On this week’s review section we salute the champions of Spain and Holland, wonder what happened to Manchester United and are shocked to see a manager attack a player in Italy. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast and can find explanations of key vocabulary in bold below. You can also read the transcript for this post 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.
Good
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Congratulations to both Real Madrid and Ajax who were crowned champions in their respective leagues at the weekend. The Dutch side wrapped up their second title in a row by virtue of a 2-0 win over VVV Venlo. Meanwhile Real ended Barcelona’s three-year domination of the Spanish title by defeating Bilbao 3-0 on the road. This was the Madrid club’s 32nd title, while it was Jose Mourinho’s 7th title in four different countries. They have scored more goals than anyone – currently 115 – and could break the 100 point mark, a mark that no other Spanish club has ever managed to do. People may claim that Barca threw the title away but if they did it was only because of the pace, the power and the pressure of a very, very good Real Madrid side.
Bad
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A bad week for Manchester United who lost to rivals Man City on Monday to allow the Blues back into the title race. Both sides are now on the same number of points but City have a better goal difference than the Reds. United may appear to have an easier run-in but City now have some form of momentum, particularly after the way they played – restricting their rivals to a handful of half-chances – very unlike Manchester United. Few would have predicted this state of affairs a couple of weeks ago when United were 8 points clear but it looks like they may have let the title slip away.
Ugly
Ugly scenes again in Serie A as the Fiorentina manager Delio Rossi has been fired from his post after attacking one of his players, Adem Ljajic, who he felt had disrespected his decision to substitute the player. The manager jumped down into the dug-out and aimed a punch at the player before being restrained by his coaching staff. The Italian league has suspended the manager for three months and fined him a‚¬15000 and while the Fiorentina president defended the manager’s character by stating that ‘… the coach has never committed acts of this kind’ they still fired him. Ugly indeed.
Vocabulary
- crowned champions: Became champions, won the league title
- wrapped up: To win (finally)
- on the road: Away from home
- restricting: Preventing
- the dug-out: the bench, the place where the substitutes sit
- being restrained by: Held back
