english through football…

The latest podcast – Week 33

‘The Asian World Cup Qualifiers’ is our main report this week. Check out the latest worksheets and transcripts here.

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The latest news roundup – The Good, the bad and the Ugly

Stories from the top and bottom of the Premier League, UEFA, Brazil and Argentina all feature. Each report has key vocabulary explained.

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Bits and Pieces

The Spanish media and football – read and join the debate

AND

Check out our English for Football section (audio and text)

To be ruled out -

“This week’s English for Football is the expression to be ruled out which means that a player is unable to play for some reason. He or she may be ruled out through injury or ruled out because of suspension. In the upcoming World Cup qualifying matches, Scotland face a crisis before their game with Holland as many of their top players have been ruled out through injury. To be ruled out.”

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And finally…

QUESTION: This week sees ‘The Damned United’, a film loosely based on the Brian Clough’s time at Leeds United, released in the cinemas in the UK. Brian Clough was famous for his witty and outspoken remarks. What is the missing word in this famous quote?

“I wouldn’t say I was the best ************ in the business. But I was in the top one.”

Answer next week.

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Go to languagecaster.com to read more posts, write comments and read our huge collection of football phrases and cliches!

Write to us at admin@languagecaster.com if you want to have your say on our weekly podcast.

…for all lovers of the beautiful game

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The World Cup Asian qualifiers are nearing their end and on this week’s pod languagecaster takes a look at who is in the driving seat for places in South Africa next year.

In addition we:

• Review the football news in the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• Introduce a new football expression in English for Football
• And continue the predictions battle in the Predictions competition

For learners of English check out our new Football Language Resources page with:

• Football glossary (a huge collection of football vocabulary, football cliches and football phrases)
• Worksheets and transcripts
• Vocabulary lists

Transcript

World Cup qualifiers are taking place around the world, and Asia is of course no different. 43 nations started the qualifying race last year but they have been reduced to 10 teams in what is now the fourth round of qualifying. It’s no surprise that the five top seeds in Asia, Australia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Iran are in that ten. They are joined by continue

Stories from the top and bottom of the Premier League, UEFA, Brazil and Argentina all feature on this week’s good, the bad and the ugly on languagecaster’s football podcast. Click on the links below to find out more on all of these stories. Explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) can be found at the foot of the page.

Good

An extremely good weekend for Premier League side Liverpool as they demolished Aston Villa 5-0 while their rivals at the top of table both lost. Chelsea were beaten by Tottenham 1-0 and fellow Londoners, Fulham beat leaders Manchester United 2-0 after Scholes and Rooney were sent off. Is the title race back on?

continue

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A low-scoring 1-1 draw last week means that Damian still leads by 12 points. Can Damon make any headway this week and start a comeback? World Cup qualifiers take place all around the world and we feature games from Europe, South America and Asia as teams attempt to take a step closer to qualifying for South Africa 2010.

Nowadays it is easy to hear TV or radio presenters talking about team’s chances, players’ progressions, and stuff like that… as if it was all like a PC or Play Station game. But football is bigger, better and more unpredictable than their minds can imagine, and we all would do right by ignoring them, and thinking for ourselves. I know what I’m saying, because I’m from Spain and I live among the Madrid and Barcelona press. continue

After Manchester United have lost two on the run, the Premier League title race is on again – although Manchester United are still firm favourites, a point ahead of Liverpool on 65 points but with a game in hand. Liverpool, on 64 points have a slightly better goal difference and sit above Chelsea, who are on 61 points. Who has the toughest run in? Who will be top come the end of the season?

(A)= away
(H)= home
*MU v Wigan to be decided

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Is the Premier League the ‘greatest show on Earth’ or a boring ‘private member’s club’? On this week’s podcast we ask whether the dominance of the ‘Big Four’ in England is a good thing for football.

In addition we:

• Review the football news in the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• Introduce a new football expression in English for Football
• And continue the predictions battle in the Predictions competition

For learners of English check out our new Football Language Resources page with:

• Football glossary (a huge collection of football vocabulary, football cliches and football phrases)
• Worksheets and transcripts
• Vocabulary lists

Automatically receive the podcast each week by clicking on the icon

Transcript
The Premier League likes to see itself as the greatest show in the world, the best players, stadia, fans and of course having the most exciting football. But for many, the idea of a championship in which only 4 out of a total of 20 teams stand any chance of winning is, well, rather boring. This week saw Aston Villa lose in the league and they fell to 5th place meaning that the table now reads: 1. Manchester United 2. Chelsea 3. Liverpool and 4. Arsenal. Welcome to the world of the Premier League’s ‘Big Four’. continue

It looks like it’s in the bag for Damian. Another great week with a 10 point haul means that he has taken a commanding lead in the predictions race. This week, another globe-trotting collection of games including a big derby from Colombia

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Stories from England, France, Argentina, Iraq and Brazil all feature on this week’s good, the bad and the ugly on languagecaster’s football podcast. Click on the links below to find out more on all of these stories. Explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) can be found at the foot of the page.

The Good

Liverpool keep the race for the Premier League Championship interesting by demolishing Manchester United 4-1 in United’s backyard. Torres was devastating for the Reds as he humiliated Vidic and scored the all-important equaliser after United had gone ahead with a penalty. Benitez was right to praise Liverpool’s team spirit after the game as every player played as a unit to neutralise their opponents’ midfield and attack. The victory means Liverpool have done the double over both Chelsea and United this season, and capped a great week of football for them coming as it did after beating Real Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League. continue

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There were some big results in this week’s Champions League, but none were bigger than Bayern Munich’s thrashing of Sporting. On this week’s show we ask our German correspondent about the giant team from the Bundesliga.

In addition we:

• Review the football news in the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• Introduce a new football expression in English for Football
• And continue the predictions battle in the Predictions competition

For learners of English check out our new Football Language Resources page with:

• Football glossary (a huge collection of football vocabulary, football cliches and football phrases)
• Worksheets and transcripts
• Vocabulary lists

Automatically receive the podcast each week by clicking on the icon

Transcript