If you had been asked, before you saw the name at the top of the page, who had been voted by the Spanish public as the outstanding native sporting personality of the twentieth century, I wonder how many people would have answered correctly. Most people with an interest in sport …
Seve Ballesteros – the car park champion. That was in 1979 yet it is still vividly imprinted in the memories of so many people. The flamboyant young Spaniard, who had already proved himself to be the most spectacular golfer in Europe, had won the British Open Championship at Royal Lytham …
There is a delightful irony in the fact that Pedro Almodóvar originates from that region of central-southern Spain forever associated with Don Quixote – he is a Man of La Mancha. And just as Cervantes’ gallant knight became symbolic of the cultural flourishing of Spain at the cusp of the …
A few years ago I was at a pub quiz where a question asked teams to list famous Finns. With little knowledge of Finland beyond some its most famous sports stars I was only able to come up with two footballers (Sami Hyypia and Jari Litmanen) and two racing drivers …
