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This weekend sees the Gunners take on Spurs; Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby – a massive game for both teams. We feature this game in this week’s podcast. We also have stories from the football world this week, a quiz question, and some English for football phrases.A For those who wish to practise their English, there is a transcript below to help with reading and listening and if you have questions or comments, email us at:A admin@languagecaster.com (Damian = DF, Damon = DB).
Learn English Through Football Podcast: Gunners v Spurs – 2017 North London Derby
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Transcript of the show
DB: You are listening to Languagecaster’s football-language podcast. Hello everyone. How are you? My name is Damon, I’m based in Tokyo and it’s a wonderful Tuesday here weather-wise, sunny but fresh. First of all, apologies for the lateness of this week’s podcast. Both Damian in London and myself here in Japan were pretty busy this weekend and couldn’t find time to do a live recording. So, today it’s just me, with a slightly shorter podcast.
You’re listening to languagecaster.com (Chinese)
DB: Yes, you are listening to languagecaster.com and that message was in Chinese. Now, on the show we will start with a few news stories from the world of football in the good, the bad and the ugly.
Good
DB: Let’s start with good. The final World Cup qualifiers took place this week and so well done to Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Peru, Australia and Croatia who all made it through their two-legged play-offs to qualify for the finals taking place in Russia next summer. It was a huge night in Lima for the Peruvians who qualified for the first time since 1982 and their fans celebrated so much that the seismology department in the country – this watches for earthquakes – suggested that the earthquake alarm went off due to these celebrations. We’ve already mentioned the fact that the Danes have made it through to the finals and they did so in style after thrashing Ireland 5-1 away in Dublin thanks to a masterclass from their star player Christian Eriksen who scored a hat-trick. Painful for an Ireland fan but it really was a wonderful performance from Eriksen who scored 11 goals in the qualifying campaign.
Bad
DB: Now bad. Obviously it was bad for those teams who did not make it through the play-offs: Ireland, New Zealand, Honduras, Greece and Northern Ireland but perhaps especially bad for four-time winners of the World Cup who will not be taking part in a World Cup for the first time since 1958 – a remarkable 60 year gap. The Azzurri were unable to break down a resolute Swedish defence and had to settle for a 0-0 draw at home in Milan on Tuesday and this defeat has seen their manager Ventura being fired and the nation going into mourning. A huge story here in Europe this week.
Good news
DB: I’m not going to do an ugly this week, instead I’ve got a good news story. Almost one year ago, on the 28 of November 2016 a plane crash killed 77 people including most of the players and staff ofA Chapecoense football club’s first team, a Brazilian side on their way to Columbia to play theA Copa Sudamericana final. One of the six survivors was the goalkeeperA Jackson Follman. Unfortunately he lost a leg in the crash and had to retire from professional football, but the club this week reported he had started training with an artificial leg and is hoping to be part of a future Brazilian team in the para Olympics. Brilliant news and good luck to Jackson!
Follow us
DB: Get in touch with us via admin@languagecaster.com, follow us onA twitter,A Facebook, and Instagram. If you like our show or site, let your friends know about it and hit those like buttons! Spread the word! If you come along to the site,A A languagecaster.com,A and click on the podcast post, youA can, of course, read the transcript for the show too.
Next up we here is a quick quiz question.
Quiz Question
DB: We want to know, which team was the last team to beat Germany, the World Cup Champions. Answer at the end of the show – bonus point if you know when, too!
OK, and now some football language from the week. Remember, languagecaster specialises in football language and we have a huge glossary, that’s a list, of words connected with football. Come along to the site and check it out.
Football Language: Sit Deep
DB: The phrase we will look at this week is to sit deep. This phrase is connected with how teams are organised. Teams can be set up according to positions, for example 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 but a decision about where the team sets up is also important. Do they press forward and a€˜squeezea€™ the opposition or do theyA sit deepA and wait for the oppositiona€™s attacks? Some teams like to put all their players behind the ball andA sit deepA in their own half a€“ sometimes even in or around their own penalty box a€“ and maybeA by sitting deepA they can counter-attack their opponents. Here are two examples:
The Irish teamA sat deepA against their Danish opponents in the hope of catching them on the counter attack in the firstA legA of their World Cup play-off.
And one from Skysports.com last month: a€˜The Sky SportsA punditA expects Jose Mourinhoa€™s sideA to sit deepA at Anfield, when they face Liverpool live on Sky Sports Premier League on Saturday.a€™
This phrase is similar to a cliche found in our glossary – to park the bus. Click on the link on the site to read more about that and other phrases and cliches.
Predictions
DB: Time for our final section, predictions, and of course the week 12 games have all been played in the Premier League, but I’m just going to review what I thought anyway!
Arsenal vs Tottenham
DB: Well I thought that this would be a draw, as most of the recent London Derbies at the Emirates have been stalemates. I went for a 1-1 draw. it turned out to be quite a convincing 2-0 win for Arsenal, although they needed a few refereeing decisions to go there way. No points for me there!
Liverpool vs Southampton
DB: For this game I was hoping that Liverpool would finally score against Southampton, who have been the Reds’ bogey team over recent years. I thought they would win 3-0, Liverpool seem to have clicked recently and Salah, Mane and Firmino up front are a scary prospect. The game was 3-0 to Liverpool, so three points to me!
Manchester United vs Newcastle United
DB: Benitez took his team Newcastle to face his rival, Mourinho’s Man United, and I thought the Spaniard would fashion a draw and get a point. I went for 1-1, but I got this completely wrong as Manchester United brushed aside Newcastle United 4-1. No points for me in this game either.
Quiz Answer
DB: Now, before we go, here is the answer to the quiz question, which team was the last to defeat the World champions Germany? The answer is France, who beat Germany 2-0 in the semi finals of the Euro 2016 tournament.
Good bye
DB: That’s it from this late podcast – sorry again. We’ll be back this weekend with news of the Champions League ties and more football language! Ta-ra!
Check out our glossary of footballing phrases here
If you have any suggestions, contact us at admin@languagecaster.com
Learn English Through Football Podcast: A show for football fans to improve their English language skills
