Reading

The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 is currently taking place in Germany and so in this post we feature a reading from 2002 by Tony Leighton on the history of women’s football. The pdf worksheet contains exercises on skimming, note taking, vocabulary building and summary writing – complete with answers. Download the worksheet here

Question – What do the Football Associations of, England, Holland and Germany have in common with China’s Qing Dynasty (founded 1644)? Answer – All four governing bodies at some stage banned women’s football.

Surprising though it may seem in the light of the boom in women’s soccer during the last decade of the 20th Century – and with the fourth Women’s World Cup finals set for 2003 – the game was cripplingly held back in earlier times through the prejudice of male-dominated organisations. The first known records of the game are frescoes of women playing football at the time of the Donghan Dynasty (AD 25-220). How far women’s football had progressed before the Qing Dynasty came to power is not known, but it quite obviously never became the Sport of Qings. continue

Here is the Guardian newspaper’s preview of the big north-west derby in England between Manchester United and Liverpool. We have provided a brief summary of the article at the start to help readers with comprehension, while vocabulary support for learners of English can be found at the foot of the post.

Background Information

The match between Liverpool and Manchester United is one of the ‘classics’ of the English game. The rivalry between the two clubs is fierce and is linked to geographical location and the fact that these two side are the most successful in domestic football in England. Both clubs have won the league title on a record 18 occasions, though Liverpool have not won it since 1990, and both teams have won an amazing 58 trophies each. The Spanish and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has not had the best start to this season but in this article he stresses the importance of doing well against Manchester United and hopes to repeat the success his side had at Old Trafford (the home of Manchester United) in 2007.

There is a vocabulary list at the foot of this post to help with comprehension. Damon, a Liverpool fan, does not think his side will do well this weekend, what do you think, can Liverpool kick start their season and win at Old Trafford? See the rest of this week’s predictions from languagecaster here. continue

Here is the Guardian newspaper’s preview of the German football season. WE have provided a brief summary at the start to help readers with comprehension, while vocabulary support for learners of English can be found at the foot of the post.

Background Information

The writer, Raphael Honigstein, previews the 2010-11 Bundesliga season in this article and since he is writing for a British audience he mainly discusses the former England manager Steve McClaren who has recently taken over at Wolfsburg. He does so in a rather tongue in cheek manner and makes constant reference to the image of McClaren holding an umbrella during his worst moment as Englland manager when he became known as the ‘Wally with the Brolley’

So, in paragraph 1 he begins the article with a humourous story that mentions the umbrella for the first time before moving on to discuss McClaren in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4. Paragraph 5 discusses some of the main transfers during the close season in Germany, while paragraph 6 discusses the financial state of the game there. In the next two paragraphs (7 and 8), he mentions the teams that might threaten Bayern Munich’s dominance, while in the following short paragraph those teams he thinks may be relegated are talked about. in the final paragraph he once more returns to the subject of the umbrella and McClaren by suggesting that the good weather forecast will mean the Englishman will not need his umbrella this evening and therefore will not be known as a wally anymore.

This article titled “Bundesliga 2010-11 season preview” was written by Raphael Honigstein, for guardian.co.uk on Friday 20th August 2010 08.34 UTC

Once upon a time in the mid-1980s, in a central Munich high school, there was an elderly Latin teacher called Hansi Hell. He had more than a slight speech impediment. In fact, it was a real lisp: the kind that spews forth warm fluids like a small-scale geyser. Herr Hell, a stern disciplinarian, naturally seemed completely oblivious to his own wet unpleasantness. One day, one pitiful pupil who had the misfortune of sitting in the drenched front row decided to fight back. He reached below his desk, pulled out an umbrella and opened it right in front of Herr Hell’s face.

That’s a true story. Certainly not true, however, are malicious rumours that football journalists in Lower Saxony have taken to wearing Roy Orbison-strength shades indoors in a similarly defensive measure to avoid being blinded. It’s quite the opposite, to be fair: the supernatural glistening of Steve McClaren’s perfectly shaped, calcified structures has not once been mentioned by the German press so far. The former England manager has bedazzled his audience in an altogether more agreeable manner: he has been charm personified and generally come across like a well-travelled, extremely confident winner-type.

Tonight, McClaren, “the pioneer from Yorkshire” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) will sit down on his bench in the Allianz Arena as the first ever English manager in the Bundesliga. “It’s an honour for me,” he said ahead of the season’s curtain-raiser that pits Double winners Bayern Munich against his attractive yet defensively solid Wolfsburg side. The feeling, it must be said, is rather mutual: there is a palpable sense of pride that a coach of genuine international calibre has been persuaded to add some new ideas and a new style of management to the familiar mix. His less-than-happy spell in charge of HM’s Bestest XI has been forgiven and forgotten – it’s always the next game that counts in German football anyway, never the past. In addition to that, foreign, non-German speaking managers still have tremendous novelty value in our somewhat insular league.

The 49-year-old is currently busy learning the language. All press conferences and interviews have been taken in English thus far. McClaren speaks deliberately slowly and often augments his words with gestures in the tried and tested fashion employed by so many Brits abroad. But to German ears, he sounds cool and sophisticated, not patronising. He’s also cleverly saying a lot of extremely flattering things that few non-native football men have said before. “The Bundesliga is a growing league, not just financially and (in terms of) the stadiums and the crowds but in quality as well,” he proclaimed, for example. “That’s why some of the best players in the world are attracted to it.”

Some of the best players in the World Cup are clearly more attracted by another league but the defection of Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil to Spain has done little to dampen either McClaren’s or the rest of the country’s enthusiasm for the new season post-South Africa. Hamburg striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting remains the biggest name in the league, literally, but there are one or two very glamorous additions. Schalke have miraculously snared Real Madrid icon Raúl, who has looked very sharp in pre-season. Michael Ballack’s return to Bayer Leverkusen is also exciting the crowds: the 33-year-old has a point to prove after losing the Germany armband to Philipp Lahm and maybe even more during his enforced absence at the World Cup. Some widely discussed private business has increased the pressure on the veteran midfielder.

Wolfsburg have failed in their attempt to buy Diego (Juventus) but might yet make another prominent signing. Everyone else has spent little money. Bayern, who have hinted at a record turnover of €350m (including the figures for Allianz Arena), did not buy a single new player. CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has warned that they’re close to hitting the glass ceiling in terms of generating income unless TV money – currently about €450m per season, a third of what the Premier League makes – increases. Growth in this area is difficult, however, because the league is hemmed in from both sides. The domestic media landscapes and political pressure make it hard for Sky Deutschland to succeed while internationally, the brand is still relatively weak. The “Kamikaze spending” (Alex Ferguson) witnessed elsewhere might be extremely dangerous but it’s also a helluva lot sexier for neutrals than financial prudence. Few people turn in to watch great house-keeping.

Last year’s average attendance record (just south of 42,000) is set to be smashed again, nevertheless, as Germans flock to the stadiums, almost irrespective of the quality on show or their side’s chances to win any prizes. Even the Bundesliga’s biggest structural deficit – a lack of a genuine second super-power to challenge Munich’s unhealthy dominance – has somehow become a very strong selling point: behind the perennial favourites Bayern, the field is so open that virtually half of the remaining 17 sides can consider themselves real contenders for a Champions League place. The race for Uefa’s riches will be even more competitive in two years’ time, when four starting berths will be available once more.

Louis van Gaal’s squad is clearly the best. But without Arjen Robben, laid off for at least two months after coming back from the finals with a left thigh muscle that reportedly resembles a half-eaten Biltong strip, Bayern won’t be able to run away with it. Leverkusen, Werder and Hamburg in particular should offer plenty of resistance, and feasibly a little more.

At the other end of the table new boys St Pauli, Hamburg’s red-light district, alternative Bundesliga club will at the very least provide plenty of good storylines, along with the honest, more straightforward returnees Kaiserslautern.

Just like tonight’s game, the season promises plenty of goals, interesting characters and a healthy dose of Teutonic madness. The ongoing redemption of one Steve M from Fulford will provide extra appeal from an Anglo-Saxon perspective. And the early signs are good, it has to be said: Munich’s Meterologisches Institutes predicts clear, sunny skies for this evening. The league’s first English football teacher will not need to bring an umbrella.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.

Vocabulary

tongue in cheek manner: Not being so serious

‘Wally with the Brolley’: The idiot (wally) carrying the umbrella (brolly)

malicious rumours: Nasty gossip

bedazzled his audience: Impressed greatly those watching him

curtain-raiser : The opening game of the season

pits Double winners Bayern Munich against : To play against (one team versus another)

HM’s Bestest XI: A humourous reference to the England national side

to dampen: (The enthusiasm) Despite some problems people are still enthused by this year’s football

saying a lot of extremely flattering things: Saying very nice things

Schalke have miraculously snared Real Madrid icon Raúl: Schalke have signed Raul

the perennial favourites : Every year they are the favourites, the team to beat is always Bayern

Teutonic: Adjective to describe something German

The World Cup is a week old and if you are struggling to keep up or simply have no idea what’s going on and you need some language for those World Cup conversations, then here’s a list of 6 talking points to help you through till next week at least. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

1. Vuvuzela

If you don’t know what a vuvuzela is then you are on the wrong site. Annoying drone of angry bees or fantastically atmospheric backdrop to the tournament? There is talk of a ban but that would be hard to implement and extremely unfair to the hosts. Should it be banned? Let us know here.

2. Lack of Goals

The atmosphere is fantastic, the stadia are brilliant, Messi looks like he is up for it but where are all the goals? After the first set of matches there were a total of only 25 goals from 16 matches which makes it fewer than the Italia 90 World Cup which is long-regarded as the most boring in recent times. No one wants to lose the first game but where is the sense of adventure that teams had in Germany 2006?

3. The Ball

The Jabulani, the official World Cup football, has been called the roundest ball ever produced by Adidas. They would though. Commentators, managers and fans are suggesting that the misplaced passes, over-hit crosses, goalkeeping mistakes and the lack of decent long shots have been caused by the unpredictability of the ball. How can it be unpredictable when the ball is the roundest ball in football history? Stop complaining and get on with it, after all, it’s only a ball. continue

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This World Cup Stars post features possibly the greatest player of all time, Diego Maradona. To help you understand a little better there is a vocabulary list containing the words in bold at the foot of this post

TRANSCRIPT

Pele may have won more World Cup titles, Ronaldo may have scored more goals, Lothar Matthäus played more games but no one has dominated the World Cup as much as Diego Maradona. He won the trophy in 1986, scored 7 goals in 21 consecutive appearances over four tournaments from 1982 to 1994 and was never far from the centre of World Cup controversy. The sad departure in 1982, the ‘Hand of God’ and subsequent wonder goal against England in 1986, the tears in the final of 1990 and the drug scandal in 1994 have all meant that Maradona is a definite part of World Cup history. continue

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Transcript

Each era has its heroes and stars. Today’s football world is dominated by players like David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, who are role models to many young players, but I wonder how long their influence will last.

There is one player that has stood the test of time and is the greatest World Cup player of all time. Pelé appeared in four World Cups, 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970, scoring 12 goals – the third most by any player – and creating many more. It was his first and last tournaments in Sweden and Mexico respectively that cemented his reputation as a world great.

In 1958, Pelé was 17 and had been playing for Santos and Brazil for one year. No one could imagine what an impact the boy from Três Corações in the south of Brazil would have on the tournament, but by the time he had scored four goals, including a hatrick against France in the semis, on the way to reaching the final everyone knew he was special. In the final, he scored one of the goals of the century – a precise chest-down, a deliciously weighted lob over a defender, polished off with a clinical volley. Pelé scored another as Brazil overcame Sweden 5-2 He became and the youngest player to score a hatrick in a World Cup, and appear and score in a final. continue

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Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson died last weekend. In this post we take a look back at one of the most respected English managers in the game. Vocabulary in bold is explained at the end of the post to help you with comprehension. When you have read the article take the quiz on Bobby Robson’s life here.

Football has often been described as a cut-throat business with little room for sentiment or even respect. So the passing of Sir Bobby Robson, the former English national team coach, last week was sad for many reasons but mainly that amid the nastiness and back stabbing that makes up current day football, he proved that it was possible to be both a gentleman and a winner. continue

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The second tier of English football, The Championship, kicks off this week and in this post we take a look at which teams we think will be involved in the promotion race or the relegation battle. To help you understand this reading there is a vocabulary list containing the words in bold at the foot of this post

The English football season gets underway again this weekend with 24 teams from the Championship battling it out over the next nine months. With the Premier League often facing accusations of being boring thanks to the dominance of the top four, the Championship is always a much more open affair. Games come thick and fast and reputations often count for nothing. The league is always tight and one good run can see a team break into the play-off spots but conversely a bad run can drag you down to the relegation zone.

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It seems that America is fallng out of love with David Beckham. Read the article on the former England captain’s current troubles at his club LA Galaxy. Vocabulary in bold is explained at the end of the post to help you with comprehension.

David Beckham’s return to LA after his Italian break has not proved to be as welcoming as he might have expected. First on the attack was newly-restored Galaxy captain Landon Donovan who questioned Beckham’s commitment to the team after the former England captain extended his stay at Serie A side AC Milan at the end of last season. Next up were the New York fans who made Beckham’s first MLS appearance for nearly six months an uncomfortable one in Galaxy’s 3-1 victory last week. continue