Here are some words and phrases you can hear on languagecaster’s Good, Bad and Ugly section of the podcast – a review of the footballing news. For more English practice check out our worksheets, football glossary and English for football phrases.
- Statue: a representation or copy of (usually) a person in stone, metal or wood
Example: Brian Clough, or Cloughie to most English football fans, is to get a statue put up in his honour in the centre of Nottingham.
- Outspoken: speaking directly, not hiding criticism
Example: The outspoken and colourful coach (here are some great quotes), most famously of Derby and Nottingham Forest, won two European Cups with Forest and won the Championship with both clubs.
- On the trot: one after another, in succession, a series of
Example: Del Piero’s club team Juventus have now won five on the trot.
- Throw away: Usually, you throw away rubbish / garbage because you don’t want it, but when you throw away a football game, it means that you wasted a chance, you could have won but poor play meant you did not.
Example: Arsenal threw away the game at home against derby rivals Tottenham, eventually drawing 4-4.
- Petulant: childish, sulky, bad-tempered
Example: Van Persie was sent off for a petulant shove on the Stoke goalie, Sorensen.
- Trounce: beat by a large number of goals, thrash, hammer
Example: Fernabache are the side Arsenal trounced 5-2 in Turkey.
- Have it all to do: have a lot of work to do, have a big challenge, be in a difficult situation
Example: Adelaide were completely outplayed and will have it all to do in the second leg next week if they wish to become the first ever Australian champions of Asia.
- Spit: to eject saliva from the mouth, often when you are angry or as a sign of disrespect
Example: Spitting happens on the football pitch a lot, but usually a player is spitting on the ground not at another player.
- Erupt: explode violently, boil over, suddenly happen
Example: The Copa Sudamericana continues to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons as yet again a match involving Brazilian and Argentinian sides erupted into violence.
- Dissent: disagreement, protest at, challenge, refusal to accept a decision
Example: Brazilian defender Andre Luis was then sent off for grabbing the referee’s yellow card from his pocket and waving it at him in clear dissent.
Welcome to the website that helps students interested in football improve their English language skills. Football fans can practise with lots of free language resources, including football-language podcasts and our huge football-language glossary.