World Cup 2014: Who will get beyond the group stages?

Following last week’s draw for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Will Cafferky looks at each of the eight groups that were announced and offers his predictions as to which teams will progress.

Will Bayern Munich’s Mario Mandzukic make an impression on the world stage? Photo: sloanecroatia.com

Group A 

It’s hard to see anyone other than the hosts triumphing in this one, with Croatia probably presenting the toughest challenge. Mexico will be hoping their current transition phase is before the tournament starts, whilst Cameroon need to ensure that they correct the divisions starting to form within the squad if either hope to challenge for the second spot up for grabs.

Prediction: Brazil and Croatia to progress

Key Players: Neymar, Thiago Silva, Kaka, David Luiz, Oscar (Brazil), Mario Mandzukic, Luka Modric (Croatia), Javier Hernandez (Mexico), Samuel Eto’o, Alexander Song (Cameroon)

Group B

This proves much less straight forward than Group A; without wishing to use the label “group of death”, there’s no doubting this is a strong group. 2010’s finalists Spain and the Netherlands speak for themselves. However, as I recently discussed for Exeposé, Chile go into the tournament looking very strong and could upset the Dutch. Meanwhile, spare a thought for Australia.

Prediction: Spain and Chile to progress

Key Players: Jordi Alba, Xavi, Iniesta, David Silva, Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Gary Medel, Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sanchez (Chile), Wesley Snjeider, Robin Van Persie (Netherlands), Miles Jedinak, Tim Cahill (Australia)

Group C

One of the weaker groups of the cup, Group C is without any of the main big hitters. Columbia undoubtedly boast the strongest squad and will look to capitalise on a favourable draw. Ivory Coast will be thankful to finally get a bit of luck with a World Cup group, and this arguably presents their best opportunity to progress to the next round with Japan and Greece likely to prove little more than cannon fodder.

Prediction: Colombia and Ivory Coast to progress

Key Players: Rademel Falcao, Jackson Martinez, James Rodriguez, Fredy Guarin (Colombia) Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure, Wilfried Bony, Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Kesuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa (Japan), Sokratis, Kostas Mitroglou (Greece)

Could Southampton star Adam Lallana ruffle a few feathers against Italy and Uruguay? Photo: telegraph.co.uk

Group D

There were few draws that could have been harsher to England – whilst they did avoid Spain and Germany, they did manage to get the next best thing. Italy are a team in the ascendency under manager Cesare Prandelli, whilst few teams in world football can claim to have two better strikers than Uruguay. It’s hard to see England escaping alive, with the only respite coming in the quivering shape of Costa Rica.

Prediction: Italy and Uruguay to progress

Key Players: Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Pirlo, Mario Balotelli (Italy) Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Steven Gerrard, Jack Wilshere, Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart (England), Bryan Ruiz (Costa Rica)

Group E

The unseeded France will be rather happy with the result of the draw, as they look favourites to redeem their disastrous 2010 campaign. Honduras will likely prove to be the proverbial doormat, whilst Ecuador and Switzerland will battle for second place, with the latter coming out on top.

Prediction: France and Switzerland to progress

Key Players: Hugo Lloris, Mamadou Sakho, Frank Ribery, Paul Pogba, Samir Nasri (France), Stephan Liechtensteiner, Valon Behrami, Xerdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Antonio Valencia, Felipe Caicedo (Ecuador), Wilson Palacios (Honduras)

It’s time Leo Messi made an international tournament his own. Photo: empireofsoccer.com

Group F

This group seems fairly straightforward; Argentina’s overwhelming attacking talent will probably send shivers down the spines of Iranian defenders. Meanwhile, Bosnia-Herzegovina will likely be satisfied with the draw, especially following Nigeria’s fairly woeful display at the Confederations Cup earlier this year.

Prediction: Argentina and Bosnia-Herzegovina to progress

Key Players: Javier Mascherano, Pablo Zabaleta, Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain, Ezequiel Lavezzi (Argentina), Asmir Begovic, Miralem Pjanic, Zvjezdan Misimovic, Edin Dzeko (Bosnia-Herzegovina), John Obi-Mikel, Victor Moses, Obafemi Martins (Nigeria), Reza Ghoochannejhad (Iran)

Group G

Germany are the favourites of many a pundit for Brazil 2014. Whilst Portugal, Ghana and USA present tough opposition, it’s hard to imagine anything other than an efficient group stage from the Germans. Portugal endured a hairy play-off tie with Sweden to earn their place, and whilst USA and Ghana enjoyed more relaxed campaigns, it’s hard to picture either coping with the superhuman ability of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Prediction: Germany and Portugal to progress

Key Players: Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Mats Hummels, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Mario Gotze (Germany), Pepe, Joao Moutinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani (Portugal), Sulli Muntari, Kwandwo Assamoah, Asamoah Gyan, Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana), Tim Howard, Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan (United States)

Group H

Belgium couldn’t have wished for a better group as they look to capitalise upon their impressive qualifying campaign. Labelled a “golden generation,” the team is littered with Premier League superstars. Meanwhile, Fabio Capello’s Russia will face stiff competition from a promising Algeria side for the second spot in the round of 16, with South Korea also destined for an early exit.

Prediction: Belgium and Russia to progress

Key Players: Jan Vertonghen, Vincent Kompany, Alex Witsel, Moussa Dembele, Marouane Fellaini, Eden Hazard, Christian Benteke, Romelu Lukaku (Belgium), Igor Akinfeev, Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Yuri Zhirkov, Alan Dzagoev (Russia), Ryad Boudebouz, Sofiane Ferghouli (Algeria), Ki Sueng-Yueng, Kim Bo-Kyung, Lee Chung-Yong, Ji Dong-Wong, Park Chu-Young (South Korea)

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Where is it all going wrong for England?

Photo: sport5.co.il

Sports Team writer Scott Johnson and Online Sport Editor Matt Bugler dissect the failings of England after a double defeat.

Scott:

When Roy Hodgson looked at November on his calendar, he would have had a few things on his check list. These will have included sorting out England’s best playing system, giving fans reasons to be positive about next year’s World Cup, and proving that plucky England can still stand up to the heavyweights of the international football scene.

However, after an uninspiring 1-0 defeat to Germany at Wembley last night, following a soporific 2-0 loss in the match against Chile on Friday evening, Hodgson will be looking at this checklist with nothing at all ticked off.

Let’s look at the first point on Hodgson’s checklist. England’s current playing style is extremely confused – they play four attacking players (one striker, two wide attacking midfielders and one player behind the striker), yet the defensive style of the team completely negates the effectiveness of all of the attack.

The defenders are constantly being forced to play deeper than their effective position because of the system employed, leaving the front men completely isolated and ineffective against any defence worth its salt. It’s as if Hodgson wants to be attacking, but can’t bring himself to live with the consequences if it goes wrong. However, this approach is just leading the team to stagnation, not to glory.

If you sat through either, or both of the matches, you’ll know that point two on Hodgson’s checklist most certainly hasn’t been ticked off. We were poor against a side that most fans would be expecting to beat should they be in our World Cup group, and we rarely troubled the opposition in a match that any English team should be desperate to win.

So, all in all, we’re not optimistic at all, which is a shame after the final group performances during the qualifying phase which showed more attacking intent. The reversal of mentality when in front of a home crowd will not give any fan confidence about tough matches played in a neutral setting.

Item number three, equally, is most definitely not checked off. Although it was only a 1-0 defeat to Germany, it was in no way their strongest team and we were at Wembley. England rarely threatened and didn’t manage a single shot on target, Andros Townsend coming closest with a long range effort that rattled the post with Weidenfeller beaten.

England also contrived to beat themselves. Take a look at Mertesacker’s winning goal – there were seven England players around the six yard box to defend that final cross, yet Mertesacker beat them all to it, a criminal mistake at international level.

Admittedly, the header was very impressive one and Joe Hart had no chance once it was on its way. Hart almost wrote the headlines again with another mad rush for the ball outside the box resulting in a huge collision with Smalling; thankfully the ball not dropping to any attacking players.

England fans looking at Brazil 2014 are not going to be feeling terribly buoyant, especially knowing that England will be drawn alongside one of the top sides in the World as they are not one of the eight seeds. However optimistic you are as an England fan, two defeats at home can only mean the World Cup draw on December 6th is not going to make for happy viewing for the England camp.

Matt: 

Watching England on Tuesday night was almost pointless. Germany’s second string strolled around in the middle of the park, gently caressing the ball back and forth while Roman Weidenfeller earned money for standing still on some grass.

Roy Hodgson didn’t do himself any favours when told England had no shots on target: “What about Townsend’s shot that hit the post? Is that not on target? I rest my case.” No Roy, if it hits the post then it’s not going in. You’re better than that.

Townsend did do one thing though, which other players seem to be unable to do: run with the ball. When he gets the ball he aims to charge forward and gain ground, reinforcing the notion that football is a form of exercise. Many other players seem content to labour around, lob balls over the top and generally create nothing. Seriously, if you can’t find one shot on target in 90 minutes, what’s the point of showing up?

Quite how Daniel Sturridge managed to stay on the pitch for 90 minutes is beyond me, after a more than anonymous performance where he showed zero understanding with Wayne Rooney. The whole formation was a bit of a mess, was it 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1? I’m not convinced that Sturridge can lead the line on his own, but in theory the attacking quadrant should be much more fluid and looking to run in behind defenders.

Photo: Leon Benjamin (Flikr)

Some players simply aren’t good enough to be playing international football; the Hendersons, Smallings and Cleverleys of this world should be nowhere near the plane to Brazil. If you’re not playing regularly for your club, you shouldn’t be starting for England.

Adam Lallana had a quiet night compared to his impressive debut against Chile, but he was made to hug the touchline and rarely stray away from the left flank. At Southampton he plays everywhere, giving defenders nightmares with his omnipresence, but for England he’s not going to routinely beat full-backs for pace like Townsend.

Some people criticised the inclusion of Lallana and Jay Rodriguez, which doesn’t make sense considering the Saints are third in the league, with a plethora of English talent. They play continental-style football involving high pressing and interchanging positions, with fitness being the main thing to increase since Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment. Are England’s players really fit enough if they can’t run with the ball or press?

England have to change their mentality now. Increase fitness, play with freedom and try to create chances. Defensive mentality gets you a trip home in the first knockout stage if you’re lucky. Take some risks, try to entertain the fans, play quicker with the ball and do some running. Otherwise nothing has changed since Hodgson’s appointment, and no-one wants a bore-fest like the dross we served up against Italy in Euro 2012.

Who are the favourites for the 2014 World Cup?

Neymar reels away after scoring against Spain in the 2013 Confederations Cup. Photo: sambafoot.com

With 10 places still to be decided and almost nine months still to go before the 2014 World Cup kicks off in Rio, it may seem too early to start thinking of potential winners, as the beautiful game heads to arguably its rightful home.

Certainly, you would be hard pushed to find one amongst the 73,500 fanatic and passionate Brazil fans inside the Maracana who would tell you otherwise. Never mind the debates about the rights and wrongs of hosting the World Cup – make no mistake, in Brazil, already, the fever pitch is paramount.

What better reason then to talk about the chances of Brazil’s team to add to their world record World Cup haul? On paper, they look a decent side, with a defence marshalled by Tiago Silva and flanked by Dani Alves and Marcelo, two of the best wingbacks in world football.

Throw in the attacking flair of Neymar, and it would be a dangerous bet to write them off, especially when you consider their emphatic 3-0 victory over hot-favourites Spain in the final of the Confederations Cup.

However, this victory has merely served to paper over the many deficiencies in their team that were masked by a fanatic home support against travel-weary and seemingly demotivated opponents. They still seem unsure of a central striker, with Fred a good goal-scorer but contributing nothing in general play, whilst Hulk on the right flatters to deceive, cutting inside time after time before blazing wastefully over the bar.

As a defensive unit too they appear yet to live up to their potential – they may possess two of the best centre-backs in the world in Dante and Tiago Silva, but they often left isolated by the marauding runs of Dani Alves and Marcelo and inadequate protection in front by Hulk and Neymar. As such, many cracks remain in the host’s armour, arguably too much for them to be seen as the front runners for their home event.

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Read also:

The Dark Horses of the 2014 World Cup

The underachievers of World Cup qualifying

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Elsewhere, Spain as always look the team to beat. They possess a strength in depth unparalleled by their rivals, while their first eleven is so strong that only two or three of the players from the other leading contenders would get into their team.

It is very hard to find any weaknesses in their eleven, but a chink can be found in the shape of right back Alvaro Arbeloa, surely one of the worst players to consistently play for Real Madrid and Spain simultaneously. Furthermore, the central striker position is another minor area of weakness, though they still possess players the envy of most, with Fernando Torres, David Villa, Roberto Soldado, Alvaro Negredo and Michu all in contention for an attacking birth.

One country who doesn’t have to worry about the central striker position is Argentina, who possess an embarrassment of riches in the shape of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria. Throw in Javier Pastore and Eric Lamela playing in behind and you have a potent attacking mix.

The worry, as one might expect, is in defence. Whilst in theory defenders like Pablo Zabaleta and Fabricio Colloccini, with Javier Mascherano to protect them, should be more than capable of holding their own, the problem is that all their front players are constantly racing forward.

Marco Reus, part of the young German generation of attacking flair. Photo: 1000goals.com

This is a fact that makes Coach Alejandro Sabella’s decision not to select Tevez for recent matches somewhat mystifying, given that he offers not only a world class strike-threat, but also immense defensive work rate.  However, Argentina possess more than enough attacking riches to mask their defensive deficiencies, with quality in the final third ultimately what counts in international football.

Managers have a fraction of the time to drill their teams into watertight defensive operations as they do in club football, meaning Argentina arguably have enough to be established as second favourites.

The rest of the contenders almost all come from Europe, with Germany and Belgium the frontrunners. Germany possess no small amount of flair with the likes of Mario Gotze and Mesut Ozil, though their typical efficiency may be hampered by their centre backs, who seem to lack pace.

Furthermore, in the central-striker position they do not seem to have a contender, with Mario Gomez criminally overrated thanks to his ability to score five yard tap-ins whilst, like Fred for Brazil, contributing nothing in open play. He may well be his team’s principal Achilles’ heel, especially given that he seems to need a large number of chances to score one goal.

Germany do, however, have the option of playing a ‘false nine’ up front, in the form of Marco Reus or Thomas Muller. With Spain winning Euro 2012 with Cesc Fabregas in this position, a more fluid approach could bring success against the South American giants. England may go in with more hope than expectation, but the thrill, as ever, will be in seeing them try and this fan intends to watch every minute of it.

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Tom Cambridge

What is… The European Union?

Better off in, better off out… the debate is endless, but public knowledge about this international organisation is not. Just what is the European Union?

the European Union Flag
Image credits: R/DV/RS

What we call today the European Union has existed in various forms since its creation. Currently, this political and economic partnership exists between twenty-eight countries which are, unsurprisingly, situated in Europe.

History

It all began after the Second World War, the idea being that countries which trade would be less likely to go to war with each other. By 1958, the European Economic Community (EEC) was established out of the 1951 European Coal and Steel Community between six initial countries – Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy and the Netherlands –freeing up the borders between them to allow better trade links.

We, the United Kingdom (in case you were not so sure), have always been a bunch of sceptics, refusing to make the “Inner Six” a “Seven” in the beginning, and then later joining in 1973 (with a bit of persuasion from the USA and the Suez Crisis). Shockingly, or perhaps not at all, our [poor] relationship with the French meant it would take three attempts at membership and Charles de Gaulle’s departure from the French presidency for them, fearing too much US involvement, to finally stop saying non and ruining our chances.

Now

The EEC became the European Union (EU) in November 1993 under the Maastricht Treaty, establishing what are known as its “Three Pillars”: the European Community – removing the word “Economic” to show the wider policy range it now covers; Common Foreign and Security Policy; and Police and Judicial Co-Operation in Criminal Matters.  Although the latter two Pillars are largely based on international co-operation between member states with representatives working together on relevant issues, the first Pillar contains the supra-national institutions – those who have authority over individual national governments – and all of their work.

To begin, the European Commission is responsible for proposing legislation, upholding the Treaties they establish and running the EU from day to day. Each member state sends a single representative, making a total of twenty-eight members. The President of the European Commission is elected from these twenty-eight by the European Parliament. Don’t confuse this with the President of the European Union (who is actually the head of the European Council), currently President van Rompuy of Belgium!

The European Council has no strict power to make laws, but it is a body of the heads of government of each member state and is responsible for “the general political directions and priorities” of the EU according to the Lisbon Treaty. It acts as a body to be the presidency of the Union, and the head of the Council is its representative.

European Parliament, Strasbourg
Image credits: Salim Shadid

The next institution is the European Parliament. If you have ever voted for a Member of the European Parliament as we are charged to do every five years (the next time being in 2014), this is where the 766 of them elected across the Union work. Depending on their political opinions, they join forces with politicians of similar views to create larger voting blocs such as the Greens or the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. Its job is to debate and vote on legislation, although it can’t actually use its initiative to create it itself. It does, however, have the second largest electorate (or voting population) in the world after India, and the largest trans-national democratic electorate, with 376 million eligible voters at the last elections.

Despite its lack of initiative, it does share power over the budget with the Council, and has to hold the European Commission shares equal legislative and budgetary powers with the Council and, just to confuse you, has its own President – currently Martin Schulz.

Finally, there is the European High Court of Justice which is the highest court of the EU and based in Luxembourg. It is mainly responsible for making sure all EU law is applied fairly across the Union. Again, each member state sends one judge and so there are twenty-eight of them, although it’s uncommon for all of them to hear every single case.

The Euro

Coming fully into force in 2002, the euro is the currency of seventeen of the twenty-eight member states, also known as the eurozone. A better currency for trading purposes, as well as a sense of unity, the eurozone is estimated by the International Monetary Fund as the second largest economy in the world, and the euro is the most-traded currency after, of course, the US dollar. If you’re as strange as I am (and commiserations if you are), you may have noticed from your travels to the eurozone – perhaps Spain, France, Finland or Ireland – that each country has a different design on the back of coins initially introduced into that country. “RF” for “République Francaise” or the French Republic is stamped across the French euro coins, for example.

The euro has been the cause of much debate and controversy in the UK. You won’t need me to point out to you that we are still in possession of the Great British Pound Sterling for currency, but there has been past discussion amongst British politicians about abandoning it for the euro. Whilst the Maastricht Treaty establishing the EU compelled most member states to swap their pesetas, francs and deutschmarks (among many others) for the euro, Denmark and Britain both notably negotiated exceptions.

New Labour, elected to power in 1997, was cautiously optimistic about joining, dependent upon our passing five particular economic tests first although it was a relatively minor issue in the end, despite William Hague’s decision to run his 2001 election campaign based, bizarrely, almost entirely on keeping the pound. Of course, since the economic crisis and the euro descending into madness, any British subscription to the euro now seems unlikely.

So where should you stand on the EU?

Paying any significant attention to the news and current affairs will make you very much aware of strongly-held and strongly-fought opinions about the Union. Indeed, we have a whole political party dedicated to the cause: the United Kingdom Independence Party, or UKIP.

If you have made it this far through the article, you will perhaps have noted one of the major, particularly British, complaints about the European Union: the bureaucracy is an apparent nightmare. The idea of creating institutions each with their own responsibilities might have seemed wondrous, but instead there are a thousand and one different jobs to do by different people and a fair few “Presidents” and “High Commissioners” to go with it.

Many of said leaders are unelected which is cause for concern for those who are worried that the EU is too close turning into a supra-nation, and generally speaking, election turnout is close to pathetic – so those who debate our laws are not really accountable at all; in the last election, 43 per cent of all European voters cast their ballot.

The one nation problem is another worry in itself. People are not keen to lose their national identities which have been so well forged across the centuries, and many have nothing like a “European” identity. Particularly in Britain, our island mentality restricts us from being too keen to get too involved, and makes us angry when statistics are thrown around about how many of our laws are passed down from the European Parliament.

Eurosceptic politicians shout very loudly however, and those who are pro-EU keep their mouths closed far too much in comparison.

In an increasingly globalised world, it is silly to isolate ourselves from co-operation and partnership. Granted, prosecuting shopkeepers who price goods in pounds and ounces and not grams and kilograms is rather a ridiculous preoccupation for the European Union and anger over it is understandable, as is trying to tell us that Cadbury’s is not real chocolate (come on!!). But without the EU, travelling between mainland European countries would not be as easy as it is – the Schengen Agreement stops you from having to pull out your passport and go through customs and immigration checks every time you cross a border; trade would be restricted; police investigations would be more difficult across borders.

Image credits: Francisco Antunes

Nor could you just go and get a job in an EU country like you can now (provided there are any). Having spent a year living and working in France, without the EU I would have had a much more difficult time trying to set up my residency status and getting healthcare coverage than I did, and would have wasted my time on that rather than learning a new culture and language (and eating cheese – to perpetuate a stereotype).

All in all, the European Union is not about infringing national sovereignty and imposing petty laws on people. Or it ought not to be. It ought to be about co-operation and achieving bigger goals. Politicians argue that we have too many immigrants now – conveniently forgetting or simply not mentioning our chances to go and experience these other countries – and that the EU it costs too much and we aren’t getting the benefit from it back in the UK and if that is true then it is because we are not making the most of our involvement and reaping the benefit we could have whilst we dither on the edge.

Closing borders simply turns us into bigger xenophobes than we already are.

And if none of this convinces you, well then I suppose it has allowed us to hear a fair few stupid quotes…

Top Eight Quotes from European Politicians

1. “Sod off, you prick.” – Nicolas Sarkozy to journalist
2. “[Mr Obama is] young, handsome and suntanned.” – Silvio Berlusconi
3.  Bonus: “Ah, Barack Obama. You won’t believe it, but the two of them sunbathe together, because the wife is also tanned.”) – Silvio Berlusconi
4. “You have all the charisma of a damp rag and the appearance of a low-grade bank clerk and the question that I want to ask, that we all want to ask, is ‘Who are you?’” – UKIP’s Nigel Farage to the President of the European Council
5.  “You have lost a good opportunity to shut up.” – Nicolas Sarkozy to David Cameron
6.  “She says she’s on a diet and then helps herself to a second helping of cheese.” – Nicolas Sarkozy about Angela Merkel
7. “China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese.” – Charles de Gaulle
8. “In Italy, I am almost seen as German for my workaholism. Also I am from Milan, the city where people work the hardest. Work, work, work – I am almost German.” – Silvio Berlusconi (perhaps I ought not have spoken about stereotypes)

Imogen Watson, Online Features Editor

Inter-railing – Your Ticket To Europe!

Want to get away and explore the continent but can’t choose where to go? Hardly surprising really given the endless choice of cultural gems dispersed amongst the array of European cities. How does one choose between the overpowering romanticism of Florence and the Gothic beauty of Prague? Between the bright lights of Amsterdam and the colourful nature of Barcelona? Or between the idyllic Paris and the historic Berlin? Well, what if you didn’t have to make that choice? Make the most of the close proximity of these European hotspots, just buy yourself an Interrail ticket…and visit them all! Pick a friend or two (or go solo), pack your rucksack and simply hop on a train. Excuse the cliché, but the world really is your oyster.

“Eleven cities in three weeks? Wow, that’s…ambitious” is what people often said when we told them our summer plans, and when having not even left the country yet and our very first train was cancelled, I must admit, I was beginning to agree. But one replacement train and a Eurostar ride later, I found myself half way up the Eiffel Tower with two of my best friends, looking out across the French capital at night. The combination of the tower lit up and sparkling against the black of the Parisian night sky, along with the panoramic views of lights piercing the darkness all across the city, made the end of day one nothing less than enchanting.

 

Photo Credit – Harriet Barter

A few days and a good eleven hours on a train later we found ourselves in country number two, in the incredible city of Barcelona. If you’re looking for colour then Barcelona is the place to go. The coloured and patterned works of Antonio Gaudí, the architectural face of Barcelona, are displayed all around the city (as pointed out on our three hour city bike tour!) with arguably the most iconic being the Sagrada Familia; Gaudí’s still unfinished master-piece at the heart of the city. If you think it’s impressive from the outside just wait until you go in – it’s absolutely breathtaking! And if Gaudí’s colours weren’t enough, be sure to make your way up to the Magic Fountain one evening. This huge fountain, located in front of the National Art Museum of Catalonia, combines light, colour, music and water acrobatics to create a stunning performance, leaving no doubts as to where it gets its name. Undeniably the perfect way to end our stay in Barcelona.

The beauty of Interrail is that you can just hop on a train and within as little as three hours you could be in a totally new country. Which is great…Until the French Transport Workers decide to strike! After a few very stressful days and a replacement bus journey through France, it was ‘adiós España’ and ‘ciao Italia!’ Pizza, pasta, Prosecco, the leaning tower of Pisa, the sunset over Florence, a gondola ride in Venice and a visit to Juliet’s balcony in Verona… To name but only a few of the delights Italy had to offer. I completely fell in love with the Italian culture, and studying Italian means my return trip is already being planned!

 

Photo Credit – Hariet Barter

The more eastern side of our trip gave us a day in Vienna, before a couple of days exploring the Czech capital of Prague. Despite the constant rain, our spirits were not dampened as we loved the overwhelming beauty of the gothic Czech architecture. We also enjoyed an evening of traditional food in an underground restaurant, where we were personally serenaded by a Czech violinist as stuffed animals gazed down upon us from the walls – very surreal!

Our penultimate stop was Berlin, with a visit to the Reichstag being one of the highlights of the whole trip. Not dissimilar to Paris, we were presented with panoramic views of the sun setting over the whole city as we made our way around and up the huge glass dome . The remains of the Berlin Wall are also a must see in the German capital and although we refrained from spending our limited budget on a piece of the wall (10€ for a bit of stone in a pot!), we did spare some change on getting our passports stamped at Check Point Charlie- a fitting souvenir from such an iconic historical city.

Another five hours on the train (bringing our grand total to 67 hours spent on trains) took us to Amsterdam. With friends in all the right places we had our own personal tour guide who taught us all there is to know, visiting all the landmarks. We clambered up onto the ‘I Amsterdam’ sign for a photo, and visited the infamous red light district – a very bizarre experience! Charmed by the city and its canals, Amsterdam is high on the list of places to go back to. But, having most definitely had enough of trains by this point, we boarded the ferry at Hoek van Holland and sailed our way back to English turf.

So eleven cities in three weeks may perhaps have been a little ambitious, it was at the same time very achievable, and saved us from having to choose. Having loved every second we would not hesitate in sacrificing a few nights in TP to save for another ticket for another trip to all the places we missed out the first time.

So my advice? Do it while you’re young and do it while you can – these extensive university summer holidays aren’t going to be around forever!

 

Harriet Barter

Germans lead the way in European football

Bayern Munich celebrating their Champions League victory after beating Borussia Dortmund. Photo credits to yahoo.com

Even if Arjen Robben had not scored the late winner against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final last week for Bayern Munich, there would have been little doubt that this was a game that further edged German sides ahead of their European counterparts.

Although Dortmund ended up losing 2-1 to the Bundesliga champions, they put in the sort of performance that showed why they had been able to dispatch Real Madrid and Premier League title holders Manchester City during their journey to the final.

Borussia Dortmund will look to take advantage of the fact that many of their rivals – at home and abroad – will have new managers next season, which might result in the sort of instability that renders a Champions League title nigh-on impossible to attain.

Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea made up the top three in the Premier League this year – all three will have new managers next season.  The same goes for Real Madrid, and if rumours linking Carlo Ancelotti to Los Blancos turn out to be correct, then Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain will also have to look for a new boss.

It is true that Bayern will be under new management themselves next season following Jupp Heynckes’s decision to leave the club at the end of the season – however, he is being replaced by Pep Guardiola, who won 14 titles in four years at Barcelona, so there are high expectations that the German side will deliver again next year.

It is easy to get carried away with the idea that German sides will continue to sweep away their European counterparts in the next few years.  Munich showed that they are far from invincible, suffering a surprise 3-1 defeat at BATE Borisov in the group stages and only managing an aggregate draw against a relatively poor Arsenal side in the last-16.

Borussia Dortmund are prone to losing key players to ‘bigger’ rivals once they have proved themselves: Shinji Kagawa moved to Manchester United last year, Mario Götze will be playing for Bayern next season, and star striker Robert Lewandowski (who scored 4 goals in their 4-1 semi-final victory against Real Madrid) has also been linked with a move away from The Borussians.

Furthermore, it can also be said that Dortmund should never have even made it to the semi-finals of the tournament.  Their last minute quarter-final winner against Málaga CF was probably offside, and had that goal not stood, it would have been Málaga who would go on to face Real Madrid in the semi-final – ensuring that a Spanish side would be present in the final.

It can also be argued that it is Bayern, and not the top German teams in general, who have reached a state of supremacy.  Having emerged victorious from the Champions League final, Bayern have since claimed the treble, beating VfB Stuttgart 3-2 in the final of the German Cup and winning the Bundesliga by a colossal 25 points.

Indeed, Munich have been the most ruthless side in the Champions League, demolishing Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals.  However, it took an 89^th minute winner to stop the game from entering extra time, which suggests that Dortmund may again progress to the latter stages of next year’s Champions League – provided they can retain enough of their current squad, and replace their young star Götze.

There is little doubt that domestic teams in Germany and Spain are inching ahead of their rivals in England and Italy – not a single English side made it into the quarter-finals for the first time since 1996, while Bayern eased to a 4-0 aggregate victory over Serie A champions Juventus.  Having won their first Champions League since 2001, Bayern will be looking to retain the tournament next season under new manager Pep Guardiola’s guidance – a feat last accomplished in 1990 by AC Milan.

Tim Hellyer

Euroscepticism: another British quirk?

Photo credits to the European Parliament.

As UKIP makes Devon news, Features Editor Imogen Watson takes a look at euroscepticism across the rest of the European Union from her current base in France.

With the arrival of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) onto our sunny Exeter campus some might suggest there has been a darkening of the landscape in bright and shining Devon, and not just because of the rain. Whether true or not, there is some argument that perhaps there is a change of the British political scenery, and that our three main parties are now becoming four.

It is easy to get lost within the borders of your own country, however, and forget about the events and political situations abroad. We spend time looking at our British affairs and how they affect the European Union, but the vast majority gives no time to examining the political make-up of those other European countries, and how they react to EU actions.

Here in France where I currently find myself, like the UK, who is in power generally tends to alternate from a stable centre-left government to a stable centre-right one. On the whole, it is difficult for outside parties to step in and interrupt the success of these coalitions, but there is a party which has grown in success. Try not to be alarmed by the name, as it may well look familiar to you. It is the Front National. Perhaps the name Marine Le Pen also rings some bells, as it is under her leadership that the Front became much more focused in its immigration policy on the attack on Muslims for their apparent threat to the French Republic.

Whilst the Front National resembles more the British National Party than UKIP, like the BNP, it too has an anti-European Union wing, calling for the end of French involvement in the Union and a return to the Franc over the Euro. The more-equivalent party to UKIP is Mouvement pour la France (MPF) and is considered a moderately conservative party. In the 2009 European elections, however, it proved much less popular than UKIP by gaining just 4.80% of the popular vote.

Until recently, Euro-sceptic parties seemed to be scarcer in Germany, with vocal detractors coming from populist right-wing parties but in the last few months, there has been the emergence of a new party named Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany). It is a single-issue party in that it is anti-euro but not actually anti-European Union; its success is yet to be seen, but it does have some prominent supporters who worked against the Greek bail-out. No doubt it will be the state of the single currency in the run-up to the next European elections in 2014 that will decide its fate, although one in four voters appears to currently support the end of German involvement in the euro.

Euroscepticism is in existence in every country throughout the Union, and indeed has kept countries like Norway from ever joining in the first place. Every country has at least one party in favour of at least EU reform, if not complete withdrawal. Yet it is importantly more prominent in the United Kingdom than any other country and UKIP is closer to becoming a strong political force than any of its European equivalents. Simply put, why?

Quite honestly that little stretch of water – and I call it little as we have managed to branch it with a train – is key. Physically disconnected as we are from the mainland, our hearts and mindsets have never properly lain with continental Europe, and as such we have been slightly reluctant passengers in the Union, never really having grasped the chance at taking up the driving seat of Europe, to quote Eddie Izzard. Our culture differs greatly from our nearest continental neighbour, France, despite that small distance between our coast lines, and so does our politics. Even if UKIP’s ascent is just a protest vote, it is a sustained one happening over many years that does not happen “on the continent”. Just that common phrase sets up an image – they share borders, you can live in Germany and go shopping in Poland without a passport. It is an image and an attitude we are just not used to on our island.

No European countries, except perhaps France and its ever-friendly relationship with Britain, actually want the UK to leave the Union. Yet no pro-European British politician takes the time nowadays, even before the euro crisis began, to explain to the public what benefits we are actually gaining from our EU membership, instead leaving the Eurosceptics to reign supreme. The situation might well look different if someone took a moment to do so.

Imogen Watson, Online Features Editor

How to survive Oktoberfest.

Photo by Joshua Irwandi

Before my year abroad, I had high expectations of German beer, food and general merriment. Having just returned from the closing weekend of Oktoberfest 2012, I can tell you that the festival certainly didn’t disappoint. However, navigating tent entry, beer by the litre and dirndl etiquette is no easy feat. Here are a few things you’ll need to know before hitting the world’s biggest beer festival next year.Book accommodation early. Considering this year’s 6,4 million visitors, it’s unsurprising that finding accommodation in Munich can be tricky. If you’re looking for a decent night’s sleep, be prepared to pay over the odds. If you need somewhere to crash for a few hours before queuing for a beer tent at the crack of dawn, you might have more luck. During the festival, temporary hostels pop up across the city. More like campsites than hostels, this is the option for those who’ll be too busy partying to notice where they end up sleeping.

To make the most of Oktoberfest, be prepared to get up early and, for the full experience, drink beer for breakfast. Queues begin forming as early as 7am, and once the 35 beer tents reach full capacity, it’s almost impossible to get in. This often means alcohol before lunchtime. A giant pretzel for breakfast will certainly make the first litre of beer easier to stomach. Of course, if you want to join in without feeling like an alcoholic, few fellow revellers would notice the difference between a litre of beer and a litre of apple juice, at least until the afternoon.

Another essential part of Oktoberfest is traditional Bavarian clothing. Although there’s no dress code, Dirndls and Lederhosen make the whole experience more fun. If you can’t get your hands on an outfit before you arrive, there are plenty of shops in Munich waiting for hoards of festival-goers wanting to look the part. The average outfit costs €100, but as you’ll be wearing it every day (and night) of the festival, consider it an investment. Girls, make sure to tie the apron of your Dirndl in the correct place. Left if you’re single, right if you’re taken. It’s like a subtler version of a traffic light party. Bear this in mind for fancy dress back in Exeter.

Before heading home, I’d recommend taking some time off from the festivities to see more of Munich. Although the festival offers great beer, good food and an astonishing selection of fairground attractions, you might eventually need a break. If so, head to the city’s main square, Marienplatz, to admire the buildings and watch the Glockenspiel, a show in which historical events are re-enacted by figurines. This may also appease any parents doubting the cultural value of your trip.

Admittedly, beer plays the central role in festival proceedings, but it’s not just about drinking. Traditional food, folk music and a sociable atmosphere create a quintessentially German experience, making Oktoberfest well worth a visit.

Beth Purrington.