Learn English Through Football Podcast

Here is the fourth Learner's podcast of the season. We hope you enjoy it. Try out our worksheets or online quiz to help you practice your listening and vocabulary skills. If you click on the audio when it is playing on an iPod you can see the transcript below as you listen. It's a great way to practice listening and fluency. Transcript - Serie A Now, last week Damian introduced La Liga and he argued that it was the best in Europe. Today, Ia€™ll be looking at Serie A, the Italian top division, and a league that ten or so years ago, most people would have said was the best in Europe. Their clubs have won the European cup 11 times, a record equal to Spaina€™s, and their national side has won the World Cup four times. Indeed, last year in Germany the Italians won the world cup, and AC Milan won the European Cup, beating Liverpool. So, why do most people turn to La Liga or the Premier League as the leading leagues in Europe. Why will this season the Italian league be trying hard to repair a damaged image? Well, there is something rotten in the state of Italian football. Last year was overshadowed by scandal in the Italian game with some of the biggest clubs being deducted points, and in the case of Juventus being demoted, because of a match fixing scandal. Fiorentina were docked a huge 15 points, shades of Leeds there, while Lazio had three points taken away and AC Milan eight. The game appeared to be corrupt and fans have increasingly stayed away from games. Added to this was continued violence at games a€“ both in the stadiums and on the streets, culminating with the death of a police officer during trouble at a Catania Palermo game. The infamous ultras seem to hold clubs to ransom, taking money from tickets, intimidating club officials and ruling the curves (special sections in the stands). Will this year be any different? Leta€™s hope so. The season this year got underway last week and many Serie A fans welcome back three big clubs: Genoa, Napoli, and Juventus. The latter ran away with the race in Serie B despite starting at minus nine points. For Genoa it was a 12 year wait and Napoli will be dreaming of regaining the glory years when Maradona ruled Italian football and led them to two championships and a UEFA Cup. Claudio Ranieri, the Tinkerman, brings the old Lady from Turin, the most successful club in Italian football, Juventus, back with hopes of winning the Championship. No Champions League football and the loss of a number of key players after demotion last season may hamper that ambition. So who will win Serie A? Well, last year Internazionale ran away with the title crushing all opposition and winning by a clear 22 pits from Roma in second. But this season surely AC Milan their rivals will perform better this season. The a€˜rossoneria€™ are packed with world class players a€“ Kaka, Inzaghi, Emerson, Maldini, Nesta, Seedorf a€“ remember they started with 15 points deducted but fiished strongly and were crowned Champions of Europe. Fiorentina shouldna€™t be overlooked either. If they had had no points deducted they would have finished third instead of fifth and with Mutu up front they will surely be in the mix again. The first games last week showed that this season will be a closer affair than last season. Fiorentina opened their account with a comfortable win over Empoli while Inter drew with Udinese. Roma, ACMilan, and Juventus all won. The latter putting five past sorry Livorno. My tip a€“ Juventus. But what do I know? Here are some real Italian football fans with their views.

On this week's show Damon and Damian: Review the footballing week in The Good, the Bad and The Ugly Take a look at the Italian Serie A Introduce a new football phrase in English for Football Continue their fight to see who will be the King of predictions For learners of English there are also Worksheets and transcripts Vocabulary lists Online quizzes Weekly blogs from our football-crazy writers in fans' forum

Here is the third Learner's podcast of the season. We hope you enjoy it. Try out our worksheets or online quiz to help you practice your listening and vocabulary skills. If you click on the audio when it is playing on an iPod you can see the transcript below as you listen. It's a great way to practice listening and fluency. Transcript - La Liga Now, the English Premier League likes to think of itself as the best in the world, but there are many, myself included, who would argue that the Spanish League or La Liga Espanola, despite not having as much money or possibly even a higher profile as the English League is much better. There are better teams, there are better players and therea€™s much more strength in depth throughout the league. Now, last season was one of the most exciting despite not being a vintage year with three teams on the last day of the season having a chance to win the title. So, Sevilla, Barcelona and Real Madrid with, of course, Real Madrid coming out winners. Now, the Spanish season starts this weekend and wea€™ve managed to get supporters from those three teams to come and give us their views on the upcoming Spanish season. DF: Here we are in a very typical English night, its heavy rain but with the new Spanish season just starting Ia€™ve got a Spanish football fan with me. Hi, how are you doing? Pim: Hi, Ia€™m Pim Esperalba, I come from Barcelona, Catalonia, and then Ia€™m a strong supporter of Barcelona and this year we are going to win the liga. DF: Very confident words indeed, now last year you did not win la liga Pim: Yes, we made a present to Madrid, it was a gift for them but this year we are going to enforce our team and we are going to win la liga of course and maybe the Champions, we have a good chance. DF: Wow, Champions League and La liga that would be a fantastic double. Now, tell me this, which new players do you have in Barcelona this year? Pim: Well, this year we have bought Henry a€¦ DF: a€¦from Arsenal? Pim: a€¦ from Arsenal, we have Abidal, Yaya Tourea€¦ DF: Now whicha€¦ last year you said you gave the league title to Real Madrid as a present. Which teams do you think will be your biggest challengers this year. Pim: Well, always Madrid is a challenge but also I think that this year teams like Atletico Madrid theya€™re going to come strong. They also a€¦ Sevilla it seems that that they are to become this team that have a period of good results I dona€™t know, we are going to see next week. DF: My final question, which team do you think will not do very well in la liga this year? Which team maybe will go down? Pim: I think Mallorca is going to go down this year because they are a€¦ they have a weak team and a€¦ I dona€™t know, I think that Mallorca is a€¦ going to go down. DF: Hola, how are you doing? Pablo: Hello, I am Pablo I am from Spain, from Asturias. DF: Pablo, which is your favourite team in Spain? Pablo: Sevilla. DF: Sevilla? Now last season you had a very good season. Pablo: Yes, because now they are playing for qualificate to Champions League and last Sunday they won the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid. DF: Congratulations, yes. Now, can Sevilla win the league this year? Pablo: Yes, of course because they have been playing together for four years and the a€¦ this coach, thata€™s Juande Ramos, is a very coach for this team because they are not a very good players very famous players but they are playing very good with a bad team a€¦ DF: Can you tell us one or two of the Sevilla players, for example? Pablo: Danny Alves a€¦ DF: Not much longer! Pablo: Poulsen, for example or Kanoute. DF: So which other teams this season in Spain do you think will be strong? Pablo: Maybe Athletic de Bilbao, yes I think so because this year they change the a€¦ they have changed the coach, now is Joaquin Caparros and this a€¦ the last matches they were playing they won all the matches. I think they have a bad team but with a good coach. DF: How about the big teams like Real Madrid or Barcelona? Pablo: Valencia, no? Because Barcelona will have a lot of problems because they have Henry, Etoa€™o, Deco, Messi, Ronaldinho, there are a lot of good players for only one team and Real Madrid, I dona€™t like the coach, Schuster, I dona€™t like nothing. DF: Final question, which team do you think will have a bad season, which team will go down to maybe segunda? Pablo: Murcia a€¦ ita€™s the first time in la liga a€¦ DF: Thanks very much. Jon: Hi, I am Jon, Ia€™m from San Sebastian, I am from Spain. DF: OK, Jon, whata€™s your favourite team in Spain? Jon: Of course the best team of Spain, that is Real Madrid. DF: Ah, the current champions. Jon: Yes. Next year I think we will be the champions too. DF: Really, you think Madrid will win in Schustera€™s first season? Jon: Yes, I think that we need one month or two months because there are new players, like Droenthe, Sneider, so but when they play more matches together they will play better and I think we can like all the years we w

On this week's show Damon and Damian: Review the footballing week in The Good, the Bad and The Ugly Preview The Spanish League Introduce a new football phrase in English for Football Continue their fight to see who will be the King of predictions For learners of English there are also Worksheets and transcripts Vocabulary lists Online quizzes Weekly blogs from our football-crazy writers in fans' forum

Here is the second Learner's podcast of the season. We hope you enjoy it. Try out our worksheets or online quiz to help you practice your listening and vocabulary skills. If you click on the audio when it is playing on an iPod you can see the transcript below as you listen. It's a great way to practice listening and fluency. Transcript Yes, Sven. It all started so well for the Swede when he took over from Kevin Keegan as England Manager in 2001. The previous year, Keegan resigned from the England job after a 1-0 home defeat to Germany and England were in danger of not qualifying for the World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan in 2002. However, that defeat to their German rivals was forgotten as England began winning again and then thrashed Germany 5-1 away. (audio) England went on to top their group and qualify for the World Cup where, under Sven, they again avenged a previous defeat, this time against Argentina a€“ David Beckham converting a penalty to bring the win (audio). But after defeat to Brazil in the quarter-finals, the first rumblings of discontent could be heard, with Eriksson being criticized for being unable to change things around when the Brazilians went 2-1 up. On reflection, more than the managera€™s tactics it was perhaps the sweltering heat of the Japanese summer that was responsible for an uncharacteristically lackluster second half performance. Quarter-final exits at Euro 2004 against Portugal on penalties, and again in the World Cup 2006 in Germany to the same team, again on penalties made it very difficult for him to continue his job. (audio) Disenchanted with the England manager reached new heights in the press, who had always loved to focus on the Swedea€™s private life as much as his professional abilities. Notably, lurid stories about his relationships with Faria Alam and Ulrika Johnson made it hard for him to concentrate on his job as manager, and a newspaper sting before the World Cup where he was tricked into revealing plans to leave England after the World Cup in Germany made it impossible for him to continue. He rapidly became a figure of fun. (audio) He was replaced by his assistant manager, Steve McClaren, soon after the World Cup. And after such a dramatic start to his career with England it was a shame to see him hounded out by the press, even though it was time for him to go. His record with England is second only to Alf Ramsey and as many of his harshest critics now see the new McClaren is not the old Sven. They are probably wondering if he was as bad as they thought. It is in this more favourable light, almost a fondness for the quite-spoken Swede, that Sven has returned to England this time as coach of the Premier League side Manchester City. A 2 million a year salary showa€™s he has lost none of his skill at finding the plum jobs, but City fans are already believing he could be the real deal after two consecutive wins: 2-0 away to West Ham and 1-0 at home against Derby. Before the campaign began there was a lot of talk about him having signed players he had never seen play, and it looked as though the press was gearing up to give him another kicking, but these two impressive wins have silenced them a€“ for now.

On this week's show Damon and Damian: review the football week in the good, the bad and the ugly, interview a German fan about the Bundesliga; look at Sven Goran Eriksson's return to English football...

Languagecaster has returned after the summer break to welcome back the new football season in Europe. On this week's show Damon and Damian: review the football week in the good, the bad and the ugly choose the winners and losers for this year's Premier League interview some fans about the upcoming season introduce a football phrase in English for Football battle it out for the languagecaster predictions title this week's worksheet and transcript This week's vocabulary list and much more in the free weekly football podcast for learners of English.

The 2007 Asian Cup Final and Beckham's Debut: In the last of our special summer podcasts before the new season, the languagecaster team discuss the Asian Cup final as well as David Beckham's MLS debut. There is also a new poll in our vox pop section and of course, the weekly predictions' battle continues.

Copa America Final, Asia Cup - Europe hasn't kicked off yet, but the world is still playing football. Download Damian and Damon's free languagecaster.com podcast.

Welcome back to everyone's favourite football podcast for English learners! Damian and Damon have returned for a series of free summer football podcasts covering the Copa America from Venezuela and the Asian Cup from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. On this week's show our hosts discuss the Copa America semi finals, the Asian Cup debut of Australia, interview some Japanese football fans and of course, battle it out in the predictions competition. It's good to be back!

This is the final learners' podcast of the season and on this week's show you can hear Damon and Damian talking about the Champions League Final as well as reviewing Liverpool and Tottenham's season. The languagecaster team is taking a break but will be back in time for the new season in August!

End of season never sounded better with the final free football podcast of the 2007 season from Damon and Damian. On this week's show the languagecaster team salutes the champions of Europe (well, one of us does) and looks back at some of the best and worst moments from this season's past shows. We also have The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, reaction from the Champions League Final and we reveal the languagecaster prediction king.

Our penultimate learners' podcast. Download free worksheets and vocabulary here. On this show Damian talks about Wembley stadium.

FA cup predictions, a look at Wembley, a review of the week's football, and a look at some of the leagues around the world in our free podcast. Worksheets available for free download here.

On this week's show we ask 6 football fans about their teams' performances during the 2006-7 season as well as our usual English for Football section. You can download the transcripts and worksheets hereA

The European football season is coming to an end and on this week's show we ask some football fans to look back at some of the big moments in their team's season. We also have our review of last week's football in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, our English for Football phrase, our weekly football poll and of course, predictions - can Damian make a dramatic comeback? Free worksheets can be downloaded here A big thank you to Gary, Hans, Hiroshi, Ed and Tim for helping out on this week's show. You can read some of the transcripts on your i-pod (below) Damon Yes, here I am with our Derby correspondent, uma€¦ and as you might have guessed he follows Derby. What was the best or the worst moment for your team this season? Hans Uh, probably the worst moment, to start with the worst, was when we lost to Crystal Palace last week, which knocked us out of the top two positions in the Championship. Damon You're third now , right? Hans We're third and looking at the play-offs playing Southampton Damon Southampton. Um, if you could sign one player for your team, who would it be? Hans Influential midfielder, Kaka. Damon Kaka. Yeah, he's a popular choice, isn't he this year. Hans Is he, well, playing very well at the moment. Damon Who is the best player for your team last season? Hans Um, we have a new goalkeeper signed from West Ham his name is B**** (Bywater), and he has played very well for us this seasona€¦ Damon Is he German? Hans No. No he's a€¦ Damon It's an interesting name. Hans English I think. Damon Really? Uh-huh, OK. Um, and what about the best game, or moment, or goal for you this season. Hans For Derby the best moment of the season happened just before the season started when the new board took over and the new manager came and um Derby's debt was um reorganised and Derby looked like a team going forward. Damon OK. What about anything else this season? Anything caught your eye? Hans Yep. Um...Steven Howard: 17 goals, signed from Luton, has played very well. Um, big turn outs at home, big crowds. And just a general good vibe at Pride park. Damon OK, Ia€™m sitting with Hiroshi, a Japanese student. Ia€™m going to ask him some questions. Which team do you support? Hiroshi I like AC Milan. Damon AC Milan. OK. And what was the best moment for AC Milan? Hiroshi Kakaa€¦ Kaka first goal against Manchester United. Damon OK. Thank you. If you could sign one more player, who would you signa€¦ who would you buy? Hiroshi Toti. Damon Totti. Yes a good choice.Who was the best player for AC Milan this season? Hiroshi Kaka. Damon Kaka. There you have it. Thank you very much Hiroshi. Hiroshi Thank you very much. Damon OK, thank you for agreeing to do this interview Tim Tim No problem Damon Um, so, what team do you follow? Tim I'm a Liverpool supporter. Damon Oh, that's good, that's a good start. What was the best or the worst moment for Liverpool this season Tim Well the best moment is probably yet to come... because there is one final we are going to wina€¦. I think. But up until now the best moment is probably is the win at the Nou Camp against Barcelona. Damon Yes, I totally agree with that. Perfect. That was a great result wasn't it! Tim Yes. And then as a worst moment I'd say losing to United at home in a game we dominated, and then the last minute goala€¦ Damon Yes, that hurt. Tim That did hurt a lot Damon OK. If you could sign one player for Liverpool, who would that be? Tim Uh, I would probably go for Eto'o from Barcelona Damon Eto'o, ah! There are some rumours aren't there that he might be coming. Tim Yes, and he's got the instinct and the pace and the goal scoring ability that we need at the moment. Damon OK. Who was the best player uh this season in Liverpool ? Tim Um, probably, well Carragher, as always, has been great, and uh actually I think a rather unsung hero has been Finnan. I think when he's played um they've had a very good shape and uh the defence has been pretty solid and he does get forward occassionally and he's very good at crossing the ball... Damon Yep Tim So I think he's been great for us. Damon OK. Is there a game, or a goal, or a moment of the season that stands out for you this season? Tim I think Bellamy's goal at the Nou Camp and then the golf swing celebration was nicely ironic and um probably the moment of his career as well, because I don't think he'll be doing much more in the Champions league. Damon OK. Thank you very much Tim You're welcome.

On this week's show, Damian and Damon interview two team mates after their football game in Tokyo. Plus our normal section - English for football. Remember you can download the worksheets, vocabulary notes, and transcripts here. You can also use your iPod to view the vocabulary list below. languagecaster football vocabulary list Podcast 27 a€“ (May 4th 2007) midfield dynamo a€“ busy player in the middle of the pitch who runs and runs. e.g. Sammy Lee was a midfield dynamo for Liverpool. dismantled a€“ to take apart, to destroy e.g. AC Milan dismantled Manchester United in the Champions league semi final. powerhouse a€“ traditionally a strong team. e.g. Former powerhouse Leeds will be relegated to Division One. holders a€“ the team that is the current champions e.g. The holders of the Libertadores Cup, Internacional, did not qualify for the last 16. controversial a€“ polemical, contentious. e.g. Carlos Teveza€™ transfer was controversial and may cause more problems for West Ham. holding midfielder a€“ a defensive midfield player e.g. Mascherano and Makele are strong holding midfield players. penalty shoot out a€“ a way of deciding a Cup tie e.g. Liverpool beat Chelsea in a penalty shootout. to swear blind a€“ to be completely convinced e.g. Damian swore blind that Bilbao would beat Madrid. closing the gap a€“ getting closer e.g. Damian is closing the gap on Damon in the predictions race. overturned a€“ a decision has been changed e.g. David Beckhama€™s yellow card from last week was overturned. in turmoil a€“ going through tough times, confusion, chaos e.g. Manchester City are in turmoil after the Joey Barton scandal. to be flat a€“ to be down, not inspired e.g. Manchester United will be flat after the defeat in Milan.

A new feature on this week's show. We interview two amateur footballers on what they think about football. Plus all the regular features: reviews, predictions, English for football and vox pops. Worksheets can be downloaded here.

Was Maradona the greatest footballer ever? One of the languagecaster crew thinks he was. Listen and see if you agree. Worksheets, vocabulary and English for football here.

On this week's free podcast, Maradona - currently undergoing treatment for alcohol addiction - but recogniced as one of the greatest footballers of all time. Plus, review of the week's action around the world, predictions, English for football and more... Click here for the worksheets.

Who is the best player in the Premier League? Some say Cristiano Ronaldo - listen and find out what the languagecaster team think. Also, English for football - 'provide the spark' Worksheets, vocabulary and transcripts here.

On this week's free football show: Who is the best player in the premier league? Who provides the spark in your team? Damian and Damon continue their prediction battle And of course a review of the week's action. For worksheets, vocabulary and transcripts click here.

This week the languagecaster team looks at promotion. Listen to the opinions of a Derby fan about the Championship promotion race as well as phrases connected to promotion in English for football. Download the worksheets and transcripts here

Podcast 24 - more shine than Niall Quinn's Disco pants! On this week's podcast Hans takes a look at The Championship in England to see which teams might be promoted to next year's Premier League. Damon and Damian review last week's football, including the dramatic Champions League quarter finals and of course, continue to battle it out in the predictions race. Download the worksheets, vocabulary lists and transcripts here

On this week's show, Damian introduces the UEFA Cup and talks about his team's (Tottenham) chances, while Damon introduces another English football phrase - to take centre stage. Download the worksheets, transcripts , vocabulary and more here.

Our free podcast covering the main football news from around the world. Damian makes a come-back in the predictions battle and also looks at the UEFA Cup, and of course, there are all our regular spots. Error: Damon wrongly says that Mexican side Guadalajara beat Houston in the CONCACAF cup. They beat DC United. Download the worksheets, vocabulary lists and transcripts here. If you have questions or comments, email us at: [email protected] (Damian=DF, Damon=DB). Subscribe to the show and receive automatic downloads every week Subscribe through i-tunes here Click for the latest shows here Podcast FAQ Check out our glossary of footballing phrases here If you have any suggestions, contact us at [email protected]

On this week's show we look at relegation - going down to another division. You can download the worksheets, answers and transcripts here. Relegation With most of the European leagues approaching the end of the season the main talking point involves finding out who will become champions but there is also great interest in seeing which teams will go down to the lower divisions, will be relegated. Now, relegation means that the teams finishing in the bottom positions in the league must move down to a lower league the following season. So, for example in the English Premier League three teams each year are relegated, which is the same in Italy, Spain, France and Germany with the three top teams from the lower division then taking their place. This is called promotion. However, other countries have different systems with Argentina, for example, relegating the teams with the least amount of points averaged over three seasons. Now a club is affected in many ways if it is relegated. For example, the supporters suffer the pain of defeat and are taunted by rival fans. With their team also playing at a lower level the following season, it means there will be poorer pitches to play on, lesser-quality players to play against, smaller crowds to play in front of and much less TV exposure. But, as is the case with everything in football today, the main problem is money, or rather, the lack of it. Not only will the number of fans going to matches go down, which means that club revenues decrease, but the team misses out on the riches of the top division. With TV companies spending more and more money on football each year, the clubs need to be involved in the top divisions if they wish to get their share of the pie. For example, last year Chelsea received A£30 million for winning the Premier League title and Sunderland, who finished bottom, received A£16 million. For next season, those figures will rise dramatically with the winners receiving A£50 million and the team finishing bottom receiving A£30 million. No wonder the battle to avoid the drop is such a tense one. English for football Now todaya€™s English for football is battling for survival. Today we have talked about relegation battles and many teams will be battling for survival. Survival is from the verb survive - this means to live, usually in a difficult situation. Of course, to battle means to fight, to struggle. So, battling for survival means to fight to live, or in football to fight to avoid relegation.

On this week's show we focus on the battle for survival around Europe. Plus a review of the European Championship qualifiers as well as our usual features - reviews, comments and predictions. You can download the transcripts, worksheets and vocabulary here

Welcome to this week's Learners' podcast. On today's show Damon talks about Brazilian football (transcript below) and Damian explains another English for football expression. You can download the transcripts, worksheets and vocabulary lists hereA Don't forget to vote for the world's greatest footballer hereA Transcript: Brazilian Football by Damon Brewster Yes, it might seem strange that we havena€™t talked about football in Brazil until now. After all when you say sport and football, everyone would automatically think - football. And football is of course as much a part of Brazilian culture and life as the rhythm of samba. Indeed this street music often incorporates lyrics about football as well as love and politics. Brazil and football, football and Brazil: the two are inseparable, and the passion with which Brazilians play the game is admired around the world. Every football fan knows of Pele, Zico, Ronaldo, and Ronaldino and streets around the world are full of children trying to copy the ball skills, and free flowing style that characterizes Brazilian football. But most of what the world knows about Brazilian football is down to their national team in their famous yellow shirts, or their superstars playing in Europe. What is football like in Brazil? Well, ita€™s complicated. And it was in a state of continual change up until a few years ago. Basically teams play in a national league and state leagues. Brazil of course is a huge country, so it makes sense to put teams into regional groupings, but it also makes it difficult to decide which is the most important, the powerful State leagues, like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo or the Brazilian Championship, the Campeonato de Brasileiro. The National League, held from April to December, is divided into three, A, B and C. Leagues A and B have 20 teams in each and the bottom four are relegated from both, while the top four from Leagues B and C are promoted. League C has a huge 64 teams. The many state leagues on the other hand have different numbers of divisions and different numbers of teams in each. The number of teams relegated and promoted also differs from state to state. Confused? Well, add to this a lot of rule changes, often to stop big clubs being relegated, legal arguments, and a match-fixing scandal in 2005 and it can look even more baffling. The state competitions run from January to April, and two of the most important are the Paulista in Sao Paulo, the most successful state in terms of national championships, and Carioca in Rio de Janeiro. What of the clubs? Well most fans will be familiar with Corinthians, Sao Paulo, Flamengo, Palmeiras, Vasco de Gama, Santos and Gremio, but there are up to 2000 more teams registered with the Brazilian football federation. Last year, the Brazilian Championship was won by Sao Paulo for the fourth time in their history, with Internacional being runners up for the second year in a row. And so far this year in the Paulista competition, Santos, the former team of arguably the most famous footballer in history, Pele, are leading Sao Paulo by one point in the race to be crowned champions, while in the Carioca Copa Guanabara tournament, Madureira are the early leaders over Flamengo and Botafogo. Of course, Brazil is represented in the Copa Libertadores as well where Santos will hope to maintain their 100% record when they meet Gimnasia de Plata on the 21st of March, while Sao Paulo in second place in their group will hope they can overcome leaders Necaxca of Mexico away. Flamengo have a good chance of progressing to the last 16 as they lead group five, while Gremio are still in with a chance, lying in second place in group 3, while last years winners Internacional have it all to do with one win and two losses so far. Ia€™m sure the Brazilian fans will bring their distinctive samba beat with them as they watch their clubs fight it out with the best in Los Americas.

On this week's podcast Damon looks at Brazilian football and we focus on the European Championship qualifiers in the prediction section of the show. And the small matter of voting for the world's best footballer. Ever! Download the worksheets, vocabulary list and transcripts here and you can write a comment about the show on the forum Transcript: Brazilian Football by Damon Brewster Yes, it might seem strange that we havena€™t talked about football in Brazil until now. After all when you say sport and football, everyone would automatically think - football. And football is of course as much a part of Brazilian culture and life as the rhythm of samba. Indeed this street music often incorporates lyrics about football as well as love and politics. Brazil and football, football and Brazil: the two are inseparable, and the passion with which Brazilians play the game is admired around the world. Every football fan knows of Pele, Zico, Ronaldo, and Ronaldino and streets around the world are full of children trying to copy the ball skills, and free flowing style that characterizes Brazilian football. But most of what the world knows about Brazilian football is down to their national team in their famous yellow shirts, or their superstars playing in Europe. What is football like in Brazil? Well, ita€™s complicated. And it was in a state of continual change up until a few years ago. Basically teams play in a national league and state leagues. Brazil of course is a huge country, so it makes sense to put teams into regional groupings, but it also makes it difficult to decide which is the most important, the powerful State leagues, like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo or the Brazilian Championship, the Campeonato de Brasileiro. The National League, held from April to December, is divided into three, A, B and C. Leagues A and B have 20 teams in each and the bottom four are relegated from both, while the top four from Leagues B and C are promoted. League C has a huge 64 teams. The many state leagues on the other hand have different numbers of divisions and different numbers of teams in each. The number of teams relegated and promoted also differs from state to state. Confused? Well, add to this a lot of rule changes, often to stop big clubs being relegated, legal arguments, and a match-fixing scandal in 2005 and it can look even more baffling. The state competitions run from January to April, and two of the most important are the Paulista in Sao Paulo, the most successful state in terms of national championships, and Carioca in Rio de Janeiro. What of the clubs? Well most fans will be familiar with Corinthians, Sao Paulo, Flamengo, Palmeiras, Vasco de Gama, Santos and Gremio, but there are up to 2000 more teams registered with the Brazilian football federation. Last year, the Brazilian Championship was won by Sao Paulo for the fourth time in their history, with Internacional being runners up for the second year in a row. And so far this year in the Paulista competition, Santos, the former team of arguably the most famous footballer in history, Pele, are leading Sao Paulo by one point in the race to be crowned champions, while in the Carioca Copa Guanabara tournament, Madureira are the early leaders over Flamengo and Botafogo. Of course, Brazil is represented in the Copa Libertadores as well where Santos will hope to maintain their 100% record when they meet Gimnasia de Plata on the 21st of March, while Sao Paulo in second place in their group will hope they can overcome leaders Necaxca of Mexico away. Flamengo have a good chance of progressing to the last 16 as they lead group five, while Gremio are still in with a chance, lying in second place in group 3, while last years winners Internacional have it all to do with one win and two losses so far. Ia€™m sure the Brazilian fans will bring their distinctive samba beat with them as they watch their clubs fight it out with the best in Los Americas.

Welcome to another languagecaster free football podcast. On this show Damian talks about J-League while Damon introduces our weekly English for football phrase. Download worksheets, vocabulary and more here. J-League with Damian Fitzpatrick Pre-Listening (Background information) Teams and players mentioned in the report Urawa Reds; Shimizu S-Pulse; FC Yokohama; Yokohama F Marinos; Yokohama Flugels; Gamba Osaka; FC Tokyo; Nagoya Grampus; Ventforet Kofu; Kawasaki Frontale are all teams that have played in the J-League while Genoa play in Italy. Tulio plays for Urawa Reds, Kazu and Yokoyama play for FC Yokohama and Honda plays for Nagoya Grampus. Wanchope is from Costa Rica and now plays at FC Tokyo with Hirayama. Zico (Brazil), Schilaci (Italy); Gary Lineker (England); Zinho; César Sampaio (both Brazil); Maezono (Japan); Dunga; Leonardo (both Brazil); Michael Laudrup (Denmark); a€˜Pixiea€™ Stojkavic (former Yugoslavia); and Txiki Beguiristain (Spain) all previously played in the J-League. Nakata played in Italy and England while Nakamura plays for Scottish team Celtic. A. Main idea a€“ matching information Listen to the whole report and match the dates on the left with the events on the right. 1. 1993 a. Urawa Reds won the double 2. 2006 b. Yokohama Flugels went out of business 3. 1998 c. FC Yokohama were promoted to J2 4. 1995 d. Yokohama Flugels won The Emperora€™s Cup 5. 1999 e. Damian came to Tokyo 6. 1999 f. The J-League was started 7. 2001 g. The last time a Yokohama derby was played. B. Main idea - correct the false statements Listen to the first half of the report and explain why all of these statements are false. 1. Many football stars arrived at the start of the J-League despite not receiving large salaries. 2. Many people knew that the J-League would be a success. 3. There are 18 teams in both J1 and J2. 4. Urawa Reds have not played well so far this season. 5. More than 80.000 supporters watch Reds play every week. 6. The J-League player of the year, Tulio, plays for Gamba Osaka. C. Main idea - choose the correct option Listen to the Japanese fans predicting the champion and dark horse (surprise team) for this yeara€™s Number 1 has been done as an example. J-League. Choose the answer they give in the table below. Speaker Champion Dark Horse Speaker 1 - Jaga FC Tokyo / Gamba Osaka Ventforet Kofu / Yokohama FC Speaker 2 - Beto Urawa Reds / S-Pulse Urawa Reds / S-Pulse Speaker 3 - Mako Reysol / Urawa Reds Urawa Reds / Grampus 8 Speaker 4 - Kamiji Cerezo Osaka / Gamba Osaka FC Tokyo / Kawasaki Frontale Speaker 5 - Emi Gamba Osaka / Urawa Reds FC Tokyo / Gamba Osaka Speaker 6 - Mac FC Tokyo / Yokohama Marinos FC Yokohama / S- Pulse Speaker 7 - Damian Gamba Osaka / Urawa Reds S-Pulse / FC Yokohama D. Listening - vocabulary Listen to the second half of the report (about FC Yokohama) and fill in the gaps with an appropriate word. Officially this was only Yokohama FCa€™s second game in the top (1) __________________ of Japanese football, as they were promoted to the J1 last season, but as everyone knows, this team was formed out of the (2) _________________ of the former team, Yokohama Flugels. Now, when I first came to Japan I used to go and see the Flugels in action where I saw World Cup winners, Zinho and César Sampaio as well as (3) _______________ Japanese star, Maezono playing for the home team and players such as, Dunga, Leonardo, Michael Laudrup, a€˜Pixiea€™ Stojkavic, and Txiki Beguiristain for the away teams. But despite winning the Emperora€™s Cup in 1999, Flugels went (4) ________________ in the same year and were taken over by their cross-town enemy, Marinos. Flugels supporters were (5) ___________________ when asked to support their former rivals and (6) __________________ decided to set up a new team that would be run by the fans. Playing in the semi-professional Japan League for two years under former World Cup winner, Pierre Littbarski, they won promotion to J-2, where they spent 6 years before finally winning (7) _____________________ to the top league last year. Though many fans feel they will struggle to survive they have managed to make some important signings and of course they also have the most famous of all Japanese players in their team, 39-year old Kazuyoshi Miura, or a€˜King Kazua€™. (8) __________________ the first superstar of Japanese football, he played in Italy for Genoa paving the way for players such as, Nakata and Nakamura to (9) ___________________ in Europe later. Can they stay up this season? Yes, I think they can but I do not think they will be a dark horse as Mac predicted earlier in the report for I think the dark horses will be Shimizu S-Pulse and that Gamba Osaka will overcome their (10) __________________ team, Reds and become champions at the end of the year. E. Comprehension Listen to the report and answer the following questions. 1. Why was the NASL mentioned in the report ? 2. Why does Damian call Urawa Reds a€˜the jewel in the J-League crowna€™? 3. Why wi

On this week's free podcast Damian introduces the J-League, Damon regains his winning ways in predictions, and we discuss some of the big matches.

Chinese Super League

China Super League

Welcome to this week's learners' podcast. On this week's show Damon and Damian talk about footballing cliches. Click here to get the worksheets and vocabulary lists. Here is the transcript for the interview on footballing cliches with Adrian Byrne. Damian: Yes, so on todaya€™s show we are talking about footballing clichés and to help us understand a little bit more about what they are we interviewed a manager from England, a non-league manager, about what kind of clichés he uses and why. Damian: Adrian, how are you doing? Adrian: Yes, very well thanks, Damian. Damian: OK, talk a little bit about cliches. Adrian: Well, cliches, I mean theya€™re a€¦ I think the general public they watch a€˜Match of the Daya€™, you know, players tend to come out with the same things, managers tend to come out with the same things. Cliches you hear them again and again and, you know, it kind of a€¦ people think, ah, stupid footballers, stupid managers, but to be perfectly honest I think the thing about cliches is theya€™re cliches because they are very often true and theya€™re very often right. Gareth: Which is a cliché in itself Adrian a€¦in itself. Damian: Can you give us an example? Adrian: Well, you know, a€˜over the moona€™ I mean, you know, the elation of scoring, the elation of winning, you know, thata€™s how you feel a€˜over the moona€™. Damian: And the opposite of that of course is a€¦ Adrian: The classic, a€˜sick as a parrota€™. I mean, Ia€™m not sure how parrots, you know, generally feel but a€˜sick as a parrota€™ has kind of come into the, you know, into the sort of the language of football. Everyone knows what you mean by it, you know, youa€™ve just lost a penalty shoot-out, youa€™ve just been knocked out of the Cup in the semi-final, youa€™ve lost the League on goal difference, youa€™ve just missed the play-off place a€“ a€˜sick as parrota€™. Everyone knows what it means, you know, and really ita€™s almost a€¦ ita€™s so cliched it just a€¦ it just, therea€™s nothing else you can say that would better it almost. Damian: I then asked Adrian what kind of cliches he uses with his team. Adrian: I know I fall into the traps when Ia€™m on the sideline or in the changing rooms before with mya€¦theya€™re amateur players but it still means as much to them as it does to Real Madrid, Man United players. You hear yourself saying the same things, you know, you get a bit of ribbing about it but, you know, half time a€¦ Damian: For example? Adrian: You know pre-match, youa€™re trying to wind them up, youa€™re trying to get them going, you know, a€˜therea€™s no place for losersa€™; you know, a€˜winning is an attitudea€™; a€˜when you cross the white linea€™, you know, a€˜you leave it all on the pitcha€™; I dona€™t want anyone coming off that pitch thinking they havena€™t a€˜given 100%a€™; a€˜110%,a€™ you know, Ia€™m no mathematician but I dona€™t think you can give 110% but I often ask my players to give me 110% and they very often do, you know. a€˜You only get out what you out ina€™; Or maybe you will have a go at them, I mean, I try not to swear at my players but occasionally you have to kind of gee them up a bit. You know, my grandmother can play better than that, you know, or words to that effect. Ita€™s stuff youa€™ve heard before. Quite often I dona€™t know if it makes an impact on the players or not, because, you know, theya€™ve heard it time and time again. But I think, if you pitch it right , you know, and you use ita€¦I think sometimes it comes from the heart you just say, you know, what you really mean and they get the message even if ita€™s in cliché form. But at the end of the game, great game, OK, didna€™t go well for us today, game of two halves is always a good one. It only takes a second to score a goal a€“ Brian Clough, yes. I mean, some of the managers they are better at it than others. Some of the managers actively avoid cliches but I dona€™t think theya€™re getting the message over any better really, but yes, ita€™s good fun. Click here to get the worksheets and vocabulary lists.

Welcome to this week's podcast, on this week's show we look at football rivals and footballing cliches

Languagcaster's podcast for learners of English. Damian and Damon bring two sections of the full podcast with free worksheets and listening exercises to football fans around the world

On this free podcast the Champion's League with English football fans' views, a review of the football news, football for English and predictions. All brought to you by Damon and Damian the languagecaster team. Enjoy! Worksheet week 17 pdf Vocabulary week 17 pdf

Welcome to this week's free podcast for learners of English. All the football news in this soccer podcast! This week a look at the Mexican league and the phrase to earn a recall. Worksheet, transcripts and more The Mexican League By Damon Brewster (February 14th, 2007) Listening for detail Fill in the blank spaces with the correct word. Well anyway, a couple of weeks ago we looked at the MLS, Major League Soccer, in the United States after it was a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦ that David Beckham would be playing for LA Galaxy. And last week these two countries, America and Mexico, big football a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦ also played a friendly, which the USA won a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦. So we thought it was time to have a look at the Mexican league and to find out a little more about the teams and the a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦ in this football mad nation. So, Mexican football: what do you think of? The World Cup finals in 1970 or 1986? The a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦ goalkeeper Campos Or tortilla and Tabasco sauce? Well, one thing is for sure and that is football is big in Mexico. The modern league started in a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦ with 10 teams from the regional amateur leagues, most of them from Mexico City, forming Liga Mayor later to become todaya€™s Primera División. There are now a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦ teams taking part. These 18 teams are divided into three groups, or mini-leagues, and they play in the two championships, called the apertura and clausura each year. The a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦ teams from each group go into playoffs to decide who will be crowned champions. One team is a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦ and one a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦ each year. Listening for understanding 1. What is an interesting feature of the Mexican league? a€“ One company can own more than one team 2. Which two teams are involved in the biggest rivalry? (America and Deportiva Guadalajara (Chivas) 3. How many Championships has America won? (10, one less than Deportiva Guadalajara) 4. Where do Pachuca play? (in central Mexico in the city of Pachuca) 5. Who founded the team, Pachuca? 6. Who won last yeara€™s Championship? (Deportiva Guadalajara a€“ Chivas) Answers and more worksheets here www.languagecaster.com

A look at the Mexican league and our usual lineup of reviews, predictions and football phrases in this free podcast!

Free English listening in languagecaster.com's Learners' Podcast. Damian talks about the ASEAN Cup and Damon brings you some more English for football.

This week's show features news from Thailand on the ASEAN cup, a look at international friendlies, and our usual review of the week, English for football, vox pops and predictions.Damon is in the UK and Damian is reporting from Thailand. 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 [email protected]. Contact UsA Forum Glossary [paypal-donation] http://gty.im/73199010 This week's worksheet, answers, transcript, vocabulary and English for Footbal Worksheet week 15 pdf Vocabulary_15.pdf Transcript Yes, I am in Thailand at the moment and though Damon thinks I am only enjoying the beach I am also enjoying the football here. Thailand is a football-crazy country a€“ there are games of football being played everywhere, people wear the colours of their Premier League favourite team and there is more football on TV here than anywhere else I know. Now, Thailand has never qualified for a World Cup finals though they did reach the final group of 6 for the 2002 finals but with a FIFA ranking of 125 it does not look as if they will challenge in the near future, particularly as Australia now play in the Asian qualifiers and the fact that Asia may well lose a qualifying spot for future tournaments. The country is joint hosts (along with Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia) for the upcoming Asian Cup tournament, which is the Asian equivalent of the European Championships. Thailand is not expected to win and may even struggle to qualify from their group, which includes Australia, Oman and Iraq though they will play their home matches in front of 35.000 noisy locals at Bangkoka€™s Supchalasai Stadium. To warm up for the continenta€™s major competition in July, the Thai team participated in the ASEAN Cup this month along with seven other teams in the region and after defeating Vietnam in the semi- finals (which I went to see) they played the two-legged final against Singapore which has recently become one of Thailanda€™s biggest rivals. The first leg was played in Singapore last week and in a tense and often physical match and the score at 1-1 the referee awarded a dubious penalty against Thailand who promptly walked off the pitch. They stayed there for 15 minutes before finally coming back on. Singapore scored the penalty and held on to win the first game 2-1. Not a very good advertisement for the game in South-east Asia. For the return game in Bangkok, tensions were high. Newspapers from both countries were full of accusations of cheating against the other nation and security was very tight. The game was tense again but also scrappy and though Thailand scored first they never looked comfortable and with just 8 minutes to go Singapore equalised and held on to win their 3rd ASEAN Cup. This was a big disappointment to the Thais who had hoped victory in this tournament would help their chances in the forthcoming Asian Cup and the World Cup qualifiers that start next year. It looks like a difficult road ahead for the football-crazy nation.

Number 10! On this show the MLS and Bogey teams. Here is this week's show with the League Cup and some English for Football. Download the worksheets with answers here. The MLS By Damon Brewster (February 2nd, 2007) Worksheet General The MLS stands for Major League Soccer. This league replaced the North American Soccer League. This league started in the late 1960s but was not successful and stopped in 1984. The MLS started in 1993. Recently, David Beckham agreed to move to LA Galaxy: one of the MLS teams. Listening for detail Fill in the blank spaces with the correct word. After David Beckham a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦. he was moving to the MLS in America, the languagecaster team thought it was time to see take a look at the MLS in America and see what it was all about. So, I a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦. to the MLS homepage and found that the main news there was that Italy had beaten France in the World Cup, so it was straight to Wikipedia. There I a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦. the basics are that the MLS, or Major League Soccer, has two conferences (or leagues), in the East and in the West. In the East there will be 7 teams from the 2007 season: theya€™ve a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦. one team, Toronto FC from Canada. In the west there are six teams. In the east leta€™s have a a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦. and see what teams wea€™ve got. Wea€™ve got Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, Kansas City Wizards a€“ they sound cool -, New England Revolution, Red Bull New York a€“ and Ia€™m not sure if they are sponsored by the drink Red Bull at all a€“ and Toronto. So, only two teams in that league have a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦. -sounding names. In the west wea€™ve got: Chivas USA, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, they are the reigning MLS cup holders. And I believe the cup holders are the kind of official a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦. of the league. Therea€™s also Real Salt Lake and LA Galaxy of course. Now, Chivas USA and LA Galaxy a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦a€¦. the same stadium, the Home Depot Centre. Thata€™s an interesting name, but ita€™s got to be better than playing at the Pizza Hut Park where Dallas play. Listening for understanding 1. Where do Deportiva Guadalajara play? 2. Who mainly supports Chivas USA? 3. What does a€œAdiós soccer. A¡El futbol está aquí!a€ mean? 4. When did Chivas USA join the MLS? 5. Which club does Steve Nicol manage? 6. Does he think the level of the MLS is the same as the English Premier League? 7. Who lost to an MLS All-Star team in a pre-season tour of the USA? You can get the answers and transcripts by downloading the worksheets from www.languagecaster.com

Learn English Through Football Podcast 14: Beckham in USA (2007) This weeks show: What is the MLS in America? What do Americans think about David Beckham's move to the USA? and Damian sends some reports from a beach in Thailand! Next week an ASEAN Cup report. Of course, our regular features: vox pops, the good, the bad and the ugly, predictions and English for football. Worksheets, vocabulary and transcripts

here is this week's show with the League Cup and some English for Football. Download the worksheets with answers here. Questions Pre-Listening 1. General 1. Damian will talk about the English League Cup. What is its other name? a. The Champions Cup b. The FA Cup c. The Carling Cup 2. Who won the league Cup last year? a. Tottenham b. Liverpool c. Manchester United 3. This year, which team was hammered by Arsenal in the quarter finals of the League Cup? a. Tottenham b. Liverpool c. Manchester United Listening 1. An email wished Spurs good luck in what cup? 2. By what percentage (%) are ticket sales a€“ attendance a€“ to the League Cup games down? 3. What does Arsene Wenger use the League Cup for? 4. What is the Cup named after? 5. Where is the a€˜homea€™ of the League Cup final? Where is it traditionally played? 6. Which cup competition does the winner of the League Cup play in the following year? 7. When did the Cup start? 8. When was the a€˜heydaya€™ a€“ when it was the most popular a€“ of the League Cup? 9. Which of these teams has NOT mention: Tranmere, Birmingham, Chester, Oxford. 10. Which city are the three remaining teams in the League Cup from?

2007 Bundesliga Preview: Welcome football fans to Podcast 13. On this show all the soccer news from around the world

There have been some technical problems with podcast 12 and languagecaster.com has re-published the show. Apologies!

On this week's show, a look at David Beckham's career with Damon, and Damian with English for football. Worksheet David Beckham Background information Players, teams and leagues Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville are all players who started at the same time as David Beckham at Manchester United. Fabio Cappello is the Italian manager of Real Madrid. Diego Simeone was an Argentinian international footballer. George Best, Pele and Rodney Marsh are former footballers who played in the NASL, the North American Soccer League, which is the predecessor of the MLS (Major League Soccer). Vocabulary academy players a€“ young players at a club nadir a€“ the lowest point petulant a€“ acting like a child the double a€“ winning two major trophies in the same season the treble a€“ winning the two major domestic trophies and the Champions League in the same season metatarsal a€“ bone in the foot A. Main Point a€“ True / False Listen to the first part of Damona€™s piece and answer true or false to the following statements. 1. T / F David Beckham has been the worlda€™s most famous player for the past ten years. 2. T / F Beckham promoted electrical goods in Japan. 3. T / F Recently Beckham has not been starting games for Real Madrid. 4. T / F Beckham signed a deal worth millions of dollars. 5. T / F He will only focus on football while in Los Angeles. languagecaster.com learn English through football a€“ the worlda€™s most popular game B. Main ideas - matching Listen to the report and match the information about Beckham on the right with the year on the left. 1. 1992 a. Married Victoria Adams 2. 1996 b. sent off against Argentina 3. 1999 c. signed for Manchester United 4. 1999 d. became England captain 5. 1998 e. won the treble with Manchester United 6. 2000 f. won the double with Manchester United 7. 2001 g. Sven Goran Eriksson became England manager C. Vocabulary Listen to the final part of the report and fill in the missing words. He was part of the 5-1 (1) ________________ of Germany on the way to the World Cup and of course scored the (2) _________________ goal to send England to the World Cup. But since picking up a foot injury and making metatarsal a household word, his career on the pitch flagged. He famously (3) _____________________ with boss Ferguson who kicked a football boot at Beckham after a loss to Arsenal, cutting the player above his eye. It wasna€™t long before he moved from the team he had played at all his career to sign for Real Madrid. Many people said the move had more to do with (4) ________________ shirts around the world than with Beckhama€™s footballing ability, but while he didna€™t set the team (5) ________________; he did become a favourite with the fans. Will he still appear in the (6) ____________________ after his move to the US? Will we see him in a sarong, with a new hairstyle, or a new tattoo? Perhaps he will provide the (7) __________________ for football, or soccer, in the US that George Best, Pele, and Rodney Marsh couldna€™t. We shall see. Download the answers at www.languagecaster.com

We also look at David Beckham's LA Galaxy Move and on this week's Football for English we discuss the expression take the game by the scruff of the neck

Weekly football phrase for learners of English - be linked with