Moscow · Nassau · Panama · Paris · Singapore · Tokyo · Vevey · Zurich Approved for issue in the United Kingdom by Lombard Odier (Europe) S.A. UK Branch ŊÁ-- - Ó Ě Á - ˷ ̯ ļy) øÁ ye \¥ Œ¥ --¥ ˷ į ) ũ̬Œ ̯êø ˷ ŝ e¥-) ĭe \) Ř-y- b - ϝ̰̰ ̮̫ ̯̮̫̲ ̲̫̫̫ ˷ č e ey- ϝ̰̰ ̮̫ ̯̮̫̲ ̲̮̱̫ Řb- v e Á¥b e -) ) -\Áy ¥-) Ó ¥b- ùŒŒč e įÁÒ- Á \ ) e¥ b e ¥b- ŝĭ Ó ¥b- ň Á)- ¥e y Ŏ-\Áy ¥e êÁ¥b e¥Ó ) ¥b- če e y ù )Á ¥ êÁ¥b e¥Óˎ Ŏ-\e ¥- -) e įÁÒ- Á \ Ķ ˎ ø̵̵̬̲̫̳

OBJET D’ART

FITZDARES

Will Greenwood MBE on his love for Perudo, never scoring against the All Blacks, and a big man called Balu…

GREW UP IN AN ERA where computers were basically nonexistent. Even today I have nightmares about Daley Thompson’s Decathlon on the original Amstrad, and watching others tapping away as quickly as possible to get Daley over the line. I grew up in a card-playing family, and I loved every minute of it. I’ve always been a massive fan of short-form games like Hearts, German whist, and Oh-Hell. With the England rugby team I was lucky to be surrounded by like-minded lads, and as a result we played an incredible amount of Backgammon and Acey-deucey (the American version of the game). I’ve always been interested in exploring diﬀerent card games. On my travels I fell in love with Scopa (the national card game of Italy). Then, during my time working in foreign exchange and on the futures floor while juggling playing at Harlequins, I taught myself Cribbage. I’d study it in between economic announcements, and in turn I taught some of the boys in the England team. But it was on a trip to Sardinia with the England boys that we came across the ultimate liar dice game in Perudo! We were hooked instantly – the reading of

people, the bluﬀ, the counter-bluﬀ, playing the man or the woman behind the dice, it literally had it all. And I can honestly say now, I never knowingly travel without my Perudo set. In its purest form it is one of the most crackingly enjoyable games that anyone can pick up in five minutes. Kids and adults can play and love it in equal amounts, which is also part of the charm. For example, my six-year-old is a demon on the dice, the closest you can come to a human lie detector. We put two to three sets together, start with 12 players, and play threehour epic Perudo marathons. You’re exhausted after it, but the banter and the bragging rights make it so worthwhile. You can play anywhere – I’ve been on family ski trips, having stopped for a quick beer, and before you know it you’re skiing back down the mountain in the dark. I never play for money, but obviously you can. I play a lot with Austin Healey and Ben Cohen, who are good, but every dog has its day… I’m not going to lie, I do tend to dominate. Domination doesn’t come any greater than when I play against my good mate Balu – the man is as big as a bear but plays like a cub. I can beat him without even looking at my

dice; he is in my pocket. Dudo (Spanish for “I doubt”) is my favourite call, and I love throwing this out there when playing against relative novices. It doesn’t work every time, but it really puts the shits up people. Perudo players will understand that it’s almost worth risking a die for. We have a saying in rugby, “Don’t bring that shit down my channel”, and it’s the same for Perudo: you want people to know you’re there, wideeyed and up for the challenge. When you find your mojo in Perudo, there’s no better feeling. When you’re hitting your numbers, when you’re reading people like a book, it’s just as good as scoring a try against the All Blacks. (Funnily enough I never did, but I imagine the feeling to be very similar.) Just like in cricket when you’re seeing it like a beach ball, in boxing when you’re floating on air, in Perudo, when you’re in the zone, it’s as if you’re literally looking under the other man’s cup. Poor old Balu, he must think I have X-ray vision. ■ Will Greenwood MBE won 55 England caps (winning a World

Cup along the way), plus two Lions caps.

23 Private doors, secret symbols and covert conversations are all around us.

Stock exchange traders and bookmakers have long embraced cloaked languages of signs and words to communicate – and money is often at the heart of it. Here is our guide to the constantly evolving slang terms involving cash and their etymology.

£5 Deep sea diver

Twentieth-century cockney rhyming slang for fiver.

£20

Score

From the 1900s, from the method of counting called vigesimalism, where large numbers (of sheep etc.) could be counted, with a notch in a stick for each 20.

£10

Pavarotti

A more recent extension (via the homophone “tenor”) of tenner, which was first recorded in 1861 and is also sometimes used to describe a ten-year prison sentence.

£25

Pony

Exact origin unknown, but first recorded in 1824 and thought to be slang use of Latin “legem pone” to mean “payment of money” (first recorded 16C.), because this was the title of the psalm for 25 March, a Quarter Day and the first payday of the year.

£100

Ton

£500

Monkey

A hundred cubic feet of capacity. Americans, meanwhile, like to use the term ‘C note’, which comes from the Roman numeral.

£50 Bull’s eye

From the late 1600s to 1800s, five shillings (5/-), a crown, equal to 25p, was called a Bull. Also, the bull’s eye on a dartboard is worth 50 points.

£200

Bottle

From the cockney rhyming slang: bottle of spruce = deuce. Spruce refers to spruce beer, a drink made from the shoots of spruce fir trees which is made in alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties. Later also used to describe £200. Also bottle of glue = two.

Probably London slang from the early 1800s. Precise origin unknown, but it is suggested by some that the association derives from Indian rupee banknotes featuring the animal.

£300

Carpet

Used as early as the late 1800s and has convoluted origins. Possibly from a belief that prisoners used to be awarded the luxury of a piece of carpet for their cell after three years’ incarceration.

£1,000 Bag of sand

Twentieth-century cockney rhyming slang for grand.

ANIMAL MAGIC We ask Hanako Varian, wife of trainer Roger Varian, about her life, work and passions

positively challenging. Personally I am happiest when I am close to horses.

Who was (or still is) your mentor?

To have a horse in my garden and to become a vet.

I always said I never had one. But now I will say my parents, because of the way they brought me up when I was young to be a strong, independent girl. They sent me to England for a couple of months by myself with a big suitcase, like Paddington Bear, when I was 10 years old. I had to fly via Alaska because there was no direct flight then between Japan and England. I went to an international school in East Sussex and enjoyed it so much I went back again the next year when I was 11.

University or straight into work?

How physically fit are you?

What was your childhood or earliest ambition?

I first moved to England when I was 18 and studied at the Royal Veterinary College in London. My English wasn’t up to standard so I struggled. I then went to Hartpury College, University of the West of England, where I graduated with a BSc in Equine Science.

What ambitions do you still have?

I would like to start and own my own business which in turn could contribute to the local community, and I would like to support retired racehorses.

What drives you on?

I love a challenge – I am driven by new challenges. I like the chance to turn around a diﬃcult situation. And I try to be different from the next person.

What is the greatest achievement of your life so far?

After two babies, not as fit as I would like to be. I plan to start riding regularly again this summer.

Ambition or talent: which matters more to success?

Ambition. Not all of us have talent but if you push yourself hard enough, I am sure the door will open. You need an open mind, observation and the ability to ‘read the air’.

How politically committed are you?

Not all of us have talent but if you push yourself hard enough, I am sure the door will open.

Yes. The climate of the earth is changing and we are experiencing extreme weather. We are acutely aware of this in Japan. Everyone has a responsibility to the next generation for them to live in a safe and comfortable environment.

What would you like to own that you don’t currently possess?

I would like to have an indoor riding arena, and I would like to own my own company.

What has been your greatest disappointment?

Not finishing Royal Veterinary College because my English was not up to standard – because of this I could not become a vet, which was my dream.

I try to follow what is happening around the world in politics, but I am not actively committed to any agenda.

Do you consider your carbon footprint?

My greatest achievement is the birth of our children, Momoka and Eiji, and to continue working during this time. I was not at all maternal, so it is something that I never thought would happen to me.

Hanako Varian Mother, Wife,

Director Darley Japan 2007-16.

If your 20-year-old self could see you now, what would she think?

I would think I am a little overweight – oh, and I can speak English now!

If you lost everything tomorrow, what would you do?

I would move to somewhere warm and grow my own supplies and have a simple life. I love agriculture.

Do you believe in an afterlife?

What’s your biggest extravagance?

I have never thought about it much, but I think more so people’s spirit remains for ever in other people.

In what place are you happiest?

If you had to rate your satisfaction with your life so far, out of 10, what would you score?

I am happy to spend my money on the kids, horses and shoes!

Professionally I am happiest in a situation which is

9.9.

■

From fake IDs to Frankel, days out at York have given James Simpson-Daniel a host of intoxicating moments

AM FORTUNATE ENOUGH to have my mind filled with memories of York racecourse. My mother living in Yarm meant that during school holidays we’d be lucky enough to enjoy many days at York. A typical day there would be a 40-minute train direct to the station. Crowds of people flooded out of the station and filtered through the great walls of the city to soak up the atmosphere ahead of the day’s racing. Fake IDs in hand enabled me and a few school chums to have a pint or two maximum, as that’s all that was needed in some of the bars that were close to the train station that I’d better not name for obvious reasons. A short taxi drive had us on the Knavesmire Road to the

beautiful course with all the other racegoers drinking champagne, rarely backing a winner and continuing on into the evening. In more recent years I’ve slowed down the old ways and could think of no better way than to prepare for my day ahead than a light lunch washed down with a pint of local ale in the historic Golden Fleece, supposedly one of the most haunted public houses in the country. If you do venture into the city before racing, take a moment to try to spot the proud symbol of York, the White Rose, scattered around as carvings on buildings, walls etc. I’d have generally gone through the entries the night before, so I wouldn’t need to do much in way of form studying – just

final weather checks and seeing whether the going has changed overnight before getting myself to the course in plenty of time. I’m a huge fan of looking at the horses, seeing how they look on the day and how they walk. My favourite spot to do this at York is in a small area of grass between the pre-parade ring, parade ring and magnificent new weighing room, which has a parade ring restaurant above it. If you haven’t already been, you must. I’ve always loved being in the crowd while watching the races and hearing everyone trying to cheer their horse home. Haggas loves a York winner and Dettori always puts fire in punters’ bellies. That said, you could have heard a pin drop when Arabian Queen beat Golden Horn last year. Anyone on at 50/1? The Dante Meeting is hugely informative, while the buzz of the Ebor Festival is hard to beat. Those with young children should note the Family Day on Sunday 4 September, when a certain Paddington Bear is making what must be his racecourse debut. Marmalade sandwiches all round. My personal favourite race there has to be watching Frankel win the International Stakes in 2012. It might sound like a safe selection, choosing what is in many people’s eyes the greatest horse of all time, but Frankel was having his first run at the trip. Tom Queally had the superstar tucked in towards the back of the field before allowing the horse to move closer coming into the straight, bagging the near rail and

sweeping effortlessly past St Nicholas Abbey to win in style. A stunning win by a stunning horse in what is affectionately known as God’s Own Country! ■ James Simpson-Daniel is a Yorkshireman

and Fitzdares’ PR Director.

GRANDDAYSO UT God’s Own Country offers plenty of memorable sporting experiences well beyond York and Headingley... Watch Yorkshire CCC @ Scarborough Cricket Festival 23-26 August Historic seaside sporting event played since 1876. St Leger @ Doncaster 10 September The world’s oldest Classic horse race. World Championship Snooker @ Crucible Theatre 15 April-1 May 2017 Snooker celebrates 40 years at the iconic Sheffield venue next year. Golf @ Ganton GC All year round A legendary track – our favourite in the county.

26 estate-2006-ian-weatherhead.jpg

Bugatti 35B 1927

Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza 1934

Goodwood estate owner and devoted petrolhead Lord March selects his top ten sports cars

Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta Competizione 1961

1967 Gurney Eagle-Weslake F1

Porsche 908/3 1970

27 D-Type Jaguar 1955

Lancia Aurelia 1950

Shelby Daytona Coupe 1964

Maserati A6GCS 1953

Pierson Brothers (1934) Ford Coupe 1949

Festival of Speed 23-26 June / Goodwood Revival 9-11 September / Tickets and info at GOODWOOD.COM

FITZDARES FANTASY OPEN

LOCAL RULES •

Pick five players and one reserve to create your Fantasy Open Dream Team

•

Your Dream Team’s cumulative prize money is your score

•

The 16 teams with the highest final score share the pot

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Follow your team’s progress on our live leaderboard

•

£100 entry per team – and if you enter four teams you get the fifth free!

#FitzdaresOpen

ENTER FROM 1ST JULY AT FITZDARES.COM