Sport magazine 334

Issue 334 | December 6 2013

Beckham On England. On United. On life after football.

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Contents

18

Issue 334, December 6 2013 Radar 06 Messi versus the world

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague reveals the importance of Lionel Messi’s World Cup mission

08 Deathly draws

We recall the toughest groups of death in World Cup history

10

Hamburgers United

Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville launch their own cafe – with Karren Brady’s matchday dish of choice

oFeatures this coming week

18

David Beckham

The England legend talks World Cups, lifelong friendships and why he’s still an east London boy at heart

25 World Cup draw

What could happen, what we want to happen and what we definitely don’t want to happen when the balls are drawn in Brazil today

31

31

35

Rio Ferdinand

He’s called time on his England career, but Ferdinand still has plenty to say on the Three Lions

35 The future of Formula 1

Cover picture: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images. This page: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images, Rob Carr/Getty Images, Ben Radford/Allsport UK, ©2013 Disney Pixar. All Rights Reserved

We examine the momentous changes that are set to rock the F1 world next season

Extra Time 52 Gift guide for girls

10

Your Uncle Sport gives you a helping hand with your last-minute shopping

54 Entertainment

A darkly comic Israeli thriller and American Psycho the musical

56 Gadgets

A sexy television – with the least sexy name you can imagine

ards 2013 Aw

60 Kit

The cross trainers that allow you to change your exercise without needing to change your footwear | December 6 2013 | 05

Radar

p08 – The World Cup’s deadliest groups

p10 – Enjoy a prawn sarnie at Ryan Giggs’ and Gary Neville’s footie cafe

Messi’s MoMent? have three or four World Cups to take advantage – and two of those have passed already for Argentina.

So, after trying different things, including Diego Maradona, it’s ended up being a humble, quiet coach [Alejandro Sabella] who has got it right.”

Past struggles with Argentina

Sabella success

“The fans, previous managers, media and Messi himself have to share the blame. The atmosphere of the fans: he was whistled sometimes; they said you only get the best out of him when you pay him in Europe; he was treated as a foreigner in his homeland. That didn’t help.”

“Alejandro Sabella has created a more balanced side.

Defensively they’re still a bit weak, but he’s managed to put all of the talent at his disposal at the disposal of Messi. Now for Argentina, he’s closer to the box – he doesn’t have to be involved from the beginning of a move, he can just be in the right place at the right time. Argentina are almost like a Real Madrid team: quite a fast, counter-attacking team.”

Close to quitting

“He was very close [to leaving international football].

He would go home to Argentina, be treated badly and when he came back to Barcelona, it would take a week for him to recover. It really affected him. His family would see that and they just didn’t want him to go through it. It was discussed: shall we not go back?”

Balancing act

“He fights all his life to be accepted in Argentina and – finally – when he is accepted, Barcelona stop being so dependent on him, then Neymar arrives, and now the injuries. So he has never had a complete season or year of happiness.”

New manager

“When you have a player like Messi in your side, you have to get all of the conditions right to take advantage of that talent. You’re really going to only 06 | December 6 2013 |

World Cup required?

“If you look at the top players in history – Pele, Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Alfredo Di Stefano –

only one of them hasn’t won the World Cup [Di Stefano]. But Pep Guardiola says Messi doesn’t need to win the World Cup. We can see that he is the greatest, because he’s done it with such a consistency at such a high level and won so many trophies now considered as big as the World Cup, like the Champions League.”

2014 and beyond

“What happens in this World Cup is going to define so much of what happens to him, to Barcelona, to Neymar. Because, if Messi wins it, he’ll go back and give a sigh of relief: ‘I’ve done this now.’ And he can concentrate on, perhaps, becoming a different player. A deeper player, more a midfielder or a number 10. But if he doesn’t win it, he’s going to still try to keep pressing everybody, still wanting to score 90 goals per season – and how does that affect the balance of Barcelona? So it’s a fascinating World Cup. It’s a turning point in his career and in his life.”

Messi by Guillem Balagué – published with the authorisation of the Messi family – is out now (Orion), hardback £20/eBook £10.99

Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images

T

he world’s best player struggled for acceptance in Argentina, but has 20 goals in 22 games under their latest manager.

We ask Spanish football expert Guillem Balague about Lionel Messi, Argentina and the importance of 2014...

Radar

Death draws E

ngland’s opening World Cup games will be settled in Salvador this afternoon, but every team will hope to avoid the dreaded Group of Death. We preview the draw in full from page 25. But first, whet your appetite with some of the deadliest groups in World Cup history...

Group 3, mexico 1970 Featuring Brazil in their pomp, defending champions England, 1962 runners-up Czechoslovakia and Romania, this group was the origin of the term ‘Group of Death’ – although it was first coined in Spanish as the grupo de la muerte by Mexican journalists.

It didn’t really live up to its awesome moniker, however, as the eastern European sides failed to impress. England (with two 1-0 wins) and eventual champions Brazil (three out of three) both enjoyed safe passage through, not to mention a matey match-up between Pele and Bobby Moore.

Group c, spain 1982 This grupo de la muerte spawned one of the great World Cup games, the awkward 24-team set-up leading to a second three-team group stage – including one with Brazil, Italy and holders Argentina. A side featuring a youthful Diego Maradona lost both its games, setting up a head-to-head between the attacking verve of Brazil, who had won four from four, scoring 13 goals, and a defensive Italian side (three draws, one win).

The Europeans won 3-2 thanks to a hat-trick from Paolo Rossi (above), and went on to lift the trophy.

The great Brazil playmaker Zico called it “the day football died”.

Group F, south korea and japan 2002 Another match-up with Argentina promised much, given the way that England had crashed out four years earlier. Add a Sweden side featuring Freddie Ljunberg and Henrik Larsson alongside a talented Nigeria team – with many of the players who had won Olympic gold in 1996 and gone on to top their group in 1998 – and we had a party. Or so we thought.

Group F flattered to deceive, as is often the case with England. The Three Lions nailed a sweet 1-0 win over Argentina (pictured), who failed to get out of the group for the first time in 40 years – but Sweden went through top on goals scored.

Group c, Germany 2006 Only four Argentina players survived from 2002, with Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi among the new faces, and the group was even tougher. The Netherlands had brought in new talents like Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie, the Ivory Coast had a golden group of players coming through, and Serbia and Montenegro had gone through qualifying unbeaten. The favourites won out, though, with the most memorable moment coming in Argentina’s 6-0 drubbing of the latter – a 25-pass move culminating in a goal from Esteban Cambiasso (above).

speed read

08 | December 6 2013 |

All pictures Getty Images

A

one-of-a-kind book, the ‘Bernie Edition’ of the Formula 1 Opus is signed by Mr Ecclestone and all 22 living world champions.

It comes in a carbon fibre presentation box that’s almost as big as the man himself, as well as tickets to every race next season, access to the exclusive Paddock Club and the chance to meet Ecclestone over a cup of tea. Although, for the guide price, we’d probably demand some posh biscuits. Granted, if the last few months of this season are anything to go by, you could enjoy the same action for a lot less by putting your feet up with a cuppa and watching a repeat of any given race on Sky+.

The book, which covers F1 present and past, will however be auctioned off, with bidding closing on December 24, if you’re interested. That guide price we mentioned is a cool $1m. But it’s probably tax deductible...

Find out more at thisisopus.com/thebernie

Radar

ronnie shalvis parkour pioneer

Ice must make everything a lot trickier?

“It’s more difficult, but pretty much anything I can do on hard ground I can do on ice. The only difference is on ice you can incorporate spinning or slides that I wouldn’t normally be able to do.”

What’s your best trick?

“One of the stunts I’m known for is a move called the Dash Bomb – it’s a vault over something, where you start jumping backwards over an obstacle with your hands behind you, then immediately flip the other way doing a full front flip forward. I did it out of a 10-foot tall parking garage.”

What are you working on?

“Right now I’m working on a trick called a ‘Kong Gainer’, which is similar to the Dash Bomb that I landed, but opposite.

So you go forward with your hands, pushing up from an obstacle, and then go into a back flip forward over the obstacle.

It’s a fairly dangerous one – I’ve seen a lot of people land on their head or hit

Eat my goal 10 | December 6 2013 |

F

ootball and food have an unhealthier relationship than Jose Mourinho and Michael Essien, but a new restaurant founded by Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs (who admit they can cook little more than a bacon sandwich and a bolognese between them) is looking to change that. With a menu inspired by

their head on the obstacle. I can do it in the gym, and I’m training to be able to do it safely outside on hard ground.”

Do you have to plan your moves out in advance, or can you just start running off over rooftops like an action hero?

“I’ve reached the point where I can just look at a drop and know whether I can do it or not, but it’s all the training I’ve done up to that point that has allowed me to be able to do that. I’ve practised it so many times at different heights that I can just look at it and know exactly how I need to do the flip or jump.”

Is the sport becoming more competitive?

“When parkour first started, the community was kind of against competitions. But lately, with free running being slightly different from parkour, people are making more out of it.”

Any tips for people that want to try it?

“Start very simply. Start with movements that you already know how to do – like the shoulder roll. It’s a simple move to start learning and, if you trip and fall, you can go into the roll, which will prevent you from getting hurt.”

Ronnie Shalvis is an ambassador for Alfa Romeo UK and stars in the campaign for the ALFA D.N.A System. alfaromeo.co.uk

terrace favourites, Cafe Football – opening in Westfield Stratford this month – brings a touch of class to the sausage roll. On offer are burgers, pizza and steak plus ‘The Treble Pies’ (get it?). There are also some celebrity fans’ favourites, including Karren Brady’s pie and mash. Not a prawn sandwich in sight. cafe-football.com

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

A

merican Ronnie Shalvis is one of the pioneers of parkour, or free running. He’s probably best known for a series of YouTube clips based on the Assassin’s Creed series, and he’s recently been working on ‘ice parkour’, which sounds pretty slippery.

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Radar Editor’s Letter Focused on the job in hand: Hodgson has shown a quiet determination with England www.sport-magazine.co.uk @sportmaguk facebook.com/sportmagazine

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Roy plays hard ball

On the eve of the World Cup draw, the England manager asserts his authority over the clubs

Editor Tony Hodson @tonyhodson1

next Red about the current absence through injury of Daniel Sturridge. But, as an England fan too, I am totally behind Roy Hodgson in his refusal to apologise for playing the striker for 90 minutes against Germany last month.

Word is that Liverpool were furious at the physical condition in which Sturridge – a player whose career has been blighted by injury problems – returned to Anfield after that game. But Hodgson has been quick (and correct) to point out that the ankle injury set to keep Sturridge out for up to two months is nothing to do with the troublesome thigh that had bothered the forward in the run-up to the latest international break.

“I suppose you could argue we did put his resolve to the test,” said Hodgson this week. “But I don’t apologise for it.

I am delighted he did get out there, because that means in the future I will know I can trust him in an England team and he is not going to be playing when he feels like it – he is going to be playing when he’s fit.”

Strong words, but well timed in a week when the fans’ attentions are turned towards the all-important World Cup

draw in Brazil. Hodgson is paid a handsome salary to coach the national team, but for the most part has to suffer in silence as clubs seemingly endeavour to pull their prized assets out of England fixtures for the flimsiest of reasons.

It is Hodgson’s head on the block when his squad flies to South America, however, and he is showing a welcome determination to ensure he takes with him a carefully selected group of players exhibiting the kind of attitude that will be required to achieve anything beyond the bare minimum in Brazil. If that means occasionally putting the clubs back in their (lavishly decorated) box, then so be it.

Rory McIlroy has ended his annus horribilis with a tied sixth at the HSBC Champions, a tie for fifth at the World Tour Championship, and victory at the Australian Open – where he saw off the challenge of Adam Scott, Masters champion and form golfer in the world this year, on home soil. He could be a young man to keep an eye on next year.

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Things about Tom Daley that matter to me: 1. He is a world-class diver who might just win Olympic gold for Team GB in Rio; 2. His legs are hairier than mine. That’s it.

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Radar Opinion

It’s like this…

Bill Borrows

Flats on Friday

David Lyttleton

E

Ignore fair-weather bores

A

nd so the fixtures for the 2015 Rugby World Cup have been announced, with the astounding revelation that 37 of the 48 matches are to be played below the Watford Gap. So that leaves five in the Midlands, and six to be shared by the major conurbations of Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.

“We have taken the game to the whole country,” boasted Debbie Jevans, chief executive of England Rugby 2015 – a touch disingenuously – when the host stadiums were announced back in May. “It’s disgraceful,” thundered Roger Bowen, chairman of Sale Sharks Supporters Club in The Daily Telegraph, before adding enigmatically.

“They’re talking with a forked tongue.”

Unusually, you might suppose, I have some sympathy for Ms Jevans. An even geographical spread would be financial suicide, and I’m glad there are only a few games in the north. Events like these, suddenly shoving a sport into the national consciousness, produce a certain kind of pop-up fan. And, to paraphrase Morrissey, it’s worse if they’re northern.

This has nothing to do with rugby union. I toured South Africa with the Lions as a journalist in 1997 and loved every minute, interviewed Martin Johnson on the eve of the 2003 World Cup and even tried to persuade my ex-wife to “hang on for a bit” as she went into labour before the start of the 2007 final. She refused. We lost.

14 | December 6 2013 |

It’s any sport that leaps from the back pages to a lead item on the evening news, and it almost made London 2012 unbearable. Ben Ainslie? “Yep, that’s four consecutive Olympic golds,” the pop-ups would announce like they had been following his career since he first pulled on a lifejacket.

Don’t even get me started on what they thought they knew about Sir Bradley Wiggins or the Paralympians, and have since forgotten.

It’s all talk. They drop these learned-by-rote facts at dinner parties or in the boozer in an effort to sound au courant. Rarely will you find them at an actual event – unless it’s a hot corporate ticket and they’re depriving a real fan of a place.

And so that’s why Ms Jevans has got it about right. First of all, the core support in the south should get the tickets, but they’re also welcome to the battalions of bar-room bores who will suddenly know the second line to Swing Low Sweet Chariot.

Generally speaking, we don’t dig fake in the north. @billborrows

Plank of the week

Dave Whelan, Wigan You sacked Owen Coyle because Wigan fans weren’t happy about losing three games at home in a week?

Had they beaten Derby, they would be in contention for a playoff place. Be careful what you wish for.

veryone knows that the margins in elite sport are incredibly fine. While not always the case, opportunities at the top tend to arrive and vanish in what seems like an instant.

I remember being told I needed to play well in a Heineken Cup game by the England coaches, as Trevor Woodman was putting serious pressure on my place in the squad. We travelled to Ulster and, as so few teams manage to do, beat them in reasonable style. I wasn’t smiling in the showers, though, partly because I was conducting my ablutions next to the unarguably more physically impressive Richard Hill – but primarily because I knew I had blown it.

During the first half, we lost a scrappy lineout and their openside flanker scooped up the ball and began running at a natural hole in our defensive line. I tackled him – but only after hesitating and, assuming the man next to me would hit him, missing the opportunity to smash a bloke backwards before he achieved total balance. Two seconds – moment gone. And in the second half I received an impromptu pass from Kyran Bracken from a turnover, and froze a bit. I wasn’t sure whether I should charge the ball up or spin it wide, so I stood still – for roughly a second. “F***ing run, man!” shouted skipper Francois Pienaar, and I did, but that split second of doubt did the damage.

They were my two shots at making an impact away from the tight phases, and I ballsed them up. I still don’t know why. The only thing that makes this memory bearable is that no third party was involved; I made the mistakes, so I can live with them.

I wonder how George Groves feels this week as he reflects on what was, bizarrely, his finest yet most disastrous moment in boxing. In terms of preparation, he looked in a different league to Carl Froch, the defending world champion and certified tough hombre.

Round after round, Groves took Froch apart, and it was mesmerising to watch.

Then, in the ninth round – after being floored and, frankly, battered by the challenger, Froch saw an opportunity. How, after such a hammering, he managed to take that opportunity, I do not know. The mental toughness he holds in reserve is, I feel comfortable enough to profess, what sees him sat atop the tree.

Groves, now, will reveal what reserves he has. He saw his dream taken away not by his opponent or his own errors, but by a referee who stopped the fight way, way too early. Groves was in trouble, no doubt – but nothing like the trouble into which he had thumped Froch in the preceding rounds – yet he was not given anywhere near the same chance to dig in as his more decorated opponent. So he finds himself praying for a rematch, relying on Froch to do the right thing and not dodge it. And he has to get over the referee’s premature annihilation of his dreams. It’s all out of his hands.

Tell you what, though. I’ll fight anyone for a ticket when the time comes. No referees allowed. @davidflatman

Frozen in time

16 | December 6 2013 |

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

We are quite amused Common lore has it that, when a train on which she was travelling neared Birmingham, Queen Victoria ordered the blinds in her carriage to be pulled down, so she need not look out upon the filth of 19th-century industry. No such contempt from great-great-great-great-grandson Prince William, however – Aston Villa’s most famous fan who isn’t a violinist dressed as a tramp stopped the train, got off and made his bespectacled way to Villa Park last weekend, where he seemed to enjoy a tedious 0-0 draw with Sunderland. Locals didn’t seem quite as taken with the show, mind.

| 17

Who is DaviD Beckham?

David Beckham

The England legend talks exclusively to Sport about life after football and today’s World Cup draw k 18 | December 6 2013 |

David Beckham

I

t’s hard to picture David Beckham as a living, breathing man.

forward to,” he tells us. “I was excited, because I knew that there was a time I could put things right, to an extent.”

We suggest England’s current crop of players will be anticipating this afternoon’s draw with a similar sense of excitement. “It’s something that you always watched out for,” says Beckham. “It’s something I think every Englishman watches out for. Once you reach the World Cup finals, you’re always waiting to see who you’re going to play in the group stages.”

NatioNal pride

England safely navigated the group stages in four of the five major tournaments at which Beckham played, but greater success sadly eluded him.

“I look back at my career and, if there’s one thing I could change, it would be winning something with England,” says Beckham, who remains fiercely proud of playing for his country despite the abuse he received from fans after that sending-off in 1998. k

“i look back at my career aNd, if there’s oNe thiNg i could chaNge, it would be wiNNiNg somethiNg with eNglaNd”

Previous page image: Doug Inglish/Trunk Archive

It is now a generation and more since a young footballer burst on to the scene at Manchester United, freshfaced and full of the swagger and desire that would grace the beautiful game for the best part of two decades.

Today, we see a grizzled hunk adorning countless television adverts, billboards and magazine covers. The boy became a man, and the man became a brand.

Waiting in a London hotel on a grey Thursday morning, we hear his voice before we finally see him – the moderated east London tone, largely unchanged by moves to Manchester, Spain, America, Italy and France.

And then he’s through the door, looking model-perfect in a dark T-shirt framed by ink, storied hair swept straight back above a wolfish beard. The room has been set up for TV interviews, so it is illuminated only by a couple of lighting rigs. Combined with Beckham’s insouciant style, it all feels a bit unreal,

as if we’re conducting the interview inside a fragrance advert.

The 38-year-old has always had to be pretty good at blocking out the glare of the spotlight to concentrate on the task at hand, though. And, as he sits down opposite us with a smile and a handshake, he’s polite and focused.

It’s all as inevitably effortless as one of his trademark free kicks, but with today’s World Cup draw in mind, our first question takes him back to a strike he put everything behind – probably the hardest anyone has ever struck a football. Beckham’s penalty against Argentina in the 2002 World Cup group stages was powerful, low and unerring. It closed a painful chapter in his international career that began, as we all know, with a dismissal in the 1998 World Cup second round for a petulant flick out at Diego Simeone. He pauses to collect his thoughts before telling us how he felt when Argentina’s ball was pulled out of the pot and placed in England’s group.

“As soon as their name came out, I knew it was something I was looking

20 | December 6 2013 |

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David Beckham “I’m proud of the amount of times I’ve played for England [115] and I’m proud that I’ve captained my country.

Would I have liked a trophy at the end of it? Yeah. I’d give up a lot to have a trophy for my country.”

With redemption on the line and the ball on the penalty spot, the pitch can feel like a very lonely place.

But Beckham was fortunate to be among friends for his showdown with Simeone in Sapporo, Japan.

“I can remember him coming up to me during that match against Argentina,” he said. “I turned around and I saw Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville. I knew I had their support, and you can’t replace that.”

Beckham is promoting The Class of ’92, a documentary that brings together the six Manchester United youth team players who developed into treble-winners: Beckham, Scholes, Butt, Ryan Giggs and Gary and Phil Neville. We ask whether the players – Giggs aside – were able to carry the understanding they had at club level with them when they were on England duty.

“I felt that we could,” says Beckham.

“When we first got into the England team, there were literally more than six United players – there was Andy Cole and a couple of others as well.

We were kind of dominating at the time, and the five of us always got on when we were away with England.

We always stuck together. People talked about the Manchester United and Liverpool divide, but there was no divide – it was just the fact that we’d sit together at dinner or talk.”

“I always look back on my time with those lads as the best time in my career,” he continues when we ask whether the fun of playing football evaporated as his career took him away from his friends at Old Trafford.

“To have grown up like we did as mates and to have the success we had with club and country – that’s any kid’s dream. Obviously I moved on to Real Madrid, then to the Galaxy, and played for Milan. I was able to carry that feeling over with me to other clubs, but it was nothing compared to what we had.”

Manchester MeMories

There’s a moment in the film when Giggs laughs as he recalls the nickname he used to have for Beckham when they were apprentices at United: “Alright treacle?” The others chip in: “Flash Cockney” and “Pretty boy” are the suggestions from Gary Neville, one of Beckham’s closest friends in football. In The Class of ’92, the group remembers the attention Beckham paid to having the best car in the group.

22 | December 6 2013 |

Life after footbaLL There were tears in Paris as Beckham left the pitch for the final time as a professional in May. A few months on, how is he coping?

How are you adjusting to life without football?

“There were a few weeks where I really missed the game, but I had everything set up. Literally the day after I finished playing at PSG, I was flying across to the US about my MLS franchise. So I kind of jumped into something straight away, which helped me get over the fact that I wasn’t playing – and I’ve been so busy since then I’ve kind of not had the time to sit down and be sad about the fact that I’m not playing.”

“to have grown up Like we did as Mates and to have the success we had – that’s any kid’s dreaM” “I think it’s because I’m from east London!” he laughs. “That was something I always wanted as a kid: leather seats and nice wheels and a good music system, and that’s not changed. Times change – but I still like a nice car.”

Beckham has plenty of those now, along with property and business ventures that make him one of the highest-earning athletes in the world – and one of the world’s most recognisable faces.

“I never wanted to be a star,” he insists, however. “I never wanted to be famous. I just wanted to be a footballer.

I wanted to be a professional footballer and I wanted to play for Manchester United and play for England. Obviously, though, I have been very privileged – and I am very proud of everything that has come with that.”

In his recent autobiography, Sir Alex Ferguson says of Beckham that he “felt uncomfortable with the celebrity aspect of his life”. It has been suggested that this contributed to Beckham’s departure from Old Trafford after 12 years, six league titles, two FA Cups and a Champions League trophy. He has admitted to being devastated when he left United; there were private tears when he signed for Real Madrid. But if Beckham could go back, would he trade what he

has now – the money, the fame, the imminent MLS franchise – for a few more years with the number 7 on his back?

“I’d never trade anything that I’ve done in my career for that,” comes the firm reply. “I feel special about Manchester United because they gave me my chance to live my dream with a club I’d supported my whole life and will continue to support. But I’m very proud of my achievements outside of Manchester United. And the fact that I was – which is very difficult, by the way – able to go on from Manchester United and be successful with Real Madrid, PSG, the Galaxy. I’m very proud that I played for some of the other biggest clubs in the world, and I would never change that.”

With that, our time is up, and Beckham is whisked away. We’re left with a clearer picture of him – and it’s a sharper version of the image we already had: the east London boy turned style icon; the sporting diplomat on a par with princes; a business, and a businessman. Six months after his retirement, Beckham is all these things and more. You suspect that’s exactly what he wants.

Amit Katwala @amitkatwala

The Class of ‘92 is available now on DVD (Universal)

How are things progressing with the franchise? Will it be Miami?

“The announcement is not out yet – we haven’t announced Miami.

We have looked at other places.

People are talking about Miami because they’ve seen me there, and definitely that is an option, but we’ve not put the announcement out.”

Do you think your move to LA Galaxy did help grow the sport?

“If you look at statistics, then yes.

I don’t like to talk about my impact in America; I think it’s down to other people to talk about that, and it’s better coming from them because they’re not biased. I’ve seen the impact of the new stadiums that have been built around the country solely for football, I’ve seen the league and the interest grow, and I’m proud to have been part of that.”

What do you miss about playing?

“That regimented schedule of getting up in the morning, training, coming home, seeing the kids. I miss that, I miss training every day, being around the lads. And game days.

Nothing can replace that.”

What don’t you miss?

“Training in the cold most days, apart from when I lived in the US. That’s something I don’t think anyone enjoys – but if I had the choice, I’d love to do it all again.”

Do you have any guilty pleasures now you don’t have to train?

“I’ve been lucky enough that I’ve always been able to kind of eat what I want over my career and not put on too much weight. I’ve hardly put on any since I finished playing.”

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on the draw

ahead oF the worLd CUP draw, we teLL yoU aLL yoU need to know

Bia Luz/AFP/Getty Images, Buda Mendes/Getty Images

I

t started with 203 teams attempting to qualify. Gradually the likes of Montserrat, Eritrea, Turkmenistan and Scotland were whittled away, and 31 nations went through. Add in hosts Brazil and you have the golden 32 that will play at World Cup 2014. The draw starts at 5pm on Friday December 6, which is when all of the ball-delving fun begins.

First of all, the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that Pot 4 currently contains nine teams, while Pot 2 has seven.

That’s because early on in the draw, one European team will be taken from Pot 4 and put into Pot 2 to even out the numbers.

That European team will be kept away from the UEFA seeds (to ensure that no group has three European teams in it), but it’s probably not a fate Roy Hodgson will want for England.

It leaves open the possibility of England getting a tough South American Pot 1 seed such as Argentina or Brazil – as well as a European Pot 4 team such as Italy or the Netherlands.

To ensure that no group has two South American teams in it, Chile and Ecuador will be kept separate from the four South American seeds. Clear as mud? Good, let’s press on.

That riveting Pot 2 complexity aside, it’s a draw of eight groups made up of one team from each pot. What's really intriguing is that there is the possibility of wild variety in the quality of team in each group. For example, it's possible for the draw to bring up a group of death (say, Spain, the Netherlands, Chile and the USA), while also delivering a group of dross (Switzerland, Greece, Algeria and Honduras, for example).

Donning both our English hat (a bowler) and our international hat (probably some kind of flag-festooned sombrero), Sport has examined each pot to assess the strength of the teams involved on a sliding scale. Thus England fans can get a quick gauge on the nations they ideally want to draw and avoid, with a particular eye on any dark horses that stand, snorting their nostrils in wait. k

World Cup Draw

Pot 1 (SeedS) Argentina Brazil Colombia Uruguay Belgium Germany Spain Switzerland

Pot 2 (CaF, ConMeBoL + one UeFa*)

Friday FIFA World Cup drAW BAhIA, BrAzIl BBC tWo 4.30pm 4pm

Algeria Cameroon Ghana Ivory Coast Nigeria Chile Ecuador

Pot 3 (aFC + ConCaCaF) Australia Iran Japan South Korea Costa Rica Honduras Mexico USA

Pot 4 (UeFa) BosniaHerzegovina Croatia England France Greece Italy Netherlands Portugal Russia

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)

*To be taken from Pot 4 and moved in to Pot 2 at the start of the draw | December 6 2013 | 25

World Cup Draw Pot 1

Pot 2

Christian Benteke and/or Romelu Lukaku) because we see it in the Premier League each week. But this is a team that’s only begun making the most of its talent recently, and a lack of bigtournament experience could cost them. Belgium are a dark horse that could go all the way – or plough into the first fence.

Uruguay are another team that are tricky to gauge. They boast the goal-grabbing prowess of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani and are reigning Copa America champions, yet finished behind both Chile and Ecuador in South American qualifying and required a playoff win against Jordan to reach the World Cup. That said, results improved as qualification went on, so it’s very possible that cunning coach Oscar Tabarez has found a formula for La Celeste success at the right time.

The weakest of the seeds is Switzerland. They have a savvy manager in Ottmar Hitzfeld and boast midfield talent with the likes of Bayern Munich’s fleet-footed Xherdan Shaqiri and Napoli lynchpin Gökhan Inler. However, their forward line is short of goals (central defender Fabian Schar was their top scorer in qualifying – with a grand total of three) and they tend to stink the joint out at major tournaments.

26 | December 6 2013 |

Pot 2 With a mixture of African, South American and one European side (identity to be confirmed), Pot 2 is the biggest lottery of them all, with Chile the bogey team most European sides will want to avoid. The Chileans initially struggled after Marcelo Bielsa departed in 2011, but new coach Jorge Sampaoli – who arrived midway through their qualifying campaign – has reintroduced a high-pressing, ultra-attacking game.

La Roja have lost only two of the 15 games since his arrival, have a genuinely world-class talent in Alexis Sanchez (above) and should enjoy playing on home soil (continentally speaking).

The random European side adds an element of chaos to this group, because nobody knows if it’ll be one to avoid (please not the Dutch!) or a relative soft touch (no offence, Croatia).

However, we do know that the African threat will come strongly from Ghana, who fired in an impressive 25 goals in eight qualifying matches, with Asamoah Gyan still the main man.

Ivory Coast beat Senegal 4-2 in the African playoffs, and while they were not quite as convincing as the scoreline suggests, the Elephants do boast a fearsome array of world-class superstars. That’s something Nigeria cannot claim, but the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions went unbeaten in qualifying and look a united team under inspirational manager and former captain Stephen Keshi.

Cameroon, meanwhile, aren’t the force they once were, with 32-year-old Samuel Eto’o still very much their stand-out threat going forward. German Volker Finke is the man tasked with leading the Indomitable Lions at the World Cup, but reports of rifts with Eto’o already don’t fill you with confidence.

The weakest prey in this pot is Ecuador and Algeria.

For Ecuador, goals are the issue, with a lot of pressure on Lokomotiv Moscow man Felipe Caicedo to lead the line. As for Algeria: anyone who remembers their 0-0 draw against England four years ago will be praying to avoid a rerun of one of the dullest World Cup matches ever played. Away goals helped the Algerians past Burkina Faso in qualification, but while defensive solidity is their gameplan, they tend to offer little threat going forward. k

Daniel Garcia/AFP/Getty Images, Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Pot 1

“The giant is back,” crowed Brazil’s raucous fans as the Selecao spanked world champions Spain 3-0 in the final of the Confederations Cup. They still look less than rock solid at the back, with David Luiz often doing more clean-up work than a school janitor, but this is a team packed with physically dynamic yet technically adept players. Throw in the burgeoning brilliance of Neymar and Oscar, plus home advantage, and you have the most challenging opponents in the competition.

Also on the list of teams England would really rather avoid is Argentina. Lionel Messi (below) – finally producing his best form for his country – heads up a squad rich in goal-scoring prowess (35 in 16 qualifying games). Argentina’s previous World Cup triumphs, in 1978 and 1986, came on South American soil.

We suggest 2014 offers an excellent opportunity for a third.

Europe’s two best sides make up the quartet of pretournament favourites, with the depth of talent at manager Jogi Low’s disposal making Germany a serious threat. Mario Gotze, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mesut Ozil, Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller, Marco Reus and (if fit) Sami Khedira are all competing for their place – and that’s just the midfield. However, the pressure is on Low: the feeling in Germany is that it’s time this team won a trophy as reward for all its pretty football.

Spain know all about coping with pressure. Their own midfield is also gorged with talent, yet there’s a feeling this is a side on the wane. The ageing limbs of Carles Puyol in defence and David Villa up front haven’t been convincingly replaced.

That said, voices whispered the same thing before Euro 2012 and they ended up wrecking Italy 4-0 in the final. Still a threat.

The next four seeds are less established, but of those Colombia could be the coming force (so long as Pele hasn’t tipped them by the time you read this). Finishing second only to Argentina in South American qualifying, the team boasts one of the world’s elite strikers in Radamel Falcao, prolific Porto marksman Jackson Martínez, and a ‘golden generation’ including Monaco starlet James Rodriguez backing them up.

The other football hipster’s fancies are Belgium. We’re only too aware of how strong the spine of this team is (Simon Mignolet, Vincent Kompany, Marouane Fellaini, Eden Hazard,

World Cup Draw Pot 4 There’s a one-in-nine chance that England could be ripped from Pot 4 and chucked into Pot 2 before the draw even starts (see page 25 for an explanation). In an ideal world, England would like to stay safely in Pot 4 – preferably with the likes of the Netherlands and Italy – to ensure they can’t possibly be drawn together. That danger duo both came through their UEFA qualifying groups unbeaten and are perhaps unlucky not to be seeded. Louis van Gaal’s Dutch side scored 34 goals in 10 qualifiers and are the biggest threat.

Elsewhere, Portugal might have come through a playoff, but Cristiano Ronaldo proved he’s ready for the big stage – who knew? – and he alone means they’ll be more feared than a Russia side that beat them to the top of their qualifying group, thanks to a team built on solidity at the back. The CSKA Moscow trio of Igor Akinfeev, Sergei Ignashevich and Aleksei Berezutski will make them a tough team to break down.

France tend to either implode hilariously or surpass expectations in major tournaments, and Didier Deschamps’ men are already showing the required inconsistency.

A dreadful first-leg performance in their playoff against Ukraine was blown away by a brilliant 3-0 win in the home leg.

With Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema, Yohan Cabaye and a seemingly rejuvinated Samir Nasri just a handful of the world-class players they can call upon, the French are a dangerous but unpredictable animal.

Debutants Bosnia-Herzegovina won their qualifying group with strikers Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic scoring a whopping 18 goals between them. They can look dodgy at the back, however, and Asmir Begovic could be a busy man in Brazil.

Croatia and Greece are not the forces they once were.

The former have more talent, although the fact that forward Mario Mandzukic will start the World Cup suspended is a blow.

Pot 3

28 | December 6 2013 |

The team to avoid in pot four are JAPAN. They cruised through their qualifying group, with Mainz forward Shinji Okazaki carrying their largest threat. He is a potential star of 2014, while Manchester United’s Shinji Kagawa (above) is hardly goal-shy at international level either (16 in 52 games).

USA come next, where Tim Howard, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey remain the major names on Jurgen Klinsmann’s teamsheet. They’re a team that play as more than the sum of their parts, and are capable of pulling off an upset.

Iran come into the World Cup with a predictability about them, in that they’re just hard to play against. On their road to qualification, Carlos Queiroz’s men kept 10 clean sheets in 16 games, and conceded just seven times altogether. Nil-nil draws are the priority.

A change of manager after securing qualification make South Korea, on the other hand, a bit of an unexpected outfit.

Son Heung-Min, Koo Ja-Cheol and veteran Lee Dong-Gook have the talent, but unpredictability might be South Korea’s weapon.

Australia are a team you wouldn’t mind drawing, on current form. The Socceroos managed only three wins from a group containing Iraq, Oman, Jordan and Japan, lost a friendly against France 6-0 in October and sacked their manager.

Not to be outdone, Mexico won only two of 10 games in CONCACAF qualifying, scoring just seven goals. New boss Miguel Herrera led them through a playoff win against New Zealand by dropping all of the Europe-based Mexican stars.

At least Mexico have stars to call on, however, and could pull themselves out of the mierda in time for next summer. Costa Rica and Honduras have no such luck. The former won every home match in qualifying but – ominously – struggled badly on their travels, failing to win at all. HONDURAS recently tested the waters in Brazil and lost 5-0 to the hosts, offering up a couple of defensive errors along the way. It does not augur well.

Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images, Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images

Pot 4

Pot 3

Rio Ferdinand

Once a skipper‌ Former England captain Rio Ferdinand talks World Cup draws, groups of death and the questions Roy Hodgson needs to answer before boarding the plane to Brazil k

| December 6 2013 | 31

Rio Ferdinand “When you look at our teams in the Premier League, there’s loads of movement. So why is that not transferring to the England team?

It’s rigid.”

Previous page: Matthew Pover. This page: Patrik Stollarz/AFP/Getty Images, Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

The words flow fast and furious from the mouth of former England captain Rio Ferdinand. Clearly, wearing the shirt – a total of 81 times at senior level, in Ferdinand’s case – does not render you immune from suffering the same frustrations as those of us who have not (overpriced replicas don’t count). The Manchester United defender announced his retirement from international duty earlier this year, and has since been appointed to the FA’s commission into the future of English football, set up by Greg Dyke to “find a way of delivering long-term success for the England team”. It’s a topic that, in both its immediate sense and as an ongoing concern, is at the forefront of Ferdinand’s mind.

The World Cup draw takes place on Friday. Is it something you got excited about as an England player?

“I’ve always been relaxed about it, whether that’s for England or for United in [the draw for] the Champions League. I can’t influence it, so I didn’t get excited by it. But once I know who we’ve got, especially if it’s a team we haven’t played much, then I’ll go away and look at it. I think we had Ecuador one year [in the second round, in 2006], and we’ve had Nigeria [in the group stage, in 2002]. It’s a lot easier to go away and look at stuff on your own time now, with YouTube – but we had the TV and video guy at England who would give you DVDs if you wanted them, so that you could look at individuals and some of their team play.”

Was that something you liked to do?

“Yeah, I always wanted to know who I was playing against, especially the centre forwards. I wanted to know the four centre forwards they would probably take and watch them to find out their best traits. Not everyone is like that, though. Some just like to play their own game – especially the attacking players. They’re confident in their own ability and it’s up to them to break the defenders down. With me, I’m having to react to a forward’s movements, so by watching footage of him play I can look at his body position and see whether he favours his right foot or likes to drop a shoulder – things like that.”

“At the top level, sometimes you have to take risks to be successful”

Would you prefer to see England draw a straightforward group, or is it better to be in a tougher group and measure people’s expectations?

“It’s better to go into a solid group, rather than an easy group where people expect you to just turn teams over because, as we know, it’s never as easy as it looks on paper. A solid group means there’s no chance for complacency to creep in. But you don’t want a group of death either, because that could take too much out of you in a tournament. If you have three tough games in your group, then by the time you get to the quarters or the semi finals, you could be gassed out.

So you want a group that will keep you focused, but one that won’t take too much out of you if you approach it right, mentally.”

England lost back-to-back games at Wembley recently. But is it better for the team to play tough friendlies against the likes of Chile and Germany than smash a hatful past a side such as San Marino?

“I think even playing against a Norway or a Denmark isn’t going to throw up any new equations for us to work out [England’s next friendly is against Denmark, on March 5]. We need to play against the South American teams, and maybe an African team, too. They’re the kind of teams we don’t play against often. We play against the Nordic countries and people like that quite often, so we know how to play against them and what to expect. Whereas we don’t play against the African, South American and Asian countries often and, once we get to a tournament, we don’t want to be surprised.”

What questions did the Germany and Chile games throw up for Roy Hodgson?

“You’d have to ask Roy that. But it’s going to be hot out there, and possession is going to be key. When we played against Germany and Chile, they kept the ball very well – something we need to work on. It’s not just this generation of players, though. Even when I was playing for England, we didn’t keep the ball as well as other teams. In a tournament, if you’re chasing the ball for 60 or 70 minutes out of 90, then come the later stages you’re gonna be out on your feet.”

Are there any teams you think could spring a surprise in Brazil?

“Chile. I was impressed by the way they played at Wembley – they played risky football and, at the top level, sometimes you have to take risks to be successful.

They have players like Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal, who can cause problems. Colombia as well – they won’t be much of a surprise in South America, but in Europe they will be.

Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez – they have a really good team and a good record. Both those teams are

accustomed to the conditions in Brazil, so it’s a real opportunity for them.”

We’ll be expecting big things from Cristiano Ronaldo in Brazil. What were your first impressions of him?

“I just remember thinking: ‘Let’s sign him.’ We played Sporting Lisbon in 2003, and I was just thinking: ‘Wow.’ We’d just lost out on Ronaldinho, and I thought: ‘I hope we get this kid.’ He was still finding himself – he had funny hair with two little bits hanging down and he was a really skinny little lad, then.”

How does he compare now to the player who first arrived at United?

“He’s more decisive. He’s got it into his head that it’s not just about skills and showboating. He’s all about end product now. He’s looking to get on the ball to really hurt the other team – get shots on target, score, set people up. And he’s scoring all types of goals – headers, left foot, right foot.

It’s just ridiculous.”

Did anyone get particularly annoyed

by Ronaldo’s flicks and tricks?

“Ruud van Nistelrooy. He’d say: ‘I don’t know when he’s gonna cross the ball.

How can I make my runs? I look like a fool.’ Ruud was reliant on other people to put chances his way, so when Ronnie came along and he was about skills and showboating, he used to go mad. There were tantrums.”

Sarah Shephard @sarahsportmag

Rio Ferdinand appears in EA SPORTS FIFA 14 on Xbox, out now. Order your special edition Xbox One and FIFA 14 at www.amazon.co.uk | December 6 2013 | 33

Formula 1: A Study

A ne w for mul A

next yeAr mArks the biggest trAnsformAtion to formulA 1 in decAdes. sport exAmines the chAnges, And AnAlyses who is best plAced to benefit from them

Mark Thompson/Getty Images, 2007 Getty Images

Y

ou can trace the state of modern Formula 1 back to a drivers’ meeting at the Dorchester Hotel in June 1970.

After a memorial service at St Paul’s for Bruce McLaren, the New Zealander who gave his name to the British team but died in a crash at Goodwood, the drivers gathered in a hotel suite to talk about safety. It was almost non-existent back then: McLaren was the first of three drivers on the grid to die in 1970; Piers Courage lost his life in a crash at Zandvoort in the Netherlands; and Jochen Rindt died at Monza while leading the world championship – he was never caught, and is the only driver to be awarded the title posthumously.

It was the Nurburgring that topped the agenda that day, though. Led by Jackie Stewart (pictured, right), the drivers voted to refuse to race at the famous-but-dangerous German circuit after being denied their request that improved safety measures be put in place.

Forty-three years later, and the exclusive hotel still has the same old grandeur it had in 1970, but Formula 1 has evolved beyond recognition. Sitting once more in a suite at the Dorchester, Sir Jackie Stewart reflects on the safety improvements that stemmed from that drivers’ pact.

“It’s been 19 years, six months and 14 days since a driver lost his life in a Formula 1 car,”

“if we hAd Allowed the nurburgring to stAy on the cAlendAr, the other rAce trAcks wouldn’t hAve chAnged either – thAt wAs mAybe the most significAnt turning point in the history of motor-rAcing sAfety” sir jAckie stewArt

he tells us, hesitating only briefly to work out the exact numbers since Ayrton Senna’s death at Imola in 1994. “If we had allowed the Nurburgring to stay on the calendar, the other race tracks wouldn’t have changed either – that was maybe the most significant turning point in the history of motorracing safety.”

Modern circuits are built with plenty of room for manoeuvre: big run-off areas and escape routes, though Stewart explains not everyone agrees with the way the tracks have developed. “Stirling Moss would say it’s wrong that we have so much safety, because drivers are not caring enough,” he says.

“He would say: ‘If we went off the track, we died.

If we collided with someone, we died.’ So the liberties that are allowed to be taken today have made it less disciplined than it was in his day.”

They are undeniably safer, but some of the newer circuits have been criticised for creating dull races. They are mostly designed by the same man – German architect Hermann Tilke – who Stewart says is probably better at “knowing where to put the cabling” than designing interesting circuits.

Still, he insists that the sport is “still as exciting, still as glamorous, still as colourful” as it was when he was racing. “People still like to see mistakes made and accidents happen, but nobody likes to see death – it’s not a pretty sight,” he says. k | December 6 2013 | 35

Formula 1: A Study Tire, change: Vettel races in India (left); Bruce McLaren sits on the wheel of his car at Brands Hatch in 1970 (below) – he would lose his life at Goodwood later that year; Jochen Rindt’s Lotus-Ford is removed from the Monza circuit (bottom)

“My wife Helen and I counted 57 people who had died to whom we were close enough to go travelling with; holidaying with. Motor racing wouldn’t be alive if we hadn’t changed the safety. The insurance company never would have carried the risk.”

Clive Mason/Getty Images, Mark Thompson/Getty Images, Fox Photos/Getty Images, AP/Press Association Images

a strategic season

Now, Formula 1 stands at an equally momentous turning point. Next year sees the introduction of brand new engine rules, and a move from V8 engines to smaller, turbo-charged V6 engines to save fuel and promote efficiency.

“It’s almost like a whole new series,” says Sky Sports F1 analyst Ted Kravitz. “It’s a massive change. You have 100 kilos of fuel to do the whole race – more than a third less than they’d normally have now.” To compensate for this, teams will harvest and reuse heat energy from the car with an expanded version of the KERS system that has been in place for a few years.

With Red Bull’s continued dominance – four championships and nine race wins in a row for Sebastian Vettel – the series is in dire need of some excitement. Fans will be hoping the new regulations will shake the order of things up a bit.

“I think it will make for exciting racing,” says Kravitz. “Just on the basis that we don’t know how it’s going to work, and we don’t know who’s going to do a better job. It’s possible that you could get to the middle of the race and suddenly the engineers

are going to see that they’re not going to make it on the fuel they’ve got. It might well be that you’ll see a driver drastically having to back off or take it easy in the middle of a race – but then he’s saved enough by the end to be able to come forward and charge through the field.”

“There’s going to be a lot of fuel-saving,” says Max Chilton (below, left), the 22-year-old British driver who has just completed his first season in Formula 1 with Marussia. “You’ll be completely controlled by the engineers back in the garage telling you what settings to go to, and that will influence how quick the lap times are going to be.”

It will be a more strategic season, then, with drivers managing both their fuel load and their tyres, as well as factoring in what their opponents are doing. “Strategy is still part of racing – it always has been,” insists Chilton when we ask whether this represents a move away from ‘real’ racing.

The rookie has done well in his first season, finishing every race – which is pretty much the best you can hope for competing for one of the minnows on the moneyed Formula 1 grid.

“At the moment, there is a four to five-second deficit in race pace between us and the front cars,” he continues. “If it was within two seconds and you get your strategy right and you drive a good race, then everyone would be battling all race.”

We ask Chilton what he thinks the gap between him and four-time world champion Vettel would be if they were in the same car. “It’s an unanswerable

“You’ll be completelY controlled bY the engineers back in the garage telling You what settings to go to, and that will influence how quick the lap times are going to be” max chilton 36 | December 6 2013 |

question, but it would be a hell of a lot less than it is now,” he replies. “It would be much more like the gap between the top 10 in GP2. In GP2, the cars are all exactly the same – they’re set up differently, but they’re the same. If you’re the best driver in GP2, you’ll still be in the top 10 – even if you’re in the worst [set-up] car. The gap between the drivers in F1 is a huge amount less than what it looks like.

You look at qualifying and you regularly see teammates all next to each other on the grid, which shows they’re at the limit of the car and that’s the best they’re going to do.”

it is about the car

In terms of the driver/car balance, things might not be changing for the better as far as Clifton is concerned, according to Kravitz. “At the moment, it’s 60 per cent about the car and 40 per cent about the driver,” he says. “I think next year it’s going to be much more like 80 per cent about the car and 20 per cent about the driver.”

With three engine manufacturers confirmed for next year’s grid – Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes – success could come down to which one of those companies gets the hybrid technology right.

“It’s accepted in the paddock that Mercedes have spent longer developing these engines,” says Kravitz. “They realised how big a change this was and kind of got the jump on everyone. Whether that will make them better, who knows? But if Ferrari have done a brilliant job, the Ferrari-powered teams [Ferrari, Marussia and Sauber] could fill the points. You could see Marussia scoring consistent points if Ferrari have done the best job.” k Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

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Formula 1: A Study Stewart also tips Mercedes and Ferrari to be competitive. “It’ll be a year of more mechanical failures, so whoever has top reliability will have a considerable advantage in the first year,” he adds.

In terms of the drivers, Kravitz tells us that the general consensus is that the experienced ones will have an advantage; he agrees that “ultimately, you’ll see the best drivers at the top again”.

“Someone like Kevin Magnussen, the new McLaren driver who has never driven an F1 race in his life, could have a better ability to save fuel and manage all the buttons, because he’s so used to doing it on the simulator,” he adds, however. “For him, it’s like a video game exercise.”

Chilton disagrees – he thinks that new drivers have a hard enough time adapting to Formula 1 as it is: “It’s definitely gonna be harder for the rookies. It’s not easy coming into Formula 1 now, with the tyres and the way the car handles. And, for next year, the changes are so big that it’s gonna be really hard if you’re coming straight into it fresh.”

The need for change

While there’s debate over whether the changes will improve the sport as a spectacle, the people we

“he’s a dicTaTor, buT he’s made iT work – and he’s made a loT of people rich. i’m one of Them”

Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images, Mark Thompson/Getty Images

sir Jackie sTewarT

speak to are generally agreed that it’s the right move. “I personally would have held it back until the economy came right, but it’s too late to change it now,” says Stewart. “But, ecology-wise, we have to change – with the new formula we’ll be using half the fuel we’re using now, so there’s less pollution.”

The change has seen more car manufacturers show an interest in the sport again, thanks to the overlap between the technology needed to make a Formula 1 car run efficiently and the hybrid engines being developed for road cars. Honda will re-enter the sport in 2015 in partnership with McLaren, and Kravitz thinks that Volkswagen, Audi and Toyota could follow in the coming years.

“Now it’s relevant to their road cars, they’re thinking about getting back in,” he explains.

38 | December 6 2013 |

Although a lot of fuel will be saved next year, some of that will be undone by the extra travel in the sport’s continually expanding calendar – next year’s features Mexico and Russia. But it doesn’t always work out. Take the Indian Grand Prix, hosted at the specially constructed $400m Buddh International Circuit. After selling out in its first year, crowd numbers fell by 30,000 last year and it again attracted considerably fewer this year (above, right). Now it’s off the calendar. Stewart insists this will change as the sport develops in India, but Formula 1 can perhaps be accused of resembling a horde of locusts: swooping in and taking much while offering little in return.

It can be damaging for the sport, too. There are currently 22 races on next year’s provisional

calendar – three more than this year – and a good number many feel is too high.

“I’m not sure the calendar is going to be as big as they say,” says Chilton, who went from doing 12 races in GP2 in 2012 to 19 F1 races in 2013.

“It’s a big strain on human resources, with mechanics on the road all the time travelling long haul,” says Stewart. “But there’s so many countries wanting to have a Grand Prix because it’s such a huge magnet for business – on the commercial side as well as tourists.”

Chilton says: “If you asked most people in the paddock – take the business side out of it – then 15 or 16 would be the perfect race-calendar length.”

The expansion has been overseen by diminutive F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. “He’s done an amazing job,” says Stewart of a man nine years his senior. “He’s a dictator, but he’s made it work. And he’s made a lot of people rich. I’m one of them.”

At 83, Ecclestone shows no sign of stopping – although he recently named Red Bull team principal Christian Horner as his preferred successor.

Whoever’s in charge, Formula 1 is set for a turbulent few years as it once again remodels itself to fit the needs of the market. In the 1970s it was safety; now it’s green technology, all in the name of attracting new manufacturers keen to create a marketable product and enter new territories with money to spend.

As we leave Stewart at the Dorchester, there’s a gold-plated Bugatti Veyron parked outside. People stop to take photos. It’s a fitting metaphor for Formula 1: it doesn’t really matter whether the engines are V6 or V8 – money will still be the motor that really drives the sport. And people will keep turning their heads to watch.

Amit Katwala @amitkatwala

Weekend of a Champion, a 1971 documentary about Jackie Stewart directed by Roman Polanski, has been re-released on DVD, out now. Sky Sports F1 HD is the only place to watch the entire 2014 Formula 1 season live Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

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7 Days

DEC 6-DEC 12

OUR PICK OF THE ACTION FROM THE SPORTING WEEK AHEAD

HIGHLIGHTS » Football: Premier League » p42 » Football: Champions League » p44 » Rugby Union: Heineken Cup – Exeter v Toulon » p46 » Horse Racing: Tingle Creek Chase » p48 » European Short Course Swimming Championships » p48

Saturday Boxing | DaRREn BaRkER v FELix STURm | PoRSCHE aREna, STUTTgaRT | Sky SPoRTS 1 8Pm

40 | December 6 2013 |

fights, but he remains a precision

for comfort by Geale, and put down by

wins a world title – particularly the way

puncher with a hard, accurate jab

a vicious body shot. Sturm, a useful

Darren Barker did, dragging himself up

and a solid left hook.

body puncher, will have noted this.

from a hard sixth-round knockdown

Sturm may only have 17 stoppages in

Sturm remains a top-class

to outwork Australia's Daniel Geale in

his 43 fights (38 wins, three losses, two

middleweight, though his workrate

Atlantic City last August – he deserves

draws), but he had enough mustard on

has slowed in recent years. And while

an easy first defence. A part-time

his punches to buzz both Macklin and

Barker is coming off one 12-round war,

roadsweeper on home soil, perhaps.

Murray late on in their respective bouts.

Sturm has numerous on his CV. Barker

What 31-year-old Barnet middleweight

To come out of Germany a winner,

is, however, the fresher of the two.

Barker actually has is a pick ’em fight

Barker (26 wins, 16 via knockout, with

against classy former champion Felix

just one loss) will have to show all of

a high tempo, slip Sturm’s jab and

Sturm. In Germany.

the guts he displayed in winning his

establish his own, he has it in him to

world title. On the plus side, his new

gain an impressive win. However he’ll

challenges from Brits Matthew Macklin

aggression allied to his fine boxing skills

know he's facing a bit of a tightrope

(via split decision) and Martin Murray

proved too much for Geale, who himself

act – and that the vast majority of the

(a spirited draw) back in 2011. He was

edged out Sturm on points in 2012.

crowd will be baying for him to take

outworked at times in both of those

Barker was, however, caught too often

a fall throughout.

The 34-year-old Sturm saw off title

If 'Dazzling Darren' can maintain Rich Schultz/Getty Images

No easy way out

Tradition dictates that after a boxer

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7 Days

Premier League

Saturday manchester united v newcastle old trafford | bt sport 12.45pm

The league leaders embark on a testing three weeks in their tilt at the title, while the current champions get stuck into a tie that rarely fails to entertain Sunday arsenal v everton | emirates stadium | sky sports 1 4pm

This tie provided thrilling Boxing Day entertainment last year, with Newcastle coming agonisingly close to beating Manchester United at Old Trafford for the first time since 1972.

Alan Pardew’s side couldn’t quite pull it off, though, going down 4-3 thanks to a late winner by Javier Hernandez. Wayne Rooney was an injured absentee from that game but, unfortunately for the Magpies, he’s currently playing like a man at the peak of his powers – scoring or assisting 59 per cent of United’s league goals this season (not taking into account Wednesday’s game against Everton).

It’s tough at the top, so the saying goes. And, this

time Everton beat Arsenal away from home, courtesy

month, Arsenal will discover whether they are tough

of an Andre Kanchelskis winner). In simple terms, David

Bromwich Albion last weekend

enough to handle it. Starting with Sunday’s game against

Moyes’ tenure did not yield a single win at Highbury or

(thanks partly to Yoan Gouffran,

Everton, the Gunners face a testing three-week period

the Emirates.

pictured) saw them start the week

that sees them travel to Naples for a crucial Champions

With Roberto Martinez’s side learning to relish the

Yet Newcastle’s win against West

as the second most in-form team in

League tie, to the Etihad to face Manchester City, and

attacking freedom he encourages, Everton will present a

the league, with four wins from four.

then head back to the Emirates for the visit of Chelsea.

different proposition this time around, however. Not least

It’s their best run for 19 months and,

Everton’s route into the New Year isn’t quite as

because in Romelu Lukaku they have a player with the

with Pardew getting the best out

fearsome, with games against Fulham, Swansea and

best minutes-per-goal rate in Premier League history

of his French contingent (18 of

Sunderland following their trip to north London. But the

(with a minimum of 20 goals). But in Wojciech Szczesny

Newcastle’s 19 league goals have

Toffees haven’t beaten Arsenal since 2007, when Andrew

(above) he faces a keeper with the best saves-to-shots

been scored by Frenchmen) the

Johnson scored a 90th-minute winner at Goodison.

ratio in the league this season (at time of writing). Expect

Magpies will believe they can ask

And you have to go back another 11 years to find the last

frantic goalmouth action, then. And probably a draw.

some big questions in Manchester.

42 | December 6 2013 |

Saturday liverpool v west ham | anfield | 3pm

Saturday southampton v manchester city st mary’s | 3pm

Saturday stoke v chelsea | britannia stadium | 3pm

Cardiff have had the edge in the

West Ham have failed to score a

The week before Manchester City

It has been 11 months since his

Premier League battle between

single goal on their past five visits

come to town is the worst time to

nightmare 90 minutes against

these two promoted sides so far,

to Anfield. They came close to

lose your goalkeeper to injury. Bad

Chelsea, but Stoke’s Jon Walters

taking some big scalps along the

ending that fruitless run last season

luck, Southampton. Artur Boruc was

(pictured) will remember every

way. But it’s these matches against

– when Lucas Leiva (pictured)

part of a side that had conceded

second of it when the Blues return.

the fellow ‘smaller scalps’ that often

cleared a late Jack Collison header

seven goals in 12 matches before

Then, his two own goals and missed

prove crucial come the end of the

off the line – but the game finished

playing Chelsea last weekend. It

penalty helped Chelsea to a 4-0

season. Cardiff’s best results have

0-0, meaning it has been 50 years

leaves Saints with Paulo Gazzaniga

win, ending the Potters’ 17-game

come on home turf so far, and they

since the Hammers won at Anfield.

(pictured) in goal. The Argentine

unbeaten run at home in the league.

lost 3-2 at Selhurst Park last term

Their away form isn’t indicating they

had a brief run in the team last

Walters made his 102nd consecutive

(albeit thanks to two penalties),

won’t clock 51 years either, with Big

season, but could hardly have

appearance against Everton last

so their own scalp is by no means

Sam’s side winning just once away

picked a tougher team to start

weekend. He will hope consistency

safe this weekend.

from home in the league this term.

against this time.

is the key to success.

Saturday west brom v norwich the hawthorns | 3pm

Saturday sunderland v tottenham | stadium of light sky sports 1 5.30pm

Sunday fulham v aston villa | craven cottage sky sports 1 1.30pm

monday swansea v hull | liberty stadium sky sports 1 8pm

Norwich have a decent record at

December is a hectic month for

His second game in charge sees

The Liberty Stadium hadn’t been a

The Hawthorns, taking away three

Tottenham, with Europa League

Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen

happy hunting ground for Swansea

points on two of their last four visits.

and League Cup ties squeezed in

face a team that have not won a

going into this week – domestically

But before this week, the Canaries

among a packed league schedule.

game at Craven Cottage for the past

speaking, at least. The Swans have

had won only once on the road in

For Andre Villas-Boas’ side, who

three seasons. But the last time

lost just one of their five home

the league this season – a 1-0 win at

started the week without a league

Aston Villa visited, the clubs’

games in the Europa League, but

Stoke coming courtesy of Jonny

win since October, a trip to the

fortunes were almost reversed, with

managed just one win from their

Howson (pictured). West Brom,

Stadium of Light – where Spurs

Villa enduring their worst start to a

first six games at home in the

meanwhile, have arrested the poor

have lost only one of their last four

season in the top flight since 1986

Premier League. Boss Michael

run of form that saw them lose their

matches – offers hope. But as

and Fulham racking up their third

Laudrup will hope to have Michu

first two home games of the season.

Sunderland showed against

home win from four. Paul Lambert’s

back from injury in time for Hull’s

They beat Crystal Palace and drew

Manchester City, they are capable of

side are a different prospect this

visit, adding some much-needed

with Aston Villa last month.

throwing a spanner in the works.

term. As, indeed, are Fulham.

firepower to the Swans’ attack.

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand | 43

All pictures Getty Images

Saturday crystal palace v cardiff selhurst park | 3pm

7 Days Champions League WEDNESDAY GROUP F: NAPOLI v ARSENAL | STADIO SAN PAOLO, NAPLES | SKY SPORTS 2 7.45PM

Lucky no.14?

It sounds simple: Arsenal merely need to avoid a

result from their final match against Marseille – a tricky

Dortmund would be guaranteed to qualify because

three-goal defeat in Napoli on Wednesday to be sure

prospect, considering the French team’s lacklustre

their ‘mini-league’ goal difference is +1 (thanks to

of advancing to the Champions League knockout

display against Arsenal last time out, which suggests

beating Napoli 3-1 in Dortmund) and cannot change;

stages for the 14th year in a row. And they face a team

their enthusiasm for this Champions League

Arsenal have +2 and Napoli -3. Napoli can therefore

they dealt with in straightforward fashion at the

campaign can be summed up with little more than

only qualify from the mini-league if they beat Arsenal

Emirates in October, two goals in the first 15 minutes

a Gallic shrug of the shoulders.

by three goals, which would send the Gunners into the

settling the tie. True, Rafael Benitez’s side was missing

Group F was labelled the Group of Death when the

star striker Gonzalo Higuain that night – but even the

draw was made, and it hasn’t disappointed. With four

former Liverpool manager would admit that the man

wins, the Gunners should be home and hosed, but the

who topped Arsenal’s hit list for much of last summer

possibility remains that the three top teams could still

is unlikely to have made much of a difference to the

end up tied on 12 points. “It’s the first time I’ve seen

end result, such was the home side’s dominance.

that in more than 150 Champions League games” said

This time, Higuain is likely to get his chance – not only to show the Gunners exactly what they missed out on, but also to secure Napoli’s place in the last 16.

To do so, Benitez’s side need to better Dortmund’s

44 | December 6 2013 |

Europa League and also give the Serie A side top spot.

Got it? Good.

group f P

W

D

L

Pts

Arsene Wenger. “But it’s a reality, and we have to

1

Arsenal

5

4

0

1

12

finish the job.”

2

Borussia Dortmund

5

3

0

2

9

3

Napoli

5

3

0

2

9

4

Olympique de Marseille

5

0

0

5

0

In that scenario, a mini-league involving only the results of those teams is created. If that happens,

TUESDAY GROUP A: MANCHESTER UNITED v SHAKHTAR DONETSK OLD TRAFFORD | ITV 7.45PM

TUESDAY GROUP D: BAYERN MUNICH v MANCHESTER CITY | ALLIANZ ARENA, MUNICH SKY SPORTS 2 7.45PM

WEDNESDAY GROUP E: CHELSEA v STEAUA BUCHAREST | STAMFORD BRIDGE SKY SPORTS 3 7.45PM

Bring it, Bayern

Top trumps

Winning losers

Manchester United secured their passage through

Manuel Pellegrini’s side kept themselves in the

Chelsea’s qualification for the knockout stages

to the knockout stages with a 5-0 thumping of

hunt for top spot with a 4-2 win over Group D

came via an unsatisfactory defeat to Basel.

Leverkusen, but aren’t yet guaranteed top spot.

whipping boys Viktoria Plzen last time out, but only

A goalless draw between Steaua and Schalke on the

Lose to Shakhtar on Tuesday and they will finish the

after two late goals saved them from the ignominy

same night means the Blues get a step further than

group as runner’s-up – although after winning the

of giving the Czechs their first point of the group

they managed last year, when they became the first

prize of a meeting with Real Madrid for topping their

phase. To top the group, City will have to end Bayern

reigning champions to be eliminated at the first

group last year, that might not be such a terrible

Munich’s record-breaking 10-game winning streak in

hurdle. Wednesday’s game is something of a dead

thing. United are unbeaten in the competition so far,

the Champions League – a run that includes the 3-1

rubber, then, with Steaua already out of the running,

with even the absence of an injured Robin van Persie

defeat the Germans inflicted upon City at the Etihad

but Jose Mourinho’s side can ensure they top the

not derailing their campaign. With Leverkusen

in October. City’s domestic struggles away from

group with a win – and they will be confident of

facing the already-eliminated Real Sociedad,

home this term haven’t ben replicated in Europe,

doing just that after smashing four goals past Steau

Shakhtar have to win to guarantee their own

with two convincing wins over Plzen and CSKA

in Bucharest. Basel need a point from their match

progress. Should the Ukrainian champions – with a

Moscow. But with Arjen Robben starring in Bayern’s

away at Schalke to join the Blues in the last 16.

distinctly Brazilian flavour in striker Luiz Adriano and

win in Moscow last time out, and Mario Gotze

They were beaten when the teams met at St

midfielder Douglas Costa – lose and Leverkusen

scoring a fine individual effort, City might have to

Jakob-Park and, with qualification still within the

draw or win in Spain, they’ll be knocked out, with the

be content with second – and that all-important

German side’s grasp, the best action of Group E

German side holding the head-to-head advantage.

first ever place in the knockout rounds.

will likely take place away from west London.

groUp A

groUp D P

W

D

L

Pts

groUp E P

W

D

L

Pts

P

W

D

L

Pts

1

Manchester United

5

3

2

0

11

1

Bayern Munich

5

5

0

0

15

1

Chelsea

5

3

0

2

9

2

Shakhtar Donetsk

5

2

2

1

8

2

Manchester City

5

4

0

1

12

2

Basel 1893

5

2

2

1

8

3

Bayer Leverkusen

5

2

1

2

7

3

CSKA Moscow

5

1

0

4

3

3

Schalke 04

5

2

1

2

7

4

Real Sociedad

5

0

1

4

1

4

Viktoria Plzen

5

0

0

5

0

4

Steaua Bucharest

5

0

3

2

3

In Group B, Real Madrid’s place in the last 16 is secure,

needing a better result against PSG than Olympiakos

knockouts, while Group H sees a straight shootout at

leaving Juventus and Galatasaray to battle it out for

manage in their game against Anderlecht to qualify

the San Siro between Milan and Ajax (Wednesday

the second spot in Istanbul (Tuesday 7.45pm). A point

(both Tuesday 7.45pm). In Group G, a win for Zenit

7.45pm). The Dutch side need a win; Milan require just

will see The Old Lady through. Paris Saint-Germain

over already-eliminated Austria Vienna (Wednesday

a point to take second spot. Barcelona will top the

are confirmed winners of Group C, with Benfica

7.45pm) will ensure they join Atletico Madrid in the

group with a win over Celtic (Wednesday 7.45pm).

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand | 45

All pictures Getty Images

BEST of ThE rEST | ALL ON SKY SPORTS 4 MATCH CHOICE UNLESS SPECIFIED

7 Days Saturday Rugby union | Heineken Cup: exeteR v toulon | Sandy paRk | Sky SpoRtS 2 1.35pm

Saturday Football | mlS Cup: SpoRting kanSaS City v Real Salt lake | SpoRting paRk, kanSaS City | bt SpoRt 2 9pm

Still in Kansas Real v Sporting – two giants of European football meeting in a… wait. Stop. This is actually a preview of Sunday’s MLS Cup final – the closing game of the American season – between Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City. Both teams finished second in their respective conferences, but navigated their way successfully through the playoffs for their shot at the biggest prize in American football. Or soccer, if you will.

They’ve won one each before – Kansas City (then the Kansas City Wizards) won it in 2000, while Real Salt Lake last lifted the Philip F Anschutz trophy (typically, it’s named after a US billionaire) in 2009, beating David Beckham’s LA Galaxy in a penalty shootout. Kansas City’s 2-1 away win over Real Salt Lake in July at the Rio Tinto Stadium was one of the most controversial and card-laden games of the season, with six yellows, a red for Salt Lake defender Chris Wingert, and a 97th-minute winner for Kansas City.

This time, they have home advantage thanks to their superior regular-season record – and they’ve won 17 home games in the regular season, more than anyone else. They are defensive stalwarts, conceding just one postseason goal in their run to the final, and are many people’s favourites, but Real Salt Lake have just as much attacking verve as their Spanish namesakes, with the likes of Alvaro Saborio and Javier Morales (pictured) likely to be particularly dangerous.

Pool party With two games done, and four to go, the

have left Bernard Laporte’s men struggling

Heineken Cup gets seriously interesting this

domestically, but they are joint top of the

weekend: it’s the start of the double-headers

pool and will target two big wins.

Tom Shaw/Getty Images, Jonathan Moore/Getty Images

that make or break so many teams’ hopes.

The Chiefs, for their part, are hardly on

If nothing else, it’s worth tuning in to make

flying form either. Last week’s 21-16 defeat to

the most of the tournament before it

Bath was a third loss in a row for Rob Baxter’s

becomes dominated by talk of breakaways

men, but a return to European rugby is a

and the almost inevitable in-fighting.

welcome break as they look to build on the

Pool 2 is where the most interest lies this

44-29 victory over Cardiff that kicked off

weekend, because a mixed bag of results in

their campaign in style. The forward power of

the opening two rounds sees its four teams

Dean Mumm, Ben White and co is key to the

separated by one point. Exeter and Toulon

high-tempo game the Chiefs will hope to use

both have six points, while Cardiff and

here to upset the visitors, while Gareth

Glasgow are both on five.

Steenson (pictured) will need to bring his

The star-studded Toulon – complete with Jonny Wilkinson, Michael Claassens, Matt

kicking boots.

Friday night, meanwhile, sees Sam

Giteau and captain Joe van Niekerk – arrive

Warburton and his Cardiff Blues host

at Exeter, then, knowing two wins in the

Glasgow. The chance is there for either side

next two weeks is vital for a team with lofty

to wrestle control of the pool, with Toulon

ambitions. Five away defeats on the bounce

facing two tough weeks against the Chiefs.

46 | December 6 2013 |

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

7 Days THURSDAY > SWIMMING | EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS | HERNING, DENMARK | BRITISH EUROSPORT 2.45PM

Brits down but not out This summer’s World Championships in Barcelona yielded just a single medal for Team GB’s swimmers. It went to Fran Halsall (pictured), who at least ensured Britain made it on to the medal table, winning bronze in the 50m freestyle. Now, four months on, she leads a British squad of 12 swimmers to Denmark for the European Short Course Championships, with a haul of five medals from last year’s competition to live up to.

It was Hannah Miley who starred then, winning a gold medal in the 400m individual medley (IM), and silvers in the 200m IM and 800m freestyle. The 24-year-old Scot, who could manage only fifth place in the 400m IM final at London 2012 – an event in which she was expected to medal – has been in good form of late, winning silver in the 400m IM at the final FINA World Cup of 2013 meet in Beijing last month.

Olympic silver-medallist Michael Jamieson is also scheduled to compete, despite needing his heart restarting following a training session. “I went into an irregular beat after reaching 203 heart rate in a session [max is 193],” said Jamieson. “The specialist said he's only seen this three times, all Olympic medallists – pretty cool!”

SATURDAY HORSE RACING | BETVICTOR TINGlE CREEK CHASE | SANDOWN | CHANNEl 4 3PM

Francois Xavier Marit/AFP/Getty Images, Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

Sprinter stuck in the blocks

There is a very real chance that the biggest race

Monday threw a spanner in the works of trainer

but if the unbeaten chaser does miss the race it

of the jumps season at Sandown will go off

Nicky Henderson. “Unfortunately it’s something

would deal a huge blow to fans wanting to see one

without its brightest star on Saturday, with

you can’t treat,” said Henderson. “It’s an absolute

of the sport’s few genuine superstars. Henderson

Sprinter Sacre a serious doubt to make the start

nightmare and I wanted to let everyone know as

has a potential substitute in Captain Conan, while

of the prestigious Tingle Creek Chase.

soon as possible. You can’t take chances, especially

both Sire De Grugy and the rejuvenated Somersby

The most exciting horse in training (pictured)

with a horse like him, but don’t rule him out yet.”

are talented horses in their own right, but Sprinter

was set to defend the crown he won at a canter a

A secondary test was due on Thursday, before

Sacre is the gold dust in the race – without him,

year ago, but an unsatisfactory tracheal wash on

the final declarations and after we went to press,

this would be a Tingle Creek without the tingle.

48 | December 6 2013 |

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

ExTRA TIME

P54 Gur Bentwich plays bad cop/bad cop in Big Bad Wolves

Making the most of your time and money

Grooming

It’s in the bag Bulldog Skincare Kit For Men

What better than a big ol’ slobbery kiss from man’s best friend at Christmas?

We speak, of course, of the Bulldog and his Original Moisturiser (100ml), with eight essential oils, green tea, green algae and vitamin E. Together with his Original Face Wash (175ml) – with those same oils, plus green tea – and Original Face Scrub (100ml), with pumice, coconut shell, rosehip oil and shea butter, it’s worth hanging around under the mistletoe for. £15 | boots.com

Refinery Skincare Essentials For Men

A perfect hat-trick from The Refinery, albeit one that eschews the left and right foot and concentrates on the face. It includes their Revitalising Moisturiser (50ml), Eye Gel (15ml) and Face Scrub (100ml), formulated with carefully selected botanical extracts and essential oils with rejuvenating properties for skin that is clear, smooth and revitalised.

It’s exactly what you need in your stocking, given the December you have planned. £65 | aromatherapyassociates.com 50 | December 6 2013 |

Aesop The Athlete Grooming Kit

A trio of essentials for the active gentleman, put together exclusively for Mr Porter.

The Athlete contains the Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser (200ml) the minty Classic Shampoo (200ml) and Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Hydrator (60ml) – all in a durable case. It also comes with some advice, courtesy of American theologian and author James Freeman Clarke: “Never hurry; take plenty of exercise; always be cheerful.” £80 | mrporter.com

Dove Men+Care Premium Wash Bag

The ‘authority on man maintenance’ bring you their Clean Comfort Anti-Perspirant Deodorant (150ml) for 48-hour protection, though we suggest using the Clean Comfort Body and Face Wash (250ml) after 24 hours at most. The non-greasy Hydrate+ Post Shave Balm (100ml) is in there, too – to be used at a time of your choosing. Though Sport recommends applying after shaving.

Honestly, what would you do without us? £12 | boots.com Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

The last-minute gift guide for women 1

2

3

4

8

5

6

7

10 9 17

11

12 14

13 16

15 1. The Bliss Chocolate Hamper Includes milk, dark and white chocolate selections, feisty peppermint truffles, silky champagne truffles and more £150 | hotelchocolat.com; 2. Mulberry Bayswater Goat Leather Handbag Featuring the signature Postman’s Lock fastening £1,100 | selfridges.com; 3. My Little Pony Mug 1980s nostalgia at its cutest £7.99 | selfridges.com; 4. Ruark R1 MKII DAB Digital Radio Gorgeous compact design with a pastel blue finish £179.95 | johnlewis.com; 5. Good Night Luxurious Bedtime Bath Elixir The perfect way to relax tired minds and bodies £25 | roullierwhite.com; 6. Joseph Joseph Baking Gift Set Includes adjustable rolling pin, pie timer, pastry brush and small spatula £40 | josephjoseph.com; 7. Denon AH-W150 Bluetooth Fitness Sports In-Ear Headphones Sweat-proof, with a battery life of seven hours £107.45 | amazon.co.uk; 8. The Mini B SS Includes applied stud indices on a concave dial ring £110 | nixon.com; 9. Nike Air Max The cult classic trainer in sand and neon yellow £150 | net-a-porter.com; 10. Bodum Chambord Cappuccino Set Ideal for becoming a barista in your own home £15 | johnlewis.com; 11. Marc Jacobs Tri-fold Wallet Understated, will slot into any handbag collection £175 | selfridges.com; 12. ESPA Sleep Couture Gift Set Contains Soothing Bath Oil (50ml), Soothing Body Oil (50ml), Soothing Aromatic Mist (100ml) and Soothing Candle (200g) £55 | harveynichols.com; 13. Charbonnel et Walker Champagne Truffles Sheer indulgence in a chocolate-covered truffle £19 | johnlewis.com; 14. Acqua Di Parma Iris Nobile Gift Set Presented in a luxurious hatbox £70 | harveynichols.com; 15. Barbour International Polarquilt Jacket The famous biker jacket gets set for winter £143.20 | johnlewis.com; 16. Stephenson Satchel by Proporta Featuring a removable compartment for iPad, plus space for a Bluetooth keyboard £89.95 | proporta.com; 17. The Chocoholic Pinotage A delightfully decadent way to round off a meal £11 | harveynichols.com 52 | December 6 2013 |

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eT

entertainment

WoLF AT THe Door

Tense crime drama mixes brutality with black humour, while The Stath bares his teeth when you threaten his daughter

Film

Film

Homefront

Big Bad Wolves

It’s trumpeted as Quentin Tarantino’s favourite film of 2013 – and you can see why Big Bad Wolves would appeal to the motormouthed director. There’s a hint of Tarantino’s early work to this violent, riveting, darkly comic Israeli thriller.

It starts like a fairytale, with an ominous children’s game of hide and seek near a deserted house. A girl is taken – one of a series of abductions.

Both her fearsome father and a vigilante cop are sure they know who did it: a

Theatre

American Psycho Almeida Theatre, London

Former Dr Who Matt Smith regenerates as Patrick Bateman for this musical version of Bret Easton Ellis’ pitch-black comedy.

It began this week and the run is already sold out until the end of January. However, more tickets go on sale on December 6. So be quick and have your business card – sorry, credit card – ready.

On now 54 | December 6 2013 |

Jason Statham as an undercover DEA, sporting a fake mullet and riding a Harley.

Any film that starts this way is probably not being deliberately released in December as Oscar bait, but is likely to put a cheesy grin on your mush. Sylvester Stallone is the screenwriter for Homefront, providing the dialogue for The Stath to growl through as former agent Phil Broker, trying to start a new life in smalltown USA with his daughter. However, when local meth kingpin Gator (James Franco, chewing the scenery with relish) discovers Broker’s secret past, the newcomer finds himself a marked man. Cue the fists, bullets and one-liners flying.

Out today

timid schoolteacher. When he’s released because of a police blunder, the pair take the law into their own hands, with brutal results. Not an original concept, but Big Bad Wolves offers some excellent twists.

In particular, the flashes of humour – such as a tough, skinhead police chief bringing his boy along on a father-son work day – work a treat. This stomachchurning whodunnit keeps you guessing, and on the edge of your seat, until it reveals its hand in the very last scene.

Out today

Music

Live at The Cellar Door Neil Young

At the peak of his powers in 1970, Neil Young performed six intimate solo shows. This album cherry-picks the best of each, delivering pared-back versions of 13 of Young’s finest songs, from Only Love Will Break Your Heart to Old Man (debuting two years before it would be released).

Spine-tingling, ear-pleasing stuff.

Out Monday

Film

Nebraska

Music

Sideways director Alexander Payne serves up another rye look at US life with this deadpan comedy-drama about stubborn old coot Woody, who receives a scam letter and sets off on a road trip with his son to collect his million dollars. Of course, once word gets out that Woody is ‘rich’, local chancers do their best to claim a piece of the pie.

Out today

Join the Dots Toy

More swirling psych rock from the London band on their second album. While they take a few risks – the opener is a hypnotic, seven-minute long instrumental – it’s their slick pop song structure that stands out. The title track is a perfect example of their whirling melodies, backed by a throbbing bass and languid vocals. We say: give Toy a play.

Out Monday

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IN THE SHADOW OF THE WALL, NOTHING IS CLEAR

As Shadow Marshal Lucas Kellan, you know first-hand that keeping the peace on both sides of the vast wall dividing your home world comes at a cost. But when a standoff between humans and their Helghast cousins spills out into open conflict and the lines between right and wrong begin to crumble, you’ll have to decide the type of hero you really are.

OUT NOW

#4ThePlayers

et

gadgets

curves in all the right places

Don’t fight over the prime telly-watching spot this Christmas – this TV’s curved screen means a better picture from a wider range of viewing angles

lg 55” OleD 3D smart tv With a curved screen designed to create a more immersive viewing angle, the 55EA980W is certainly a striking piece of kit.

It also has a unique four-colour pixel OLED display, with self-lighting pictures for perfect contrast. In short, it looks amazing. The Smart TV features mean you can stream content directly from services such as NOW TV, and there’s even motion control with LG’s smart remote control. £7,999 | johnlewis.com

ONLY LG SMART TV BRINGS YOU SKY SPORTS AND SKY MOVIES ON NOW TV

56 | December 6 2013 |

ards 2013 Aw

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Extra time Annie Kilner

58 | December 6 2013 |

| 59

Photo by Nathen Atia/LIPSTICK SYNDICATION

t’s been a stressful old time at White Hart Lane of late, what with being thumped 6-0 in Manchester, marooned in mid-table security and with gaffer Andre Villas-Boas protesting that his integrity, human values and professionalism had been called into question in the media.

Thank goodness, then, for the optimistic and spunky tones of Annie. We refer, of course, to the Broadway musical, featuring a song we’re almost certain has become AVB’s mantra of late: “Just thinkin’ about/ Tomorrow/Clears away the cobwebs/ And the sorrow/Till there’s none.”

From one Annie to another, and the model partner of Tottenham full back Kyle Walker, the England defender who recently signed a new contract tying him to the club until 2019. Long-term security, a goal against Manchester United and a model girlfriend: it’s a hard-knock life.

Always a day away I

ET

Kit

CROSS TRAINERS

Running, jumping, skipping, lifting – do the lot with a pair of these

Under Armour Cam Highlight Training Shoes

Built for Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, a beast of an athlete, these provide extra support via the CompFit sleeve that supports your ankle.

With ultra-light and responsive Micro-G cushioning, they’re designed for comfort, speed and no little style. £150 | underarmour.com

Nike Free Trainer 5.0 NRG

Nike Free technology gives this shoe a barefoot feel, adjusting to your foot’s natural motion.

A Phylon midsole provides lightweight cushioning, while DiamondFLX traction supports multidirectional movement.

The upper’s intertwined bands provide a supportive fit. £85 | nike.com 60 | December 6 2013 |

adidas Adipure Trainer 360

A dynamic, flexible midsole delivers a natural feel when you train, while a breathable air mesh upper for maximum ventilation and an OrthoLite® antimicrobial moisture-wicking sockliner should see you through the toughest, sweatiest of workouts. £65 | adidas.co.uk

Reebok CrossFit Nano 3.0

Designed for CrossFitters (although you don’t have to be churning out multiple muscleups to buy them), the Nano 3.0 combines forefoot cushioning with heel stabilisation. So you can lift heavy and jump high with no mid-session costume change required. £95 | reebok.co.uk

Inov-8 F-Lite 230

Made by a brand renowned for making functional, lightweight and minimal footwear, the F-Lite 230 has a 6mm heel-totoe drop that makes it ideal for Olympic lifting and transitioning into a natural running style.

Try lifting in these and stick another 20kg on the bar. £100 | inov-8.com

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OUT NOW ON PC, MAC & LINUX

THE

ECSTASY SCORING A LAST MINUTE PENALTY

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