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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Inter, Swansea, Pepe and Scandal in Swiss Football

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In this week’s review of the footballing action we focus on Swansea’s rise, Inter Milan’s unbeaten run and a bad week for Real Madrid’s Pepe. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below.

Good

Nine years ago this week, Welsh side Swansea City were bottom of the fourth tier in English football; bottom of the whole league – that’s 92nd out of 92 teams, while Arsenal were top of the Premier League. Yet last weekend Swansea came from behind to beat The Gunners 3-2 to move into tenth place in the Premier League. It was also good news for Italian side Inter Milan as they defeated their rivals AC Milan – a 6th consecutive win that sends them up into fifth place – six points behind leaders Juventus.

Bad

Yet again poor behaviour by a player in the clasico match between Real Madrid and Barcelona has made the news and this time it concerns Portugal international Pepe. The Madrid defender feigned injury in the first half when challenged by Fabregas but it was his stamp on Lionel Messi’s hand that has drawn most criticism against the player. Even the home media in Madrid have condemned him and so it looks like Pepe will be receiving a ban for his actions.

Ugly

Bad news for Swiss side Neuchatel Xamax as they have been expelled from the Swiss Super League after falsifying legal documents according to the ESPN website. The Swiss team, and in particular their chairman Bulat Chagaev, have been no strangers to controversy recently and had already been deducted 8 points by the Swiss FA – an ugly story from Switzerland.

Vocabulary

the fourth tier: The lowest division in England’s professional game – now known as The Second Division

The Gunners: The nickname of Arsenal

feigned injury: Pretended that he was hurt

have condemned him: The press have criticised him heavily

have been expelled: The team has been kicked out

falsifying: Not telling the truth, giving incorrect data or information

had already been deducted: Had lost points for another previous problem

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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