Nobody wants to talk about repressive regime behind the club but Abu Dhabi pushes sport as source of soft structural power
Well, that’s that done. So. What now? Perhaps the funniest moment of the Champions League final at a distant, smoke-tainted Ataturk Stadium was the sight of the tuxedo-clad Hungarian classical musician Adam Gyorgy thundering his way through the tournament tune on a gleaming pitchside grand piano pre-kick-off, trying really hard to give this hammy faux-anthem some verve and twinkle.
All the while, a hundred metres off to his left, 10,000 blue-shirted Manchester City fans doggedly booed every flourish, every attempt to inject a little feeling into the occasion. No, Adam. Please. It’s really not you. It’s just, well, it’s kind of a long story.
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