A good start to the season for Spanish giants, a 15 minute game in J-League, and more trouble for under-fire Argentinian manager, Maradona – it seems diamonds aren’t forever. Also, potential financial problems at Queens Park Rangers, and allegations of players being racially abused all get a look in on this week’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.
Good
A Real Madrid’s stars featured in their latest win: Ronaldo, playing on the left, and Kaka both found the net as Real overcame a 10-man Villareal to maintain their 100% record. But not to be outdone, Barcelona, last year’s champions of Spain and Europe, also won with a 4-1 thrashing of Racing Santander away – Messi got a brace after Ibrahimovic opened the scoring with a typical far-post header. A good start for the two favourites for the Spanish crown. Can anyone stop them?
A
Common sense in J-league as the match that was abandoned on the 12th of September between Kawasaki and Kashima with 15 minutes remaining, is going to be replayed on the 7thA of October, but with just those 15 minutes. Kashima were losing 3-1 at the time and called for the whole game to be replayed, which would have been madness. But the Japanese Football Association made the rational and right choice, and it looks as though leaders Kashima, barring a miracle, will drop more points.
Bad
Queen’s Park Ranger’s (QPR) co-owner, Flavio Briatore,A is in a spot of bother after getting caught up in the Formula One scandal involving Renault. As the Renault team boss, Briatore ordered Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately crash to help one of his team mates. The race-fixing row is a huge story in F1 and may have repercussions for the London side. Despite being dubbed ‘the Richest Club’ in the world when Lakshmi Mittal bought the club, QPR are finding that money can’t guarantee success as they sit 12th in the Championship, the 2nd tier in English football.
More trouble for Diego Maradona as he is ordered to hand over his diamond earrings to Italian tax authorities after a recent trip to that country. Maradona owes a staggering 37 million Euros in unpaid taxes and fines so the 4.000 Euros the diamonds were worth are only a drop in the ocean.
Ugly
Two stories involving racism from England this week. The Blackburn player Diouf claimed he was racially abused by Everton fans during last week’s Premier League game – though police have also questioned him after an ‘altercation with fans‘. Then earlier this week Blackpool manager Ian Holloway stated that one of his players (Jason Euell) was racially abused by a Stoke City fan in the Carling Cup. Pretty ugly all round though we should applaud Jason Euell’s decision to confront the so-called fan.
Vocabulary
a brace: Two goals
barring a miracle: In extreme circumstances; a very small possibility
a spot of bother: A little bit of trouble
race-fixing row: Argument over whether there was fraud / cheating taking place in Formula 1
repercussions: knock-on effects, sanctions
being dubbed: Being called, named
the 2nd tier: The Division below the Premier League
staggering: An amazing; incredible
a drop in the ocean: A tiny amount, very small
altercation with fans: A heated discussion – one that almost gets out of hand (almost violent)
