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Learn English Through Football Podcast: Goalkeeping Gaffes and an Olimpico

Learn English Through Football Podcast: Goalkeeping Gaffes and an Olimpico

In this football language podcast we are looking at ‘goalkeeping gaffes‘, as well as the term to describe scoring directly from a corner. And we also offer some predictions for the weekend’s big games including the ‘Languagecaster Derby‘. You can read the transcript for this podcast below, while you can also check out our glossary of footballing phrases here and visit our site to access all our previous posts and podcasts. If you have any suggestions or questions then you can contact us at admin@languagecaster.com.

Hello

DF: You’re listening to Languagecaster’s Learning English Through Football Podcast.

Hello everyone and welcome to the show for all those who love the beautiful game of football and who want to improve their English language skills. My name is Damian and I am based in London where the weather is cold but bright – great weather to play and watch football. Indeed, I was playing five-a-side this morning and am a little sore at the moment! We have a podcast from a couple of years ago which looked at words and phrases while playing football which might be useful to those who are playing the game. Here’s a little quiz question for you about one of these words which I heard today:

What does ‘square‘ mean when playing football? What does it mean if one of your team mates shouts this phrase? And we’ll have the answer at the end of the show.

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Japanese)

Now, I wonder what the weather is like in Tokyo, Japan where of course the other member of the Languagecaster team Damon is based. We’ll be hearing from Damon later on in the show when he gives us his predictions for some of the big games this weekend – including the Languagecaster Derby!

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Spanish)

DF: That message was in Spanish. We thought we’d include it as two Spanish-speaking sides had big wins this week. Vélez Sarsfield clinched the Argentinian title – their first title since 2013 – and Real Madrid clinched the FIFA Intercontinental Cup after easily defeating Mexican side Pachuca 3-0 in Qatar. This was the ninth time that Real Madrid have won the world club title. So, congratulations to both those sides – !Enhorabuena!

So, that stinger was in Spanish and we’ll be hearing some more languages throughout the show. Try and guess which ones they are (don’t worry, we’ll give you the answers at the end of the show).

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Irish)

Today’s Show

Now, what else do we have on today’s show? Well, we will look back at one of the League Cup quarter-final matches that took place in England this week between Tottenham and Manchester United. The game finished 4-3 to the hosts Tottenham in a game that had lots of attacking football, great goals and lots of goalkeeping errors. And we’ll be looking at some of the language to describe these goalkeeping errors or gaffes later on. We’ll also take a look at the phrase used to describe scoring directly from a corner and then we’ll have this week’s predictions which sees some big games from the Premier League as well as the top-of-the-table clash in Spain.

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Vietnamese)

Goalkeeping Gaffes

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“Has there been a worse performance from two goalkeepers in the same game ever?”(BBC.co.uk, Dec 19th 2024
This was the question from the former Liverpool defender and current TV pundit Jaimie Carragher after the quarter-final match between Tottenham and Manchester United which saw seven goals – four of which were due to goalkeeping errors. So, let’s take a look at some of the language around these goalkeeping gaffes.

Goalkeeper Gaffes

Second-choice keeper: This means that neither keeper who played in this game is the regular keeper for their club but instead they are the second keeper or second-choice keeper. Tottenham’s first-choice keeper Vicario is injured, while the Manchester United number one, Onana, was rested for this cup competition allowing United’s second-choice Altay Bayindir to play instead. Maybe having two second-choice keepers explained why there were so many errors in the game?

To parry a shot: Tottenham’s opening goal from Solanke came after the Manchester United keeper Bayindir could not hold Porro’s shot and he pushed the ball back out into the danger zone. This is known as parrying the shot as the keeper is unable to catch the ball and has little control over where it will go. The parried ball fell to Solanke who then smashed it home. It’s always better for keepers to catch the ball from a shot or if they can’t do that then they should push the ball away from the goal – to the sides would be much better.

Caught on the ball: Tottenham were comfortably leading 3-0 midway through the second half when their keeper gave the ball away twice to bring United back into the game. First, Forster played a poor pass to his defender which allowed United to score an easy tap-in and then a few moments later he was caught on the ball by the United forward Amad. Forster received the ball from his defender but took too long to control it which allowed the United player to close him down and block the clearance – and this clearance went in to the net. Two really bad mistakes with his feet from the keeper gave Manchester United hope of a comeback. These days, most keepers are very comfortable with the ball at their feet but Fraser Forster is not so confident so Tottenham’s plan of playing out from the back does not always work when he is in goal.

Failed to punch clear: In the 88th minute it was the United keeper’s turn to make a goalkeeping gaffe when he was beaten directly from a corner. He could not punch the ball away from his goal – he failed to punch the ball away; he failed to punch the ball clear allowing Tottenham to score again.

Overall, a really poor night for the second-choice goalkeepers as they made some huge gaffes: they parried shots, failed to punch the ball clear and were caught on the ball. Great fun for the neutral fan but terrible for fans of those clubs!

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Dutch)

Olimpico

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Tottenham captain Son Heung-min scored the fourth goal for Spurs in the 88th minute which helped his team to settle their nerves and prevent United from making a dramatic comeback. But what was really remarkable about this goal was that the Tottenham and South Korea captain scored directly from a corner. He curled the ball into the net straight from the corner kick – the ball bent into the top corner and over the Manchester United keeper. In English we don’t have a word or expression for this kind of goal but in Spanish they use the phrase ‘gol olímpico’ as it seems that one of the first players to score this type of goal was Cesáreo Onzari who had played for Argentina against the Olympic champions Uruguay back in 1924. So, in English we would just say that a player has scored directly from a corner but we can also hear an increasing number of people now using the Spanish phrase ‘gol olímpico’ or just ‘olímpico’. Do you have a word or phrase to describe this kind of goal in your language?

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in French)

Predictions

DF: Right, next up is our predictions and on this week’s show we have John, a Hull City fan, giving us his predictions: He went for a Liverpool win at Tottenham and also saw Crystal Palace defeating Arsenal at home. He felt that Chelsea would be too good for Everton and that the big game in Spain would be a goal fest: a 3-3 cracker! Right, let’s hear what Damon thinks about this weekend’s matches.

DB:  Cheers, Damian. Hi, everyone. OK, we’ve got some great games coming up this weekend, and here are my predictions. Let’s start in the Premier League with a London Derby : South versus North: Crystal Palace versus Arsenal. I think Arsenal have hit their stride, are in good form and will win this quite easily: 2-0. Next, we’ve got a Midlands team, Aston Villa, hosting the in-crisis, Manchester City. Usually this would be a tough game at Villa Park, but their home form this season has been a bit shaky. I’m going for a 2-1 away win for City. Now, Spain, Barcelona versus Atlético Madrid, first versus 2nd and also there’s the rivalry between the cities. Atlético have been in great form and I think they will cause the leader’s difficulties and hold them to a 1-1 draw.

Let’s return to the Premier League with the early Sunday game seeing Chelsea visit Merseyside and take on Everton. I can’t see past a Chelsea win, although the Blues have a poor record at Goodison Park; Everton’s ground. Two-nil to the Londoners.

And finally, the Languagecaster Derby. My team Liverpool visiting Damian’s Tottenham, another Merseyside team versus a London side. Tottenham will go into this game after a victory in the League Cup, where they scored four – they also let in three, so I think Liverpool will score. Can the Reds keep Tottenham’s forwards quiet? I think they can and I think, and hope, this will be  a one-nil win for Liverpool. Last season’s visit to Tottenham was not a happy one for Liverpool. Two red cards and a perfectly OK goal disallowed a little bit of revenge would be good. A win won’t clinch the title, but it will keep Liverpool at the top of the league going into the Christmas and New Year fixtures. Those are my predictions. I wonder what Damian thinks. And how about you, listener?

DF: Some interesting predictions there Damon. I am not confident about this weekend’s match as we are missing ten first-team players including our centre halves and goalkeeper so probably expect more goalkeeping gaffes in this game! I would be happy with a draw but think we might get well beaten: 1-3 to the visitors.

Language of Predictions Language of Predictions 2
 

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (from a Hull City fan)

Contact

DB: Right, it’s nearly the end of the show. So, here is a reminder that if you have any questions about the language of football or comments on the podcast, please contact us via e-mail at admin@languagecaster.com.. Also, come along to the website to check out the football-language forum where you can ask and answer any questions you have on the language of football. And also visit our massive glossary of football vocabulary too – just search for Languagecaster.com. Most importantly, tell a friend about us. Give us some likes and followers on social media: we are on Instagram, Facebook and Blue Sky.

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Korean)

Goodbye

DF: Thanks for that message, which was in Korean – I wonder if there is a word for ‘olimpico‘ in Korean?  We also heard some stingers in Vietnamese, Spanish, Dutch, Irish and French and of course a message from a Hull City fan (and they are currently in the Championship by the way here in England). How many of those languages did you guess right?

And here’s the answer to the quiz question we asked at the start of the show about words and phrases we use while playing football. We asked what the meaning of ‘square‘ is and this is what we said in our podcast from a couple of years ago: Square: This is what you say to a team mate when you are standing to their left or right, i.e. beside them and you want them to pass to you. You can also say square it, where ‘it’ means the ball.

So, well done if you knew that one. Listen out for the phrase ‘square‘ or ‘square ball‘ and maybe let us know how this is said in another language that you know.

Thanks everyone for listening today – we looked at some phrases around goalkeeping errors or gaffes including, ‘second-choice‘; ‘failed to punch clear’ and also ‘caught on the ball’. Let us know if you hear these expressions, in any language, during the next week of football. And don’t forget there’s a transcript for this podcast with lots of vocabulary support for you and you can read the transcript to this show while listening. Enjoy all the football this weekend and we’ll be back early next week with a new football language expression. Bye bye!

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Football Language Glossary

Learn English Through Football Podcast
Learn English Through Football Podcast
Damian Fitzpatrick

Learn English Through Football Podcast: A show for football fans to improve their English language skills

Welcome to the website that helps students interested in football improve their English language skills. Soccer fans can enhance these skills with lots of free language resources: a weekly podcast, football phrases, explanations of football vocabulary, football cliches, worksheets, quizzes and much more at languagecaster.com.

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