The Sentinel Amsterdam vol. 4 #15

vol. 4 #15 – 6 September 2011

The Sentinel Amsterdam

Integrity, heart, humour

FEATURE

Amsterdam when the sun shines!

PERSPECTIVES

NIGHT WATCH Lifestyles Opinion MUSIC Travel Technology Cartoon Sport Classifieds

Contents

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CONTENTS

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In this issue FEATURE p. 03 PERSPECTIVES

Amsterdam when the sun shines!

‘It is now pretty much a typical medium-sized European city’

P. 18 PERSPECTIVES

Night watch ‘Rembrandt himself used to hide behind the overgrown terrace’

P. 30

Betty in the pink

‘It’s in the frail white clouds that melt away, dissolved by sunlight’

music p. 34 sport p. 46 more:

Home from home

The Gold Room

REVIEW p. 26 On the canals of Amsterdam TECHNOLOGY p. 38 i Jobs

‘Late nights and early mornings don’t mix but I sleep when I need it’

FILM REVIEW Room 2C CARTOON Spotted

p. 42 p. 32 p. 33

CLASSIFIEDS

ColoPHon The Sentinel Amsterdam e-mail: sentinelpost@gmail.com website: www.thesentinel.eu The Sentinel Amsterdam does not intentionally include unaccredited photos/illustrations that are subject to copyright. If you consider your copyright to have been infringed, please contact us at sentinelpost@gmail.com.

Editors – Gary Rudland & Denson Pierre Design, realisation and form – Andrei Barburas & No-Office.nl Webmaster – www.sio-bytes.tumblr.com Webhost – Amsterjammin.com

Contributors: Elaine Mc Cormack, Marta Parlatore, Sharmin de Vries, David King & Colin Bentley

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feature

Amsterdam when the sun shines!

As his series of perspectives on the various Amsterdam districts draws to a close, Denson Pierre delves into the city’s core to take a look at one of the most interesting urban landscapes on the planet.

By Denson Pierre

Amsterdam Centrum (Central)

when our money was denominated in guilders. But heavyhanded, conservative, killjoy policy changes have since homogenised Amsterdam to the point where it is now pretty much a typical medium-sized European city.

‘Amsterdam had been a kind of real-life ‘Euro Disney’’

From Unesco’s World Heritage protection of the city’s totally unique canal belt to some of Europe’s most famous museums and architecture, not to mention its distinctive social atmosphere and feel, the old city with all of its modern add-ons remains a pleasure for even us long-termers to visit at least three times a year… Tourist prices are prohibitive, after all.

Many writers have described Amsterdam Centrum (Central) as an amazing open-air museum on urbanity throughout the ages. The city perches on an area of swampland that has been so well sculpted and disguised, even residents tend to forget that they are, in fact, living on reclaimed land. A complex system of water-management engineering works 24/7 to keep us dry and able to generate commerce, a field in which the city still punches way above its weight, internationally.

Until the 1998 and 1999 tourist seasons, Amsterdam was the number-one weekend break city in Western Europe (excluding the mega-cities of Paris and London). Barcelona has since edged ahead, perhaps due to its milder, sunnier climate and the presence of a beach of some description.

Up to then, Amsterdam had been a kind of real-life ‘Euro Disney’: its international tourist centre was on the edge of becoming a 24-hour city overflowing with opportunity for revelry; and good times were much more easily affordable

In 1996, I lived on Prinsengracht for six months, in an ultra-luxurious apartment, and I have slept in various welcoming beds in central Amsterdam over the years.

I am, therefore, qualified to say that it is not the most comfortable area in which to live, if you are content with the simpler things in life. As one friend said to me in 2000, when moving away from the centre (Jordaan) for a ‘life’ in the east of the city, “It is fine if you want to live there and prove to people that you can afford to eat fresh pasta every day and do not mind the constant hassle of tourists”.

Amsterdam Central is, nonetheless, beautiful and best described through photos.

‘The old city with all of its modern add-ons remains a pleasure for even us longtermers’

FEATURE

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FEATURE

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FEATURE

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FEATURE

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FEATURE

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CLASSIFIEdS SPORT

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CLASSIFIEdS

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perspectives

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NIGHT WATCH

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By Elaine McCormack

‘I have seen many people come and go, units of currency change and four seasons change into three’ In my fourteen years of living and trying to integrate into the colourful, vibrant and multicultural city of Amsterdam, I have seen many people come and go, units of currency change and four seasons change into three (where did the summer go?). I’ve also watched the wrapping and unwrapping of the Royal Palace on the Dam and the Rijksmuseum during their renovations.

One of the biggest changes I have seen and experienced first hand and close up, however, is the successful renovation of Rembrandtplein. Now that it is close to completion, it is finally managing to lose its age-old reputation of being Amsterdam’s dark, dirty, dodgy, ugly sister square, where Rembrandt himself used to hide behind the overgrown terrace of the old Café Unique watching late partygoers falling out of the old casino on the corner.

Rembrandtplein, or Rembrandt Square, was originally known as Botermarkt (Butter Market) and was built from the remnants of the old city port, in 1668. As the name suggests, the first use for this central square was as a dairy market and farmers would travel from all over Amsterdam to sell their produce there. September was party month on the square; the cheese and milk stands were replaced

by poffertje stalls and the locals would enjoy the street fair and even get involved in wax sculpturing (old-school Madame Tussauds?). In 1852, the statue of Rembrandt van Rijn, famous for his Nachtwacht (Night Watch) painting, was revealed to Amsterdammers. It met with much disapproval by the locals at the time, since they considered the statue to be boring and lifeless. Slowly but surely, however, Rembrandt became more a part of the city’s folklore and the square was renamed Rembrandtplein in 1876.

The square, which had remained pretty much unchanged for two centuries, became more and more commercialised as the 20th century approached, with hotels, bars and cafés opening up for business. In 2002, I became one of those ‘Horeca’ employees and worked for two years in an international bar with a front row seat looking out on to the square. I left for a while, to work at a couple of other grand cafés in different parts of the centre, but returned in 2007. Back then, the square was less glamorous than now, as an entertainment centre, and was overshadowed by Leidseplein, which had the advantage of close proximity to the Van Gogh and Rijks (Empire) museums. I will always remember the uneasy feeling I had at the beginning, when locking up at the end of the night, and being more than aware of suspicious types forever loitering outside.

Five years ago, the Rembrandtplein Committee, headed

by Maarten Jansen, decided it was time to move forward

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‘Being more than aware of suspicious types forever loitering outside’ again and start a new chapter in the square’s history.

Following extensive research, they came up with a (BID) Business Improvement District plan, which was primarily focused on safety and the upkeep of the area. In their search for ideas, the committee came across examples of plans for Manhattan, in New York, which inspired them to kick-start their lobbying. By December 2009, the new square was completed. It took a lot of co-operation between city hall, the police and local business owners who, interestingly, pay extra clean-up costs to keep the area tidy and safe for locals and tourists alike.

The new square, to which I have just said goodbye again, for the last time, has become a welcoming, cosy and international place with tourists casually enjoying the

sun (when we have some), lying on the grass and watching the world go by. It has become the ideal pit-stop area for day trippers to the Hermitage Museum and Carré Theatre.

Locals and tourists come along every Sunday to visit the Modern Art Market, which displays work by various artists from March until October. The square also hosts live events during the Queens Day celebrations and, of course, is a major Gay Pride meeting point.

In as little as five minutes’ walk, you can be almost anywhere else in the centre, including the Stopera, Waterlooplein market, the Amstel, Rembrandt House, the Jewish quarter and the historical museum, along with the imposing Tuschinski theatre, which is probably the most beautiful example of art deco architecture in the city.

‘It has become the ideal pit-stop area for day trippers’

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CLASSIFIEdS

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CLASSIFIEdS

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REVIEW

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On the ca of Amste

by Sharmin de Vries

‘One Amsterdam festival draws in the crowds but sans the riots and madness’

REVIEW

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anals erdam If the thought of pushing your way through large crowds of people, while you get elbowed in the face about a dozen times, is not your idea of fun, fear not. Each year, one Amsterdam festival draws in the crowds but sans the riots and madness that one has come to expect from other festivals and national celebrations. This particular festival provides atmosphere in abundance, yet still manages to keep things civilised. I am talking about the magnificent Prinsengrachtconcert, which I finally experienced live on what was quite possibly the sunniest day of the summer.

Once a year, in August, the entire Prinsengracht canal fills up with boats as far as the eye can see, as people try to get the best possible spot to catch a glimpse of the biggest, free, outdoor classical concert in the city. The Prinsengrachtconcert started in 1981 and became an annual summer music fest that, to this day, is still brimming with energy and fine music filling the air.

As I discovered, you don’t even have to be on a boat to enjoy the festival, which has just celebrated its 30th anniversary, and create your own private cultural soiree.

Together with some friends, we claimed a prime spot along the canal in the afternoon, spread out two blankets, laid out two bags filled with snacks, wine and other drinks and voila, we were all set for a good eight hours. We attracted quite a few weird looks from passers-by, who caught us lounging on the pavement, not to mention the odd foot practically on top of us, after which we subtly made it clear that this was a private party. There is nothing like the sun

to bring out the true free spirit in people.

Of course, the real magic came from the canals and started with the children’s version of the concert. Pre-teens entertained us with their violin concertos; a true whizz kid played her fingers to the bone on the piano and wellknown Dutch singers added some popular music to the mix, just to spice it up for the less discerning music lovers.

After a few hours of waiting for what was supposed to be the moment supreme, the adult musicians took over and provided the crowds with a terrific classical rhapsody, as night fell and the eerie silence of mesmerised people seemed almost tangible. At times, it was difficult to keep quiet and not crack the odd joke, because we were, after all, in a merry old state. However, the soothing and exhilarating musical vibes heightened our mood and, even though we were enclosed by hordes of other people who had arrived much later, there was still a sense of free spiritedness that not even the largest number of people standing behind us could erase. Amsterdam’s Mayor Eberhard van der Laan coined it well when he said that the Prinsengrachtconcert made classical music accessible to everyone. That is exactly how it felt. Like a true celebration for everyone.

In keeping with tradition, every year, the Prinsengrachtconcert ends with a true Amsterdam original crooner, singing “Aan de Amsterdamse grachten” (On the canals of Amsterdam), with which everyone joined in at the top of their lungs. On that one magical night, everyone, no matter where they came from, felt like an ‘Amsterdammer.’

Who knew something like classical music, typically seen as a high-brow form of culture for the elite, not the masses, could create such unity.

‘Pre-teens entertained us with their violin concertos; a true whizz kid played her fingers to the bone on the piano’

REVIEW

‘Every year, the Prinsengrachtconcert ends with a true Amsterdam original crooner’

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REVIEW

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PERSPECTIVES

Betty in the pink

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PERSPECTIVES

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‘Betty was the kind of girl who would occupy brain capacity with such meaningless calculations’

By Marta Parlatore

The train slows down, coming to a careful halt while Betty’s eyeballs quiver over the shapes on the other side of the window: Amsterdam Centraal. In more than thirty years of life, how many times has she stepped down from a carriage on to this same platform? Plenty and, in fact, Betty is the kind of girl who would gladly invest the time the train takes to stop completely to quickly review events in her mind and sum them up in a precise answer: 19. Twenty-four, perhaps?

More accurately, Betty was the kind of girl who would occupy brain capacity with such meaningless calculations, for the sake of adding importance to her actions. But no longer. The truth is that, right now, her brain has been blown to shreds. Space has ceased to be an issue; the three dimensions once there are gone.

Betty walks into the sunshine towards Damrak; one hand pulling a purple trolley, the other resting in the back pocket of a man’s jeans, between his wallet and flexing muscles. She breathes in the scent of the canals. They walk, smiling, as if stoned, locked at the hip, in awe of all they see. Betty and ‘The One’ for her.

If you had scripted it, no-one would buy it. They’d say the author must have smoked too much pot while coming up with the storyline. Far too sweet to believe. But this is how things actually went. Two months ago, they met.

Just like that, in the blandest of ways, outside a café. She chatted him up, they talked for four hours. One week later they kissed in the middle of a pavement. Two weeks later he moved in with her. Ever since, Betty feels like she’s walking hand-in-hand with someone simply extraordinary through the scenes of an old French movie.

They walk along Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and decide to stop by Spui, walking on air, everywhere they turn. It’s in the rays of light refracting on the bronze water of the ca-

nals. It’s in the frail white clouds that melt away, dissolved by sunlight. They notice every patch of colour, every shape, and share it like children in a sandpit, as if they are seeing everything for the first time.

The air smells so different, every bridge seems higher, every shop busier and every café livelier. They pick a bench outside a cute brasserie with red checked cloths on the tables and order glasses of white wine. Betty looks into his eyes and every time she does so, her heart stops for a fraction of a second, to remind her of the state she is in: love.

Last time she left Amsterdam, if someone had told her that the next time she returned it would be with the love of her life, en route to becoming official, she would have exploded with hysterical laughter. Who, Betty? No way.

And everyone who knows her would have agreed. Betty is too cynical to have such feelings, impossible. She knows too much about the human soul to believe in dubious mumbo-jumbo about fate and the holy union of two souls.

But falling in love is an act of God, and it’s true that there is no force able to withstand it.

She takes another sip of wine and looks around thinking that miracles, when they happen, feel so bewilderingly natural. Although she must confess that meeting The One has produced the effect of a sudden atomic explosion, whose invisible tsunami has affected every single aspect of Betty’s life, mutating the very fabric that makes up reality.

It’s in everything, in the smallest of gestures, in how she now looks at herself in the mirror, in what she eats for breakfast, in how she thinks about the future or looks at flowers in pots on the balconies above.

They pass her favourite coffeeshop and she doesn’t even notice. This would have been unthinkable a few months ago. Because of The One, Betty has started seeing light and sense in everything that surrounds her and everything that has happened. Every mistake she committed, every rocky road she had to walk down has finally revealed its purpose: to bring her to where she is now, this moment of pure joy. And the indescribable feeling that she has finally become a living part of the world she occupies.

‘She knows too much about the human soul to believe in dubious mumbo-jumbo about fate and the holy union of two souls’

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PERSPECTIVES

‘She takes another sip of wine and looks around thinking that miracles, when they happen, feel so bewilderingly natural’

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INTERVIEW

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‘You’re sure to find me taking a deep breath of the Dam in Vondelpark or on some terrace’

Home from home ‘I use the time on the road to write (if I don’t write, I go crazy)’

‘I’m playing in the Sugar Factory on 17 September and that’s due to popular demand’

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By Elaine McCormack

An open-hearted interview with Dublin-born singer/songwriter, Kenny Bogan, whose down to earth attitude keeps him real while recording albums with legendary producer John Reynolds, famous for his work with artists such as U2 and Sinead O’Connor.

I think it’s fair to say that you are an artist with ‘itchy feet’. You first arrived in Amsterdam in 1998 and then went on to explore England, Scotland and even the US, only returning to Amsterdam three years ago. What is it about this city that has such a hold on you?

I love the small town feel that has always been around Amsterdam Centre; anytime I’m out and about, I always meet someone I know. I notice something new about the architecture every time I make my way through the town and it still has the ‘wow’ factor for me. The city has so many of my favourite bars and cafés and, on the nice days (very few presently), you’re sure to find me taking a deep breath of the Dam in Vondelpark or on some terrace.

I also feel I have grown as a person and an artist in Amsterdam; it is where I became truly independent all those years ago, when I first left Ireland. I have left my mark on this place just as it has become a part of me. Oh, and then there’s the beer, which is so good in this country, and not a bad pint of stout in the Irish bars, either.

A musician’s life isn’t always ‘rock n’ roll’. How do you deal with the obligations and challenges of being a family man and a successful musician?

Wii Fit, jogging, heavy drinking sessions and music. They are the starting point. Late nights and early mornings don’t mix but I sleep when I need it. Powernaps are essential to me; just a wee fifteen minutes here and there, followed by a coffee, and I’m rockin’. I use the time on the road to write (if I don’t write, I go crazy) and this is important for the family because then, when I am with them, I’m not thinking about some other shit that needs to be done. I know it’s a cliché but I try and live right now.

The work/family balance is hard for everyone, these days, but I think I do alright.

Amsterdam has obviously played a strong role in your life. Now that all your hard work and determination is finally paying off by providing you with a busy agenda, do you see it as an ideal base of operations for a touring musician?

Yeah, definitely, it’s perfect for me. Schiphol is just down the road and I am on mainland Europe, so it’s the best of both worlds. I spend a lot of time in the UK but I do love to come back to the Dam and chill out. Some parts of the world are way too busy for me… Relax, people. The lifestyle here gives me a great platform to work from; there are great musicians and creative people around me, so something interesting is always going on that that feeds the soul.

You released your latest album ‘The Skinhead and the Daisy’ last March and it has gained interest all over the world. Does this give you itchy feet again?

Not really. I’ve been travelling a lot lately, so I get to see plenty of new places and people. It’s actually really nice to come back to my adopted home and see everything that’s familiar to me. I do miss Ireland but I have made a life here that I love. I can’t imagine trying to up sticks and leave right now; we are just too busy with publicity and PR and the uncertainty of the few months before and after a move are something I don’t want to think about right now. I’m writing a new album and being inspired daily so, for the moment, I’m not going anywhere. Anyhow, I’m playing in the Sugar Factory on 17 September and that’s due to popular demand, I’ll have you know. It’s one of the best venues in this town, in my opinion, and I’ll be playing a mix of intense anthems and sweet ballads. With nights like these, it seems as though Amsterdam will have a hold on me forever. www.kennybogan.com www.myspace.com/kennybogan www.facebook.com/kennybogan www.sugarfactory.nl

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TEChnOLOgy

‘Over the past 30 years, no-one has made such a revolutionary impact on as many different industries’

iJobs ‘Pixar, became the world’s most successful animation studio.

Debuting with Toy Story, it has created masterpieces such as Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars and WALL-E’

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‘In a lifetime, some people get to change the world. Not many get to change it multiple times’

TechBit: Sio-Bytes

By Simon Owusu

Wikipedia defines a visionary as ‘one who can envision the future’. It goes on to say that a visionary can be a person with a clear, distinctive and specific vision of the future, usually connected with advances in technology. In today’s world, one person who fits this description is Steve Jobs, who recently retired as CEO of Apple Inc. Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Jack Dorsey, Larry Page and Sergey Brin are also well known names from the tech industry but none of them are as renowned for their vision as Steve Jobs.

This is because over the past 30 years, no-one has made such a revolutionary impact on as many different industries (music, movies and mobile phones) as Steve Jobs.

truly revolutionary legal deals, streaming music services like Spotify or Pandora would never have come to fruition.

In 1986, Jobs brought a company called The Graphics Group from George Lucas, who needed to free up some cash for his pending divorce. A decade and a half later, this purchase changed animated movies forever, by setting a standard of excellence previously unseen. This company, renamed as Pixar, became the world’s most successful animation studio. Debuting with Toy Story, it has created masterpieces such as Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars and WALL-E, to name but a few. Steve’s US$10 million became US$7.4 billon when the company was eventually purchased by Disney. Jobs had a vision to change animation forever and that’s exactly what he did.

Not content with dominating music and movies, Jobs took Apple into further uncharted territory. Apple would not only come to dominate this industry but totally redefine it. The year 2007 saw the launch of the iPhone, We begin in 1997, when Jobs returned to Apple, after being a touchscreen smartphone. In the second quarter of this kicked out in 1985 by the board of the company he found- year, Apple became the worldwide number one single ed. This parallels the 2009 Star Trek movie, in which James manufacturer of smartphones, in terms of revenue, profit and volume, pushing aside well-established companies Tiberius Kirk was transported off the Enterprise after a like Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and Ericsson. How we use dispute with his then superior officer, Spock. Kirk later transported back on to the Enterprise to gain command of smartphones today and what we expect of them is all due the starship and save the day. Jobs saved Apple in October to innovations introduced by the iPhone. Touchscreens, multi-finger gestures and mobile browsing are the new 2001 with his vision of a portable media player called the standards for others to follow. Previously, no-one thought a iPod, which later became as synonymous with portable company like Apple, with no prior experience, could make digital music players as Hoover is to vacuum cleaners. a phone at all, let alone a good one. After the iPhone, many followed suit, including the likes of Microsoft and Google.

Apple has sold more than 250 million iPods to date and has revolutionised the way we listened to music. The iPod Jobs had broken down boundaries once again. spawned the iTunes Music Store, Apple’s digital music service. Before iTunes, many had tried (unsuccessfully, due Lest we forget, Jobs had the vision to introduce the mouse and a Graphical User Interface in an operating system, to to the rise of online piracy) to legally sell music online.

The downloading of purchased music, enabled by the iPod, remove the floppy drive (which, at the time, people said has resulted in iTunes becoming the largest online digital was insane) and to exclude Adobe Flash from the only sucmusic service in the world, boasting more than 15 billion cessful tablet ever created, the iPad. With 30 million iPads sold and 83% of the tablet market share, I don’t think Flash tracks downloaded, so far. has been missed.

The way we consume music has totally changed; deconstructing the ancient business model of record labels and It is such clear vision from Jobs, at the same time taking risks and challenging the status quo, that has made Apple distributors, by allowing anyone access to music when the most valuable company in the world with a cash and where they want it, while at the same time allowing reserve of US$76.2 billion (three billion more than the US anyone to distribute music globally without seeking government!) and certainly the coolest and most iconic. In permission from conglomerates such as Warner or EMI. a lifetime, some people get to change the world. Not many Without the iPod there would be no iTunes. And without get to change it multiple times. Think Differently! iTunes, which circumvented copyright laws by striking

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your objective, our resolution.

www.concultancymarketmedia.com

Film review

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Room 2c film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) Bueller. Teenager. Truant. Fake illness. Day out. Girlfriend Sloane. Buddy Cameron. Chicago. Ferrari 250 GT. Principal Rooney. Wrigley Field. Sears Tower. Von Steuben Day Parade.

Danke schoen. Beatles. Abe Freeman. Sausage king. Mud. Shoe. Wallet. Dog. Disaster.

Sister. Burgler. Police. Prank.

Station. Drug dealers. Charlie Sheen. Ferrari. Odometer.

Panic. Hillside House. Reverse gear. Abusive father. Anger. Unbalanced jack. Ravine. I’ll take it. Parents. Dog. School bus. It’s over, go home, go!

Cartoon

By Colin Bentley

After the match, Stoke City’s Dean Whitehead makes the long journey home.

The silent vigil begins again.

SPOTTED

Where is this in Amsterdam?

Answer to: sentinelpost@gmail.com

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the global expat network

AMSTERDAM

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sport

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The Gold Room

By Denson Pierre

Déjà vu can be a slightly burdensome experience, especially when the perception trick is not a happy one. Back in the September 2009 Gold Room (http://thesentinel.eu/edition/ Sentinel2-14.pdf), I found myself writing about unpredictability, flying starts, overrated managers and a player surely on the way to becoming one of the top 1% around, capable of individually determining the quality and outcome of top-level matches.

At the start of every FFG-CL season, managers are allowed to pick so-called ghost players. These are players that managers either wish to experiment with or cannot be sure they will win their real-world managers’ confidence when the season actually gets going. Such players could end up being transferred (or loaned) out of the Premier League or, in a best-case scenario, to a better team (more matches, higher probability of positive results, etc.) within the league. Each manager is allowed up to three of these ghost players, who have one month to either make an impression and be kept in the team or be removed, along with whatever score they may have built up (but at no expense to the amount of substitutions available). This facility has proved handier to have available this season than most.

Cesc Fabregas was a decorative ‘must have’ in any good FFG-CL team for at least a couple of seasons before the most recent one. His extremely tiresome want-away story has thankfully been resolved and he is now back in his native Catalonia, warming the bench. Samir Nasri is also a much-admired player, who has now moved to fortress Blue Moon (Manchester City). With the amount of quality horded there, this move might not make him the best value for fantasy football managers, in light of the unbelievable rotation Roberto Mancini will have to practice to

keep his obscenely well-remunerated professionals at least partially bonded as a squad. He cannot afford to be blinded by substitute’s bench-warmed egos, however.

Just as in 2009, I am fully convinced that Luka Modric has the opportunity and ability to spend the next season or two justifying the view that his football mastery places him right up there in the pantheon of great players, just below the level of Messi, Ronaldo, Maradona, Cruyff, etc.

He has the highly exclusive talent for changing a football pitch filled with players and officials into some sort of desk-top interactive display. He is regularly able to copy his own football will and paste it over the entire field, including defending opponents. When he wins or receives the ball, his brain leaps into faster creative functioning and starts looking for the most creative way forward. In his natural style, he very often chooses the fantasy option that leads to hardened football followers and ex-players remarking that they wish they could have done it that way. This is the only important review of a top player that truly matters. It transcends the strengths and weaknesses debate, while making whatever top team at which Luka Modric finds himself 20% better than they would be without him.

Back here in the game, it is ultimately convenient that I am the only FFG-CL manager to have selected Modric to face the new scoring system being utilised. If only for the high count of Man of the Match awards he will surely win, Luka Modric is my Star Man in the Premier League for 2011-2012, even if the season is yet to get up to speed.

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Luka Modric - Tottenham Hotspur

Š pieter bakker

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CZECH REPUBLIC STUNNINGLY DIFFERENT! www.czechtourism.com