Football Word of the Day: ‘Manita’ 5-0

Manita

OK, not an English word per se but it is to do with football and it is very, very topical. ‘Manita‘ is a Spanish phrase meaning ‘little hand’ and is used when one team thrashes another by a 5-0 scoreline, each finger representing one goal. In the first of this season’s Spanish title play-offs, I mean El Clásico, Barcelona destroyed Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid 5-0 at home in the Nou Camp. This is regarded as the perfect victory by Spanish football fans and was the first time there had been a ‘manita‘ in El Clásico since January 1995 when Ivan Zamorano bagged a hat-trick to destroy their rivals 5-0. That particular game was sweet revenge for ‘Los Blancos’ as they avenged a 1994 defeat by the same scoreline, this time thanks to a Romário hat-trick for Barcelona. No hat-trick this time but 2 goals for Villa and 1 each for Jeffren, Xavi and Pedro condemned Jose Mourinho to his first ever five-goal defeat. Barca go top for the first time this season and no doubt the recriminations will now begin for Jose The ‘Special One’? More like The Special Five!