Last-gasp goals, Bayern Munich thrashed, Champions League quarter-finals, international sackings and tension in the Championship all feature in this week’s good, the bad and the ugly section of languagecaster’s football podcast. Click on the links below to find out more on all of these stories. Explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) can be found at the foot of the page.
The Good
Last-gasp winners for Premier League title contenders Liverpool against Fulham and Manchester United at home to Aston Villa last weekend kept the race to be crowned champions interesting. Both goals were scored by substitutes, Yossi Benayoun for the Reds and Federico Macheda for the Red Devil. Macheda, 17, is now an instant hero for the Manchester United fans after his particularly stunning goal that means Manchester United avoided dropping points for the third game in-a-row.
It was a good week for teams playing German side Bayern Munich. First up were Wolfsburg who went top of the Bundesliga with a fantastic 5-1 win over them, with the last goal, by Grafite a possible contender for goal of the year. Wolfsburg go above Munich in the table and are now equal on points with Martin Jol’s Hamburg but with a better goal difference. Then four days later La Liga side Barcelona absolutely destroyed the Bavarians 4-0 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg with Lionel Messi once again displaying his footballing genius.
The Bad
Good in the league for Manchester United, but they were rocked by a last-gasp equaliser from their opponents, Porto in the Champions League. The team from Portugal scored two priceless away goals at Old Trafford setting up a tough return leg in Porto where no English team has won before. Last year Liverpool drew there 1-1 and Arsenal lost 2-0. Talking of Liverpool, it was a terrible night for them too as they were hammered 3-1 by Chelsea in their own backyard. Their zonal marking at corners fell to pieces, allowing the Blues to take the initiative with two headed goals by Ivanovic. Bad for both teams from the north west of England in the Champions League.
It has been a bad week for the image of two international teams Scotland and the Czech Republic with a host of sackings ensuing in the fall out. First up were the Scottish goalkeeper McGregor and captain Barry Ferguson who were dropped for the World Cup game against Iceland after an all-night drinking session. They then made inappropriate gestures to fans and the press while on the bench and have subsequently been banned from playing for the national side. Then, after two poor results in their World Cup qualifiers, the Czech Republic manager Petr Rada was fired while six of his former players, including the captain, have been banned after breaking a team curfew. Troubled times for both of these international teams.
The Ugly
It has been an ugly week in the English second tier – the Championship. Birmingham captain Lee Carsley was red-carded after an attrocious tackle on Wolves player Chris Iwelumo in the top of the table clash. QPR sacked their Portuguese manager Paolo Sousa after only 26 games, struggling Southampton face a points deduction and possible extinction due to their financial troubles, their manager was also involved in a fracas with the Charlton manager at the end of the game last week, Sheffield United and Barnsley players and managers had to be separated by the police at the end of their tempestuous derby match and in another fiery local encounter a fan threw coins on to the pitch in the Cardiff-Swansea match hitting the referee in the head. With only five games to go it is getting pretty ugly indeed in the Championship.
Vocabulary
Here are some of the words from the good, the bad and the ugly section from this week’s show. You can download the podcast here
Last-gasp winners: Goals scored at the end of a game to win the match
stunning goal: A very beautiful, spectacular goal
5-1 win over them: A 5-1 win against them (Bayern)
a better goal difference: The difference between the number of goals scored and conceded is greater
destroyed the Bavarians: Heavily defeated the team from Bavaria (Bayern)
were rocked by a last-gasp equaliser: Shocked by a late goal to draw the game (2-2)
priceless away goals: Very important goals, could prove to be match-winning (away goals count double in European football in the case of a draw)
they were hammered 3-1: They were well beaten; thrashed
in their own backyard: At home
zonal marking: Marking space rather than an opponent
fell to pieces: Collapsed, the plan did not work well
a host of sackings ensuing in the fall out: Lots of people were fired / sacked after the events
were dropped: The players were not chosen to play for disciplinary reasons
made inappropriate gestures: The players made rude signs, they were impolite
breaking a team curfew: Breaking the team’s rules
second tier: The division below the Premier League
top of the table clash: The two teams at the top of the division played against each other
face a points deduction: Could lose points (disciplinary penalty)
tempestuous derby match: A fiery game between two local teams, lots of passion (aggression)
