Our football review of the week look sat the big club competitions in Europe and South America, a setback for FIFA in its search for reliable goal-line technology and trouble flaring in the West Midlands derby in England . You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below.
The Good
Smash and grab revenge for Bayern Munich at Inter as the German team won 1-0 in the last 16 knock out phase of the Champions League. Partial revenge for losing to the Italian team in the final of the same competition last year. Inter dominated but it was a 90th minute goal stabbed home by Gomez that sealed the first leg win for Bayern. Meanwhile in South America and the Copa Libertadores, newcomers to the competition, Cerro Porteno from Paraguay hammered Chilean Colo Colo, also making their first appearance in the cup, 5-2. With Brazilian team Santos and Deportivo Tachira from Venezuala drawing in the other group game, the azulgrana will already be confident of progressing.
The Bad
Over the last few years, FIFA has come under increasing pressure to embrace goal-line technology, especially after some glaring mistakes in the World Cup last year. However, the targets they have given, such as the result of the review must be given withinA one second and it must be 100% accurate, meant that all ten companies taking part in trials in Zurich last week failed. Supporters of the technology say that FIFA imposed unrealistic targets, and HawkEye, the company that is already successfully involved in tennis and cricket, refused to take part in the trials. Sepp Blatter, FIFA president, has consistently opposed technology in football and it seems his influence is still making it difficult for the introduction of goal line technology
The Ugly
Derbies are always passionate affairs with both teams up for it and the fans trying to lift their teams so they can enjoy bragging rights after the game. But things turned nasty after the West Midlands derby between Premier League sides West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. There were ugly scenes before, during and after the match, but the FA will be most worried about a flare that was thrown by the Wolves fans into the area where the Baggies ‘ fans were seated and the seats thrown in retaliation. This derby is one of the oldest in the world, the first game was played in 1883, and is sometimes known as the Black Country derby. That first encounter ended in a 4-2 win for the Baggies, but last week’s game was a 1-1 stalemate.
Vocabulary
smash and grab: When one team is stronger than the other, but their opponents under pressure score an unlikely winning goal.
to stab home: to score from close range, often after a rebound or a goal mouth scramble
to seal: to decide, to confirm, to complete
to hammer: to beat a team convincingly, easily, by scoring a lot of goals
to embrace: to accept something, to support something
be up for it: ready for a fight, to try your hardest, to be really focused on winning, to give it your all, to give a 100%
bragging rights: when your team wins a derby you can boast about it, you can taunt the opposition fans, the right to boast
ugly scenes: usually violent events, fighting
The Baggies: West Bromwich Albion’s knickname
stalemate: deadlock, a draw, neither team wins
