The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

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On this week’s review section we feature a side doing well in both the English Cup competitions, a bizarre situation for women’s football in the USA and tragic events in Egypt. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below.

Good

It was a very good week for Liverpool Football Club in the two domestic cups that we have recently highlighted on languagecaster’s weekly podcast. First, in the Carling Cup they went through to the final after beating Premier League leaders Manchester City 3-2 over two legs. Craig Bellamy, who was let go by City, scored the vital goal to see the Reds through to Wembley. Then, three days later, the Mersyside team hosted their bitter north-west rivals, Manchester United, in the FA Cup fourth round and a late winner from Dirk Kuyt knocked the Manchester side out of the competition. A very good week for Liverpool
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In this week’s review of the footballing action we focus on the start of the African Cup of Nations and we wonder why stamps in Manchester and Madrid go unpunished. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below.

Good

A real feel good factor now surrounds the African Cup of Nations as both of the hosts won their opening matches. First up was Equatorial Guinea who defeated Libya 1-0 in their home stadium to earn a one million dollar bonus that had been promised them by the country’s president. Then on Monday Gabon opened their tournament by defeating competition debutants Niger 2-0 in Libraville. A perfect start to the tournament for the co-hosts.
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In this week’s review of the footballing action we focus on Swansea’s rise, Inter Milan’s unbeaten run and a bad week for Real Madrid’s Pepe. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below.

Good

Nine years ago this week, Welsh side Swansea City were bottom of the fourth tier in English football; bottom of the whole league – that’s 92nd out of 92 teams, while Arsenal were top of the Premier League. Yet last weekend Swansea came from behind to beat The Gunners 3-2 to move into tenth place in the Premier League. It was also good news for Italian side Inter Milan as they defeated their rivals AC Milan – a 6th consecutive win that sends them up into fifth place – six points behind leaders Juventus.
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In this week’s review of the footballing action, we congratulate Lionel Messi for winning his third FIFA Ballon d’Or award, look back at a bad week for his club Barcelona and an ugly end for Neil Warnock as he is fired from QPR. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below.

Good

He is only 24 years old but already the Argentinian Leo Messi is now being touted as the best ever. Messi has just been awarded his third successive Ballon d’Or trophy, the prize given to the best player in the world and few can doubt that Messi is clearly number one: winning the Spanish League, the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and the Champions League where he scored and was voted man of the match. continue

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In this week’s review of the footballing action, we congratulate Manchester City, wonder how Ronaldo picked up a nasty illness and spotlight Liverpool’s controversial defence of their banned Uruguayan striker, Suarez. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below.

The Good

Good for Manchester City as they come through the Christmas and New Year feast of football top of the pile - despite dropping points at West Bromwich Albion and losing at Sunderland. They sit three points clear of their rivals Manchester United on 48 points. Worryingly for the top-of-the-table chasing pack, the Blues brushed aside Liverpool 3-0 without ever getting into their stride and losing the shots count 10 to 18. They also got those three goals against the best defence in the league. In their last five home games they have racked up 15 goals and only conceded 2. A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for Mancini’s men at Eastlands! continue

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In this week’s review of the footballing action, we congratulate Manchester United, wonder about Luis Suarez and look on in shock at the Dutch Cup. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below.

Good

Since being thrashed by rivals Manchester City, Man Utd have gone on an amazing nine-match unbeaten run – eight of those games were wins – that has seen the Red Devils move joint top of the Premier League table. Over Christmas they won both of their matches 5-0 (against Fulham and Wigan) and with a home game against bottom side Blackburn at New Year they could finish the year looking down on their city rivals.
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In this week’s review of the footballing action, we congratulate Barcelona on becoming champions of the world and feature two financial scandals: one from Spain and one from Italy. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below.

Good

Congratulations to Barcelona as they were crowned World Club champions after demolishing Brazilian side Santos 4-0 in Yokohama, Japan. Lionel Messi netted twice with Xavi and Fabregas completing the scoring as Barcelona strolled to their second world title in three years. Brazilian side Santos were poor while their teenage sensation Neymar failed to make any impression at all. Well done Barca – again.
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In this week’s review of the footballing action, we take a look back at the first El Clásico of the season, wonder what has happened to Bolton and hear about a clash in the Ajax boardroom. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below, or highlighted in blue.

Good

A great win for Barcelona in the first clásico of the season as they defeated arch-rivals Real Madrid 3-1 in the Bernabeu and this despite going a goal down after only a minute. Messi once more outshone his Real rival Ronaldo, Xavi was wonderful and Fàbregas’ third goal was a gem but the undoubted man of the match was World Cup winner Andrés Iniesta who ran the show completely. The two sides are now level on points in the league and though Madrid have a game in hand the momentum has swung in Barcelona’s favour and they now travel to Japan for the World Club Cup in high spirits.
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In this week’s review of the footballing action, we take a look back at the football life of the great Brazilian player Socrates as well as congratulating his former club Corinthians on winning the Brazilian title. Not such a good week, however, for Manchester clubs or for Inter Milan. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below, or highlighted in blue.

Sad

Sad news from Brazil where former captain of the national side Sócrates passed away last weekend at the age of only 57. Sócrates had spells with Botafogo and Flamengo, as well as one year in Italy with Fiorentina but the team he was most associated with was Sao Paolo’s Corinthians with whom he played 297 times, scoring a remarkable 172 goals. He played for the national side on 60 occasions, scoring 22 times, and was captain of the 1982 and 1986 World Cup sides. The 1982 side is fondly remembered as being one of the best teams never to win a World Cup and Sócrates was at the centre of a dream midfield that included Falcao, Cerezo and Zico. Sócrates was more than just a footballer – he studied medicine, wrote plays and was very political at a time when being so could get you into trouble. His pro-democracy views at Corinthians during the military dictatorship in Brazil demonstrated his principles, which when added to his brilliant footballing style meant that Sócrates will always be remembered.

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In this week’s review section, we feature a look back at the footballing life of former Welsh manager Gary Speed after his tragic death at the weekend. In addition to this sad story we feature a good week for Real Madrid and a bad one for one Premier League manager. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below, or highlighted in blue.

Sad

The footballing world was saddened at the death of Wales manager Gary Speed at the young age of 42. Speed had only been in charge of the Welsh side since December 2010 but his impact on the team was immediate and in the last five matches Speed’s team won four which saw them rise to 50th in the FIFA rankings – their highest position for many years. Speed also played 85 times for his country, captaining the side on 44 occasions, while he was also the first player to play over 500 games in the Premier League. Speed started his career at Leeds, where he won a league title, before moving on to Everton, Newcastle and Bolton and then finally Sheffield United where he started out as a manager. The reaction from fans and players throughout the game since his death demonstrates the respect that the game had for Speed. Very sad news indeed. continue