March the 24th 2016 saw the passing of one of the greatest footballers ever – Johan Cruyff. To remember this great player, this week’s listening practice report is an adapted report from our archives. The post was originally published on May 1, 2011 as part of our World Cup Stars series. At the end of the post  you can find explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) at the end of the post. Subscribe to our listening reports

This week, Johan Cruyff passed away. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2015 but died peacefully with his family next to him. As recently as last week, he was tweeting his thoughts on Dutch football, and his passing will not diminish his lasting influence on the game. This influence is summed up in some of the following quotes:

Pep Guardiola, a player for Cruyff at Barcelona, said Cruyff “painted the chapel and Barcelona coaches since have merely restored or improved it”. England player and World Cup winner Bobby Charlton said, Cruyff was “one of those great, great footballers that made you excited whenever he got the ball”. And Argentine international and World Cup winner Osvaldo Ardiles tweeted, “Johan Cruyff: A revolutionary player. Best ever Dutch player. The talisman of one of the best teams ever: Holland 74. Total football.”

Here is our 2011 report on one of the great World Cup stars and all time great footballers.

Cruyff’s career can be divided into three broad periods: playing for Ajax, for Barcelona, and then his time as a coach.

Ajax

First at Ajax. Cruyff joined the Amsterdam team as a youth player of ten-years old. The Ajax team of the late sixties and early seventies introduced the style of play known as Total Football, where players positions were fluid and interchangeable, and the focus was on quick passing, movement and attack. Cruyff was perfect for this style of football, as he could turn on a sixpence, read the game beautifully and seemed to have the ball glued to his feet. With Ajax Cruyff, wearing the number 14 – it was rare at the time for any first team player to not wear a number from 1~11 at that time – won just about everything there was to win – but the three European Cups in succession in 71,72, and 73 stand out, as well as the treble of 72 (League, domestic cup, and European Cup).

Barcelona

Such a player inevitably drew the interest of other big clubs around Europe and at the end of 1973, he moved to Barcelona where he spent five seasons. In his first year at the Spanish giants he was also part of the Dutch team which dazzled the World in the World Cup of 1974, losing to Germany in the final, but winning over most neutrals with their flair and invention, typified by their star player, Cruyff and his famous turn. At Barca, the Dutch maestro, helped the Catalan side win their first championship since 1960, won footballer of the year twice, adding to the title he won at Ajax in 1971, and was part of the side that destroyed Real Madrid 5-0 at the Bernabeu. The Barcelona fans loved him and he returned the compliment by giving his son a Catalan name, Jordi.

Coaching

After hanging up his boots in 1985, after stints in the US, Levante in Spain and back in Holland with Ajax and their rivals Feyenoord,

What is the meaning of the phrase ‘Total Football’ in football?

* Find out more about this phrase by reading the transcript below.

* You can also find many more examples of soccer vocabulary by going to our football cliches page here and our huge football glossary here.

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Total Football

In football players tend to have a fixed position – those in the forward line, for instance, can usually be found in the final third of the pitch attacking their opponents’ goal, while centre halves and full backs normally play much further behind the forwards. Of course, there is some fluidity in these positions with players moving around the pitch but it was not until the great Dutch side of the late 1960s and early 1970s came along that this fluidity became an actual tactic in football. This was called ‘total football‘. This meant that players were expected to play in all types of positions, defenders could attack and attackers could play in defence, so that when needed they could cover a colleague who had changed his or her position. This constant movement also meant that opposing teams were often unsure how to defend against such tactics. The idea of total football revolutionised the game and its main contributor was former Dutch captain Johan Cruyff. Total football.

* Example: ‘Johan Cruyff – The man who made Total Football reality’ BBC News

* Example: ‘Total Football’ pioneer: Johan Cruyff remembered – CNN.com

If you have any suggestions for words or phrases from football that you would like explained, let us know by contacting us here. While you are on our site, why not check out the glossary page too, for hundreds more football words and phrases.

On this week’s learning English through football podcast we focus on Ireland and some of their greatest ever players in our main listening report – we also have a quiz to help those who want to improve their English. We also feature a new English for football phrase – this week we look at the expression ‘to capitalise on an error‘ and of course we finish with predictions of some huge games from around Europe including the Manchester, Istanbul and Turin derbies.

Learn English Through Football Podcast: Irish Football Stars

* Listen only to the main report here – the transcript and vocabulary will help you understand key phrases and improve your language skills.

* This week’s predictions feature games from the FA Cup Third Round

* This week’s English for football phrase is ‘capitalise on an error‘.

* Check out our glossary of footballing phrases here. If you have any suggestions, contact us at [email protected]

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It’s St Patrick’s Day (March 17th) which, of course, is the Irish national day, so on this week’s listening practice report we take a look at some of the best ever Irish football stars. You can listen to the report by clicking on the link above, and you can also read the transcript of the report (below). There are also explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) at the end of the post. You can also practice your listening here with a gap-fill quiz.Subscribe to our listening reports

2016 Listening Practice Report: Irish Football Stars

Ireland has a long tradition of football – the Irish Football Association was founded in 1880 and its first ever international match was against England in 1882. There are two football federations in Ireland currently – the Irish Football Association, that’s the IFA, and they oversee football in Northern Ireland, while the Football Association of Ireland, the FAI, organises football in the Republic of Ireland. Both teams have played in the World Cup on three occasions. Northern Ireland qualified in 1958, 1982 and 1986, while the Republic played in 1990, 1994 and again in 2002. Now, down through the years there have been many wonderful Irish players such as former Northern Ireland captain Danny Blanchflower, Ireland’s 1990 World Cup central defender Paul McGrath, playmaker Liam Brady and Norman Whiteside who was a young superstar in the 1986 World Cup and so in this week’s practice listening report we have four more footballing greats who played for Irish teams.

George Best

Belfast born George Best was a forward with Manchester United and he helped them win the European Cup in 1967 in thrilling style. Best played only 37 times for Northern Ireland and never played at a major championship with his international side but he was still regarded as one of the greatest ever players to have played the game. Indeed, when Best passed away in 2005, Diego Maradona said of the Manchester United winger, ‘He was flamboyant and exciting and able to inspire his team-mates. I actually think we were very similar players – dribblers who were able to create moments of magic’. High praise indeed.

Roy Keane

The former captain of Manchester United and the Republic of Ireland played 67 times for his country between 1991 and 2005. The midfielder was voted Ireland’s best player at the 1994 World Cup when they reached the second round but he did not play in 2002 after falling out with then manager Mick McCarthy. What a pity, as Keane had been immense in the qualifying rounds and was instrumental in the team getting out of a group that included Portugal and Holland. Tough tackling, brave, intelligent, a fierce will to win and a wide range of passing, whenever Keane played Ireland always had a chance which was testament to how good the player was.

Pat Jennings

Not many players can play for both Tottenham and Arsenal and still be respected by both sets of fans in North London, yet that is what goalkeeper Pat Jennings managed to do. He played a remarkable 472 times for Spurs and then another 327 times for rivals Arsenal in a 19 year career lasting from 1964 to 1986. He also played 119 times for Northern Ireland including two World Cups: 1982 in Spain and 1986 in Mexico. Undoubtedly, one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

What is the meaning of the phrase ‘Capitalise on an error’ in football?

* Find out more about this phrase by reading the transcript below.

* You can also find many more examples of soccer vocabulary by going to our football cliches page here and our huge football glossary here.

Subscribe: Weekly Football Phrase

Capitalise on an error

When a team makes a mistake in a game the opponents can often benefit or capitalise on this mistake (or error). For example, if a team loses the ball near their own penalty area then the opposing team might be able to score a goal – they would have capitalised on the team’s error to score a goal. We can also use the phrase ‘to capitalise on‘ when describing a team benefiting from another team’s error or slip up. So, for example, if the teams in second and third place in the league fail to win and the leaders do then we say they have capitalised on their opponents’ slip up. To capitalise on an error.

* Example: Juventus capitalised on an error in the Bayern defence to open the scoring.

* Example: The leaders capitalised on the chasing pack who all drew by winning away at their rivals.

If you have any suggestions for words or phrases from football that you would like explained, let us know by contacting us here. While you are on our site, why not check out the glossary page too, for hundreds more football words and phrases.

What is the meaning of the phrase ‘deflected’ in football?

* Find out more about this phrase by reading the transcript below.

* You can also find many more examples of soccer vocabulary by going to our football cliches page here and our huge football glossary here.

Subscribe: Weekly Football Phrase

Deflected

Deflected is this week’s English for football phrase. This verb describes the action of making something change direction. This normally happens when a ball hits another player, or a player deliberately gets in the way of the ball and touches it. Most of the time in football this verb is used with the ball, pass, or shot as the object. So, the shot was deflected means that the shot’s direction was altered or changed from its original path. We can combine the verb with words such as ‘wide’: deflected wide describes a shot that perhaps hits another player and then misses the goal. It can also be used with ‘in’, deflected in: in this case the shot hits a player and the change of direction beats the keeper and results in a goal. The noun form is a deflection and the adjective is deflected (eg. a deflected shot).

If you have any suggestions for words or phrases from football that you would like explained, let us know by contacting us by email . While you are on our site, why not check out the glossary page too, for hundreds more football words and phrases.

* Example: Eriksen headed in from close range to double Spurs’ lead after Lennon’s shot was deflected by Nemanja Vidic’s block.. (BBC Report)

* Example: Mirallas mis-kicked a great chance and also had a deflected effort go wide. (BBC Report)

* Example: The German crossed for Eto’o, who looked to have the simplest of finishes until Barry’s brilliant saving tackle deflected his shot over. (BBC Report)

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This week’s listening practice report looks at the 2016 FA Cup quarter-finals that are taking place this weekend. You can listen to the report by clicking on the link above, and you can also read the transcript of the report (below). There are also explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) at the end of the post.

Listening Practice Report: 2016 FA Cup Quarter-finals

With Crystal Palace defeating Reading in the first of the four quarter-finals of the 2016 English FA Cup, this week’s listening practice focuses on the remaining three matches in the last eight.

Everton – Chelsea

At the start of the season few would have predicted that a quarter-final between Everton and Chelsea would be a game between teams in 12th and 10th place respectively. The champions Chelsea have finally found some form after a very poor start to the season, while Everton are frustratingly inconsistent and despite their undoubted talent cannot seem to hold on to leads or close out games. With Chelsea being dumped out of the Champions League this week, the Cup is both sides last chance for silverware this season. Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink will have fond memories of playing Everton in the FA Cup after overseeing his side’s win in the 2009 final. This one will be difficult to call but I fancy Everton to squeeze through.

Manchester United – West Ham United

Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal finds himself under more pressure after a poor performance in the recent Europa League defeat at rivals Liverpool and he needs to do well in this season’s FA Cup. The hosts face a West Ham team brimming with confidence and they currently lie in 5th place after three consecutive wins in the league. Their manager Slaven Bilić  has built a strong side that is dreaming of its first success in the Cup since 1980. They could make it through against United but may need a replay to do so.

Arsenal – Watford

Arsenal are looking to become the first team to ‘threepeat’ the FA Cup since since the 19th Century. ‘Threepeat’ is a coined expression that means a team has won a title three years in succession. They are at home against Watford who, under the stewardship of former Spanish international Quique Sánchez Flores, have quietly gone about their business in the league – currently sitting in 13th place in the top tier. Arsenal should win this one but don’t rule out Watford.

Vocabulary

 the last eight: The quarter-finals

few would have predicted: Not many people saw/thought

to hold on to leads: A team that is leading does not always win

close out games: To manage the game, to ensure that the result stays the way you want it to

being dumped out of: Knocked out of

fond memories: Happy memories

difficult to call: Hard to predict

to squeeze through: Just about qualify

brimming with confidence: Full of confidence

make it through:

What is the meaning of the phrase ‘wide’ in football?

* Find out more about this phrase by reading the transcript below.

* You can also find many more examples of soccer vocabulary by going to our football cliches page here and our huge football glossary here.

Subscribe: Weekly Football Phrase

Wide 

This week’s football phrase is a word often used to describe a shot missing the goal. If a team misses a shot on goal, the ball often goes past one of the posts or goes over the bar. If the shot or header misses a post, we can say that it goes wide, it misses the goal. We can also combine ‘wide‘ with the adverbs ‘narrowly‘ and ‘well‘. If the shot just missed and the goalkeeper was worried, it went narrowly wide. On the other hand, if it missed by a long way, we can describe the shot as going well wide, the keeper was not troubled. There is another way we can use the word wide and that is to describe a part of or position on the pitch. A wide player is a winger, a player who plays most of the game next to the touchline, to the side of the pitch. If a team attacks down the wide areas, they use the flanks, the sides of the pitch to attack.

If you have any suggestions for words or phrases from football that you would like explained, let us know by contacting us by email .

* Example: It felt only a matter of time before Suarez completed his hat-trick as he saw a curling free-kick drift narrowly wide and a goal-bound shot blocked brilliantly by Olsson. (BBC Report)

* Example: (Both) sides struggled to break each other down, with Shawcross diverting the ball well wide with his knee when a corner found him five yards from goal. (BBC Report)

* Example: “I believe Chamberlain can play out wide or centrally. Certainly in a few years he will be a central midfielder.” (BBC Report)

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This week’s listening practice report looks ahead to some of the last 16 games of the Europa League that are taking place next week. You can listen to the report by clicking on the link above, and you can also read the transcript of the report (below). There are also explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) at the end of the post.

Listening Practice Report: 2016 Europa League Last 16 Previews

16 teams: 4 Spanish, 3 English, 2 German, and one each from Portugal, Ukraine, Turkey, Belgium, Switzerland, the Czech republic and Italy. The last 16 of the Europa League has some intriguing fixtures.

Shakhtar Donetsk – Anderlecht

Anderlecht will not relish the 1,400 kilometre trip to play Shakhtar, but Shakhtar do not have a great record playing at ‘home’. The Belgium side may hope to come away with a draw and outscore the Ukrainian side in the return leg. Prediction: Anderlecht to progress

Liverpool – Manchester United

Inconsistent Liverpool come up against a Manchester side that seem to have found some attacking flair recently – The Red Devils have won four on the bounce, netting eleven goals. Liverpool’s recent record isn’t too shabby either, though, as they recently put three past Manchester City and six past Aston Villa. Prediction: Liverpool to get one over their northwest rivals.

Borussia Dortmund – Tottenham

Tournament favourites Dortmund clash with a strong Tottenham side. The sides have met four times in friendlies and the London team have won three and drawn one, so they may feel confident, despite a slip up in the league when they lost 1-0 to London rivals West ham. Both teams are second in their domestic leagues, so are fighting on two fronts, and both also face massive games this weekend – Dortmund against Bundesliga leaders, Munich, and Tottenham against their fierce North London rivals, Arsenal. Prediction: Too close to call, but the bookies have Dortmund to win.

FC Basel – Sevilla

Sevilla have won this competition a remarkable 4 times in a decade, and have lifted the trophy for the last two years, so FC Basel face an uphill struggle. If the Swiss side do progress they could be playing the final in their home stadium, as that is the venue this year for the final. Sevilla have a poor away record in the competition so far, while Basel have not lost at home. Basel are also the only domestic champions still in the tournament. Prediction: Basel to pull off a shock.

Athletic Bilbao – Valencia

Both these Spanish teams are mid-table in La Liga, so this is a great chance for one of them to go for some glory this season. Evenly matched, the bookies have Athletic Club Bilbao slight favourites, probably based on the fact that Athletic beat Valencia at Valencia 3-0 earlier in the league. Athletic also have the tournament’s top score, Aritz Aduriz, so will be confident, especially at home. Prediction: Athletic to go through.

Fenerbahçe – Sporting Braga

Fenerbahçe have some injuries going in to this tie, Ba and Markovic are out and Meireles is a doubt. The Turkish side had been banned for two seasons following a corruption scandal, but they did manage a semi final appearance in the Europa League in 2013, while this is the first time Braga have featured in the last 16. Prediction: A comfortable win for Fenerbahçe.

Villarreal – Bayer Leverkusen

Based on domestic form, Villareal should just be favourites for this tie.

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This week’s listening practice report looks back at this year’s Capital One League Cup final between Liverpool and Manchester City.  You can listen to the report by clicking on the link above, and you can also read the transcript of the report (below). There are also explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) at the end of the post.

2016 League Cup Final

The first piece of silverware was up for grabs this weekend in England when Liverpool took on Manchester City in the League Cup final at Wembley Stadium. City came out on top after winning on penalties in a very close game – the first 90 minutes finished 1-1. Before yesterday’s game, Liverpool had won this trophy a record eight times, while Manchester City have now lifted the trophy on four occasions after last weekend’s win.

Heroes

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini decided to keep second-choice keeper Willy Caballero in his starting xi and this decision paid off as the Argentinian saved three Liverpool penalties in the shoot out. It was also a good day for Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany who believes that this win can help the team’s push for two more titles: the League in England and, of course, the European Champions League.

Future

The win was a great boost to City after a mini slump in the league and now that a trophy has been captured they hope to finish the season strongly. As for Liverpool, they can count themselves unlucky to have been beaten and though qualification for the Champions League may prove to be out of their reach, they will have a good chance of qualifying for next season’s Europa League.

Vocabulary

silverware: Another word for trophy in football

came out on top: Won

second-choice: Not the main keeper but the back up or substitute

the shoot out: Penalties; penalty shoot out

boost: Encourage, improve

count themselves unlucky: They were unlucky

out of their reach: Beyond them; it will be difficult for them

Links

* The BBC match report

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