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Learn English Through Football Podcast: 2020-21 Season – Premier League Kick Off: It’s languagecaster’s first podcast of the new season. This season we will focus more on the language of football. We hope teachers of English and learners of English, and of course lovers of football, will find these podcasts and all our other posts useful. Spread the word and support us via patreon.com/languagecaster. And, if you have questions or comments then you can email us at: admin@languagecaster.com (Damon=DB).
Learn English Through Football Podcast: 2020-21 Season – Premier League Kick Off
Introduction
DB: You are listening to languagecaster.com’s football language podcast. Welcome everyone to our first podcast for the brand new 2020-21 season of football. We focus here on the Premier League but also keep an eye on all football taking place around the world. My name is Damon, one of the languagecaster team. The other half of this team is Damian, who is based in London, while I’m speaking to you from Tokyo. And this show it is just me.
This podcast is for all those wanting to learn more about the language of football, particularly English language learners. Read the transcript and read the hundreds, thousands, of posts we have on our site at languagecaster.com. If you want worksheets and extra posts, think about becoming a supporter via patreon.com – it pays for our website running costs and keeps the content there free for all!
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (from Hungary)
DB: Yes you are listening to languagecaster.com and that message was in Hungarian! Send us your own in your language – you are listening to languagecaster.com – and we’d love to add it to our show.
And on today’s show, we’re going to spotlight some of the football language connected with games that kicked off last weekend in the Premier League! It was good to see the league start again, but having no fans is a bit weird, isn’t it? I’m not sure I like the fake crowd noises, but I’m also not sure just the live sound of players and coaches shouting in an empty stadium is good either. Oh well, it looks like coronavirus is going to keep fans away for several months longer.
But TV fans anyway had some great matches to watch in the first weekend of action.
Cracker; See-Saw Game; Sweet strike – Liverpool 4-3 Leeds United
DB: I’m going to start with some football language that is connected with the match between Liverpool and Leeds United: cracker, see-saw game, and sweet strike. First, a cracker. This is a great word to use to describe an exciting game. And this 4-3 thriller was certainly a cracker. Newly promoted Leeds United, the Champions of the Championship, took on the Champions of England and a hatful of goals were scored.
What made this game a cracker, very exciting, was because it was a see-saw game. This is our second phrase, which means the initiative swung from one team to the other. When Liverpool scored, Leeds equalized quickly. Liverpool scored again, and then Leeds pegged them back. And this continued until the final goal scored in the last five minutes of the match won it for the home side, Liverpool.
And some of those goals were crackers – yes, we can use cracker to describe a great goal too. Salah’s second, a great volley into the top corner was great, but Leeds’ Mateusz Klich scored the best goal of the match with a sweet strike after great control in the box – sweet strike, is a perfectly hit shot – and it certainly was a perfect shot – go and check it out on YouTube if you can!
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (Arsenal fan)
Assist; Dead ball; Trademark – Fulham 0-3 Arsenal
Another newly promoted side against a heavy weight of the Premier League and this was much more comfortable for the established top flight side – Arsenal winning comfortably 3-0. Our first football phrase from this game is assist, which means to set up, to create a chance for another teammate too score. New signing, Willian, was involved in all three goals, and finished with three assists.
One of these assists was from a dead ball situation – our second phrase from this game – that is when the ball is not moving, when the ball is static – a corner or a free kick. His corner provided Gabriel with a chance to head home Arsenal’s second goal. Earlier from another dead ball, this time a free kick, Willian hit the base of the post.
His final assist was a cross to Arsenal captain, Aubameyang, who scored with a trademark shot – our last phrase from this game, trademark – and the trademark shot curled into the far corner. Trademark shot, or trademark cross, tackle etc. describes a move that is typical of a player, something that they do regularly. And Aubameyang regularly curls the ball into the far corner of the goal.
So there we have it – cracker, see-saw game, a sweet strike, assist, dead ball and trademark shot – 6 football phrases from two games last weekend. Check out the transcript and follow the links to other phrases used in this report that appear in our football glossary.
Well, that’s it from me in this short language podcast. We hope you enjoyed it and we hope you enjoyed some of the football. if you do get a chance check out PSG versus Olympique Marseille, as well. That was also a cracker!
OK, see you. Ta-ra!
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Free football language podcast for learners of English brought to you by Damian and Damon. Interviews, match reviews, predictions all with full language support for football fans around the world who wish to improve their English language skills.
