Winning the Champions League may be the only way that the young squad can be kept together

The team is something that an entire society can cling to, even in the dark days of dictatorship.

The Dutch football star brought the game to the world stage for his home country, and has been described as one of the greatest players ever known.

Opera great Placido Domingo has been considering an invitation from Fifa president Sepp Blatter to help clean up world football’s governing body.

Barcelona’s current success has been built on a switch to a self-confident mentality wrought by Johan Cruyff and his "Dream Team" in the early 1990s.

It is pretty good stuff, this European Championship. In some ways it is better than a World Cup, a tournament that has become too big.