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For English learners and teachers try the worksheet World Football Stereotypes
World Footballing Stereotypes
Damon: OK. Germany
Tim: Germany… efficient.
Damon: Italy.
Tim: Italy… tactical, a little bit conniving and lucky.
Damon: Argentina:
Tim: Creole football, dribbling, and playing the ref.
Damon: England
Tim: Bottlers, bad penalty takers, WAGs.
Damon: Brazil.
Tim: Flair, style, overweight strikers.
Damon: Holland.
Tim: Good tradition, bad present.
***
Damon: Germany
Ed: Unfortunately successful.
Damon: Italy.
Ed: Prima donnas
Damon: Argentina:
Ed: Hard workers.
Damon: England
Ed: Victory!
Damon: Brazil.
Ed: Style
Damon: Holland.
Ed: Underperformers.
***
Damon: Germany
Hans: Excellent team, always in finals, work hard. team mentality
Damon: Italy.
Hans: Hot and cold. They’re winners and losers and sometimes cheats – like to dive, but technically very strong.
Damon: Argentina:
Hans: Very strong, very tough mentally and physically – all round solid soccer team.
Damon: Brazil.
Hans: Often referred to as a sort of a samba, stylish, like to dance, play, dribble, but mentally again hot and cold, sometimes very weak.
Damon: England
Hans: England always promise more than they deliver. Great players, but as a team seem to lack the mentality to go all the way.
Damon: Holland.
Hans: Traditionally, beautiful to watch, but seem to collapse at the quarter final stage, so mentally not as strong.
***
Damon: OK, Germany
John: Complex.
Damon: Italy.
John: Conniving, cunning, always looking for the opportunity. Capable of the most exhilarating moments and some of the most stupifyingly boring moments all in the one game.
Damon: Argentina:
John: Almost always entertaining.
Damon: Brazil
John: I’ve got nothing for you.
Damon: England.
John: Perennial under-performers. Disappointingly under-performing. Amazing individual talent that they never seem to be able to put together into a team performance.
Damon: Holland.
John: Holland always seems very organised on the field, but accompanied by all the stories of in-fighting and who’s not getting on with whom, but it generally looks good on the field.
***
Simon: Tendency to be cynical… efficient and robotic… the beautiful game… under-achievement and disappointment … total football historically… beautiful on their day but can be dirty.
Vocabulary
conniving: cunning, clever (negative meaning)
to dribble: to move with the ball at your feet,take a lot of touches and beat opposition players
to bottle: to lack courage at an important moment; to give up; to let nerves beat you
prima donna: someone who things they are a star (but others do not agree); someone who wants to be treated like a king or queen
hot and cold: sometimes very good, sometimes terrible