The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

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Lyon shock Madrid, Portsmouth make it to Wembley, FIFA turn down technology and Wayne Rooney keeps on scoring goals. These stories and more feature in this week’s good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

A good week for Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Lyon and Arsenal as they all made it through to the last 8 of the Champions League. The two English clubs won easily – United thrashed AC Milan 4-0, while Arsenal hammered Porto 5-0. Bayern lost 3-2 at Fiorentina but won through on away goals while Lyon caused the shock of the round with their 1-1 draw in the Bernabeu to knock out Real Madrid. continue

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French clubs in Europe, John Terry vs Wayne Bridge, Portsmouth’s troubles and Thai politicians lose out to female footballers. These stories and more feature in this week’s good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

It’s been a good 10 days for French clubs in European competition as Lyon and Bordeaux scored impressive wins in the Champions League and Lille and Marseille made progress to the last 16 of the Europa League. We spoke about Lyon’s 1-0 defeat of Real Madrid in last week’s show and in this week’s set of Champions League games, top of the table Bordeaux won in Greece at Olympiakos. Laurent Blanc’s side look as if they will retain the French title this season so they can focus their efforts on a possible surprise Champions League cup run. Good for French clubs in Europe. continue

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Turkey’s new manager, Wayne Rooney, Sol Campbell, Chester City and another crazy idea from the Premier League all feature in this week’s good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

Good news for Turkish football as they announced this week that Dutchman Guus Hiddink is to take over as head coach of the national side. Turkish football is in the doldrums after their dismal performance in the World Cup qualifiers which saw them finish in third place behind Spain and Bosnia. Turkey face a daunting task to qualify for the next major tournament – the European Championships of 2012 – as they will have to play against Germany and Austria but with the experienced Hiddink at the helm they will be feeling a little more confident. continue

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The 2012 European Championship draw, possibility of a Premier League going bankrupt. There’s a silver lining to bad news in China, but violent deaths in Argentina and the UK also make the news. These stories and more feature in this week’s good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

With 4 months to go before the World Cup in South Africa, the draw for the next European Championship took place in Warsaw last weekend to decide the 14 teams that will join co-hosts Poland and Ukraine in the summer of 2012. Yes, it is a long way off and anything can happen between now and then but there are some intriguing ties to be played. Defending champions Spain should comfortably overcome Scotland and the Czech Republic to qualify, while it should also be straightforward for England who need to get past Bulgaria and Switzerland. continue

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News from a top-of-the-table clash in the Premier League, the Africa Cup of Nations, an old footballing rivalry that has flared into life again over recent years, plus a shocking decision from one of the World’s footballing confederations. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

Congratulations to Egypt who won their third Africa Cup of Nations in a row – the first country to ever achieve this feat and which means that they get to keep the trophy. The Pharoahs have not lost in 19 Africa Cup of Nations matches which is a record, they won all 6 of their matches in Angola this time round including a fantastic victory over the Ivory Coast, scored more goals than anyone else, beat their fierce rivals Algeria in the semi-finals and had the tournament’s leading scorer in Gedo. I wonder would they have swapped it all for a place in the World Cup this summer?

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Wayne Rooney, revenge for Egypt and Manchester United fans all feature in the good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

It has been a very good week for Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney. First up he scored all four goals in Manchester United’s demolition of relegation candidates Hull City to take his season’s tally to 19. He then capped off a special week by scoring the late winner in the Carling Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Manchester City last Wednesday. Next up for Rooney is a trip to the Emirates to face title rivals Arsenal. continue

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Arsenal go top, The Carling Cup semi-finals, the Manchester rivalry heats up and a possible Africa Cup of Nations fix all feature in this week’s review of the football world in the good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

Good for Arsenal in the Premier League who take over the number one spot in the top division in England after being written off early on in the season. Despite being criticised for not spending big money on big names in pre-season and the January transfer window – so far at least – Arsene Wenger has steered the London club quietly upwards. continue

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The Africa Cup of Nations, the FA Cup and the King’s Cup in Spain all feature in this week’s review of the football world in the good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

Good for Sevilla as they held on to knock out defending champions Barcelona from the Copa del Rey – the Spanish version of the English FA Cup – this week despite losing the return leg at home. The team from Andalucia lost 0-1 but after their 2-1 away victory in the first leg they progressed to the next round on away goals. This was the first time that Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has tasted defeat in a cup competition after a spectacualr first season in charge saw his side win 6 trophies. However, Barcelona have a chance of revenge this weekend when they play Sevilla again, this team in the league. continue

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Possible crisis at Manchester United, the demise of the FA Cup and poor tackles all feature in this week’s review of the football world in the good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

Leeds striker - Beckford

Good for Leeds United and Leeds’ striker Jermaine Beckford. The Division 1 side, that’s the third tier of football in England, beat English Champions Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup 1-0 away. The Yorkshire side brought back the old glory days when they were a force in the Premier League and outplayed a poor Manchester side. They now get a tie in London against Premier league high-fliers Tottenham. It was Jermaine Beckford’s goal which secured the win for Leeds, but his positive and powerful display up front has attracted the interest of some bigger clubs including Championship leaders Newcastle, so he could be in for a move onward and upward in the transfer window. continue

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Fernando Torres, Roberto Mancini, Bolton Wanderers and the African Cup of Nations all feature in this week’s review of the football world in the good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

What a breath of fresh air. Although the sacking of Mark Hughes was a shambles isn’t it great to hear new-boss Roberto Mancini saying his side, Manchester City, can win the title this year! Hubris of the newcomer? Who cares. Two wins, home and away, no goals conceded – all is well at Eastlands. His relaxed demeanor in the dugout and in interviews seems to have instilled his players with a will to win. It will all go horribly wrong – there are echoes of when Sven started at Man City here – but isn’t it great to see a team playing without fear. I love the scarf too. continue

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The Premier League form book torn up, possibly the best team in the World – ever! Big teams going through sticky patches and a greedy footballer all feature in this week’s the good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

The Good

Spurs continue their good form

What has happened to the Premier League? Chelsea and Manchester United are still everyone’s favourites to battle it out for the title come May but they are both stuttering big time. Man Utd have lost two games out of three, includinga  3-0 loss at Fulham, while Chelsea have only won once since demolishing Arsenal 5 games ago. Arsenal in turn have hit form and are now playing with confidence again and with a game in hand they are threatening the leaders. Just behind them are Aston Villa who have just won three games on the trot to put them into fourth place within striking distance, and even Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool cannot be ruled out. Exciting times in the Premier League.

A special week for La Liga side Barcelona as they are acclaimed as the best team in the world after their 2-1 extra-time victory over Argentinian side Estudiantes last week. After Pedro had equalised in the last minutes of normal time, Leo Messi scored the winning goal and then yesterday he picked up the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Best team of the year? Without a doubt, best team ever? Well, they won every trophy that they entered – 6 in all – which when we see clubs fielding weakened sides in lesser competitions shows not only skill and determination but a desire to win and a strength in depth like no other team in the world. They lead the Spanish League at the half-way mark and are still one of the favourites to win the Champions League – how they would love to win it in Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium in May. Fantastic stuff from Barcelona – team of the year. continue

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Aston Villa, football blogs, Chinese scandals and weakened Wolves all feature in this week’s the good, the bad and the ugly section of the podcast. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

Good

It’s been a good week for English side Aston Villa as they record back-to-back away victories to move into third place in the Premier League. First of all they defeated champions Manchester United away at Old Trafford – that was the first time in 26 years they had managed to do that – thanks to a goal from England starlet Gabriel Agbonlahor. They followed that up with a convincing 2-0 victory at Sunderland on Tuesday to move into third place in the league. Could this be the year that Villa break into the top four? continue