After Germany’s football fest, rocky road lies ahead for European game
Real Madrid and others are not happy with the Club World Cup while new Champions League format is unclear
While English and Spanish supporters mingled good-naturedly enough in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Sunday afternoon, plenty of glad-handing was going on a few metres away. Hotel Adlon Kempinski is one of Berlin’s most famous addresses and made an obvious honeypot for Uefa’s delegation, along with a galaxy of special guests, before the Euro 2024 final.
Arsène Wenger, flying the flag for Fifa in Gianni Infantino’s absence, posed for photographs in the lobby. The Formula One driver Lando Norris fiddled with his phone, while Europe’s football association heads huddled around tables with staff and acquaintances. Anyone not full from the previous night’s lavish dinner could order a “doner kebab” of sous-vide cooked veal and truffle shavings. The summer had passed successfully, went the consensus. Uefa and Germany had not been without wobbles but the show was drawing to an amenable close.
