In this week’s review section we look back at some of the big stories from the world of football to help learners of English improve their vocabulary. This week we wonder why English teams performed so badly in the Champions League, why racism’s ugly head will not go away and why Malaga, yes, Malaga are the talk of the Champions League. You can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below.
Subscribe: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Good
I remember watching Malaga in the lower reaches of Spanish football many, many years ago when it was a constant struggle for the small South-coast club to even survive and now they find themselves on the brink of qualifying for the knock-out stages of the Champions League after defeating AC Milan 1-0 in La Rosaleda to maintain Malaga’s 100% in the competition. This is the first ever time that they have appeared in the Champions League and with the club also in third place in La Liga it is sunny times indeed for the Costa Del Sol team.
Bad
A bad week for English clubs in the latest rounds of the Champions League qualifiers with only Manchester United having a positive result and they came back from being to goals down at home to Braga. Their rivals City were beaten by Ajax and face an almost impossible task of qualifying for the knock-out stages. London sides Arsenal and Chelsea also suffered defeats with the Gunners losing at home to Schalke. Both teams are still in with a chance of the last 16 but these defeats may affect confidence. Hopefully!
Ugly
It just will not go away – racism that is, or rather how to deal with race issues is back in the news in England. It is over a year since the Luis Suarez and the John Terry ‘incidents’ which lead to bans for both players. Clubs, managers, the media and even players all seem to wish to sweep the issue under the carpet – to draw a line under it – but unless there is real debate in the public domain about this issue then it will keep on rearing its ugly head.
Vocabulary
the lower reaches: The lower leagues
on the brink of: Almost
defeating: Beating, winning against
La Rosaleda: The home stadium of Malaga
the Gunners: Nickname for Arsenal
to sweep the issue under the carpet: To ignore and pretend it did not happen
to draw a line under: To try and move on from something
rearing its ugly head: Will keep coming back
