Sometimes it can seem hopeless. How do you mould a single European people out of the lumpen masses scattered across the continent? European Union citizens are stubborn homebodies: only 1.6% of them live permanently in an EU country other than their own. They still insist on speaking different languages, they read different papers, worship at the shrines of different celebrities, chortle at different television programmes. But there is one big exception. Every Tuesday and Wednesday, much of Europe's male population tunes in to watch the Champions League, the pan-European football championship embracing the best teams from all over Europe. On May 28th this year's final was in Manchester. Awkwardly for a European competition, both teams were Italian-Ac Milan (who won) and Juventus. But their squads were drawn from all over the continent: France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Ukraine-topped up with a smattering of Brazilians.
展开▼
