Tribal loyalty has been taken too far when supporters pontificate on an area that has nothing to do with football as if they are debating an offside decision
It seems an odd detail now but the first person to find oil in Abu Dhabi was the deep sea explorer Jacques Cousteau, who was employed by a British-run expedition to look for telltale signs in the ocean floor. Modern-day oil prospecting involves satellite imaging and infrared. Back in the 1950s the state of the art was a broodingly handsome celebrity diver in a pair of Speedos.
It worked, though. In those days the Persian gulf was a coral paradise, home to a booming pearl diving trade. You wonder if, down in the glitter and the deep blue shadows, drawing back his hand from the telltale rock formations, Cousteau saw a gleam of something else too, a reflection in his mask of sky blue figures moving on a field of green, vision of some perfect footballing future waiting to be hoisted out of the ocean floor.
Related: The UAE is trampling human rights. Man City must finally speak out | Simon Hattenstone
Related: Manchester City FFP allegations examined by Uefa officials
Continue reading...