Archive for October, 2009

This week it’s the turn of women to take part in World cup qualifiers, there’s a huge surprise in Spain and a prison sentence for Premier League footballer All these stories and more feature in this week’s podcast. Come along to the site at languagecaster.com to read more.

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FEATURED POSTS

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PREDICTION

This week’s featured match is Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur

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FOOTBALL EXPRESSION

This week’s English for football expression is the phrase smash and grab. Now this phrase is usually associated with a type of robbery – one where a shop window is smashed which then allows someone to take the goods from inside. It is not very subtle but can be very effective as there exists an element of surprise. Now, in football we use this when one team dominates another but still does not get the victory, rather the team that has been under pressure all game breaks out from defence and scores a goal to secure an unlikely victory. Now this happened last weekend to my team Spurs who completely dominated Stoke City in the Premier League – hitting the post, having penalties turned down, watching their reserve keeper play a blinder and generally dominating possession only to see Stoke score the winner late on. A real sickener but a classic case of a smash and grab victory. Smash and grab.

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This week’s QUIZ QUESTION:

When was the last time Tottenham beat their big rivals Arsenal in the league?

a) 2007

b) 2003

c) 2001

d) 1999

Answer next week.

Last week we asked, how many games has the Liverpool manager, Benitez won in his 200 games for the club? The answer was 113 – the best of any Premier League manager, and second best Liverpool manager’s record.

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For all students of the beautiful game

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On this week’s show we put the spotlight on Honduran football as we continue to take a look at the countries that will be competing in next year’s World Cup.

• Read our football news review in the good, the bad and the ugly
• Check out a new football expression in English for Football
• Follow the weekly predictions battle between Damon and Damian in the Predictions competition
• For learners of English check out our Football Language Resources page with:
• Football glossary (a huge collection of football vocabulary, football cliches and football phrases)
• Worksheets and transcripts from previous podcasts
  

Automatically receive the podcast each week by clicking on the icon

International women’s World Cup qualifiers, huge surprise in Spain and a prison sentence for Premier League footballer all feature on this week’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly section of languagecaster’s podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

Good

Great results for England against Malta, 8-0, and Italy against Armenia, 8-0 also. What makes the scorelines even better is they were World Cup qualifiers, for Germany 2011. Yes, the Women’s World Cup qualifiers have been taking place since August in Europe as teams fight to get to the finals. There, 15 teams will try to be wrestle the crown away from current Champions, Germany. continue

A first from last week! The guest pundit, Sayumi, scored more than both Damon and Damian. She’ll be happy with that and her team, Kawasaki’s, great result over Hiroshima – 7-0. Damon drops into last place, and he really is going through a dismal run of form. This week it’s the turn of the north London derby to take centre stage along with the return legs of some of the big Champions League games. This week’s guest is Pat and she is an Arsenal fan.

Try languagecaster’s online crossword puzzle.

Before you try the puzzle,  listen to our Main Report and read The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

You can do both if you listen to our weekly Podcast: this has the Main Report and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, as well as Predictions and English for Football).

Click the image below to try the puzzle (check the top menu for hints). Good luck!

Champions League surprises galore this week – Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool all losing – while Sepp Blatter is in the news again, this time explaining why he wants to remain as FIFA president. These and other stories all feature in this week’s podcast. Come along to the site at languagecaster.com to find out who we feauture and for lots more.

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FEATURED POSTS

Automatically receive the podcast each week by clicking on the icon

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PREDICTION

This week’s featured match is Liverpool v Man Utd

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FOOTBALL EXPRESSION

This week’s English for Football is kiss of death. This phrase is used to talk about the relationship between two people or things. If something is the kiss of death to something else, it will result in terrible or bad things happening. In football, often a chairman will support a manager publicly, but soon afterwards sacks them. Their words of support are the kiss of death, they are a sign that the manager’s job is about to end. This week, George Gillet of Liverpool made a big public announcement that he supported Benitez. Is it the kiss of death for Benitez? Will he lose his job soon?

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This week’s QUIZ QUESTION:

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will have been in charge of the club for 200 games this weekend in the match against Man Utd. How many games has the Spanish manager won?

a) 93

b) 103

c) 113

d) 123

Answer next week.

Last week we asked, how many times Germany have lost a World Cup qualifying away match. The answer was never (37 matches)

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Check out the site for the latest polls – www.languagecaster.com | Click here admin@languagecaster.com if you want to have your say on our weekly podcast.

You can also follow us at Twitter

Come along to our online shop and browse books and DVDs related to football and English language teaching and learning.

For all students of the beautiful game

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 Print This Post | Subscribe: Main Report

On this week’s main report we take a look at the world football governing body FIFA.

Main Report 11

Transcript

‘It is an institution that … has taken on a social, cultural, political and sporting dimension in the struggle to educate children and defeat poverty. At the same time it has also become a powerful economic phenomenon…’ You might be mistaken for thinking that this is a description of an organisation such as UNICEF but this has, in fact, been taken from an article by Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, which can be found on their website. That’s FIFA the football organisation – just in case you needed reminding. It seems that nowadays it not only looks after issues concerning world football but the world itself. continue

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

On this week’s show we take a look at the world governing body of football FIFA

• Read our football news review in the good, the bad and the ugly
• Check out a new football expression in English for Football
• Follow the weekly predictions battle between Damon and Damian in the Predictions competition
• For learners of English check out our Football Language Resources page with:
• Football glossary (a huge collection of football vocabulary, football cliches and football phrases)
• Worksheets and transcripts from previous podcasts
  

Automatically receive the podcast each week by clicking on the icon

Damian keeps pulling away from the crowd – Damon and guests. Can anyone stop him? This week a huge game for Rafa’s Reds in the Premier League, top of the table action in Germany and a six-pointer at the bottom of La Liga. Games from South America and Japan complete this week’s predictions. This week’s guest is Sayumi, a Kawasaki fan living in Tokyo, Japan.

No support for Blatter’s re-election, Champions League shock results, impressive individual performances and spectacular goals, all feature on this week’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

Two weeks ago Damon was extolling the virtues of Swiss side FC Zurich after their dramatic away victory against European powerhouse AC Milan. This time around it was Barcelona’s turn to be humiliated as Russian champions Rubin Kazan shocked the holders with a 2-1 victory in the Nou Camp. With Inter Milan being held at home by Dynamo Kiev – that’s 8 games now without a victory in the Champions league for Jose Mourinho’s side – it means that the showdown between two of Europe’s footballing aristocrats will be a significant one next month and of course that Rubin still have a chance to qualify. Good for Rubin and good for the Champions League. continue