サッカーと英語 // Football & English

Kits

From the nostalgia of that first kit you got when you were a kid to the modern take on an old classic, football shirts stir emotions and create a physical connection to the game of football and clubs. They are more than just a uniform that millionaire footballers wear; they offer a time capsule, a flashback to the past, and sometimes a glimpse into the future. Football kits might just be one of the most important parts of being a fan. わたしたちは、サッカーのユニフォームによって感情を揺さぶられることがあります。子供の頃に初めて手にしたユニフォームにノスタ...

On-Field Communication

Communication with your teammates is one of the most underrated skills in football, and there is no such thing as talking too much on the pitch. So today, we’re going to talk about some of the most useful and important in-game vocabulary you should know. チームメイトとのコミュニケーションは、サッカーの中でも、最も過小評価されているスキルの1つかもしれません。ピッチの上では、喋りすぎるとダメなんてことはあり得ません。本日は、ピッチ上で役に立つ、そして重要な試合中のボキャブラリーについてお話しします。

Team Names

There’s United’s and City’s all over the world. There’s some Wanderers and some Rovers too. Then there’s a Hotspur, a Villa and even a team named after a day of the week. So what is the meaning of all of these team names, and where did they come from? サッカークラブの名前には、ユナイテッドやシティとつくチームが世界中にあります。そのほかには、放浪する、さすらいの人々を意味するワンダラーズ、ローバーズという名前があったり、英語で「向こう見ずな人」を意味するホットスパー、村＝ビラ、そして水曜日など曜日つけているチームもある。では、これらのチーム名にはどのような意味があり、どんな由来があるのでしょうか？

Food at the Football

Although it might sound strange on the surface, food and football actually have a lot in common. The style depends on where you are in the world. People are extremely passionate about it. Some chefs like Gordan Ramsey and Jamie Oliver are as famous as David Beckham. And at any time on any day, you can turn on the TV and likely find a programme about it. But what happens when you mix the two? 少し不思議に聞こえるかもしれませんが、食とサッカーには共通点が実は多いのです。自分が今、どこに住んでいるかで、そのスタイルは変化します。また、人々は食に対してとても熱心です。料理人のゴードン・ラムゼイやジェイミ...

How to Buy Tickets

With crowds back for another season of Premier League football, and international travel becoming more realistic after more than 2 terrible years of COVID, maybe you’ve decided you want to visit Europe and catch a Premier League match. But how can you get a ticket for a match? They are notoriously difficult and often extremely expensive, so how can a tourist get one? We’re going to take you through it all today. 今シーズンのプレミアリーグが開幕しました。新型コロナウイルス感染拡大が2年以上続いている状況ではありますが、ヨーロッパへの旅行が少しずつ現実的になってきました。状況が落...

We're Back

We're back and we're ready for another huge season of football. There's much to talk about: Tommy now lives in Japan, the Premier League is exciting as ever and there's a World Cup in the middle of it!

2021/22 Season Review

欧州サッカーの今シーズンが終了。プレミアリーグ は最後の最後までわかりませんでした！今シーズンを二人で振り返っていきます。// Another incredible season of football is over. Tomo and Tommy look back on some of the biggest moments.

The Playoff Final

Nottingham Forest is set to play Huddersfield in the 2022 EFL Championship Final on Monday the 30th of May, but this is more than just a football game. Often called ‘the most lucrative match in football’, the winner will earn promotion to the Premier League and with it the riches that come. Although the prize money for winning the match is small, promotion is worth at least £130m in the first season, with further riches coming should the team survive in the Premier League. Even if they do get re...

Fuki Ishibashi

We are joined by another special guest: Fuki Ishibashi. Fuki currently plays for Melbourne Knights in the Victorian Premier League as a central defender. Since moving to Australia in 2020, he has played at various levels, signing on with the Knights for the 2022 season. This is his story of playing football in Australia.

Memorabilia

What would you do with a cool £7m? Buy a luxury yacht? A penthouse suite? Maybe invest in your favourite football team? Or would you buy Diego Maradona’s 1986 World Cup kit? The shirt went up for auction this week and became the most expensive sports memorabilia item ever, selling for £7.1m. The shirt is of course best remembered for the Hand of God goal and the incredible goal where he dribbled through the England team, inspiring Argentina to go on to lift the trophy. So today we want to talk a...

The Football Pitch

A football pitch. Just a patch of grass where 22 players run around and kick a ball for a little bit, right? Well, maybe in the old-days. Maybe still at amateur level. But get anywhere near professional football, and that patch of grass becomes incredibly important and incredibly scientific. It can literally be the difference between a free-flowing attacking game of football and one where the ball gets stuck in midfield or just kicked long all day. So here’s a crazy question: might a football pi...

Hillsborough: Part Two

今週は、ヒルズボロの悲劇の後編をお送りします。なぜ、悲劇に終止符が打たれることなく何十年もその後も続かなければならなかったのか、その理由をお話しします。// Part two of the Hillsborough disaster, covering what happened in the hours, weeks, months, years and now even decades since.

Hillsborough: Part One

Christian Eriksen

At 5:19pm, Christian Eriksen was the first Danish player to step out onto the pitch at Parken. His team-mates waited a few seconds in the tunnel to let him have the stage to himself. The stadium in Copenhagen was about to be filled — kids with printed photos of Eriksen on sticks and shirts with his name and number 10 on the back ever-present in the stands. He clapped towards the fans and they returned the salute, welcoming him back to the national stadium for a friendly against Serbia. Everyone ...

Sponsors

Money and football are more connected than ever. And with that, human rights records and business dealings of Premier League club owners coming under increased scrutiny. But unless they’ve got an oligarch or state fund to pump money, it’s hard for clubs to keep up with the relentless rise of Premier League players’ wages and transfer fees. That money needs to come from somewhere, and broadcast revenue and ticket sales no longer cover the costs of players who, in the past, would have been more ea...

Qatar Qualifiers

The picture for the 2022 World Cup is a lot clearer following the latest round of qualifiers. Japan will be there, but will Australia join them?

Handball

Handball is a common-sense thing. - If a player gets hit on the hand from a close distance: no handball. Fair. - If a player moves their arm towards the ball to block it: handball. Sensible. - If a player uses their arm or hand to score: handball. Pretty straightforward. - If a player uses their shoulder: no handball. Right? Well, historically, the handball laws have been unclear, so today we want to discuss the issue and if there’s anyway to make it better. --- サッカーの試合のハンドの反則は一般的によく知られています。 - 至...

Partnerships

Harry Kane and Son Heung-min wrote their names into the record books two weeks ago, after combining to devastating effect once again in Tottenham Hotspur's' 4-0 win at Leeds United. With the score at 3-0, Kane provided a sublime assist for Son to score, taking the pair's goal combinations in the Premier League to a record 37. Their tally beats the all-time record held by Chelsea greats Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard. So today, we’re talking about partnerships in football. --- トッテナムのイングランド代表FWハリ...

Ted Lasso

Perhaps the most important thing to know about Ted Lasso is you don't need to like football to enjoy it. After all, the show's main character barely understands the rules himself. But that doesn't stop the well-intentioned American coach from attempting to turn around the fortunes of a fictional Premiership team. His rather unusual, kill-them-with-kindness approach and unconventional coaching style is mocked at first, before he gradually starts to win over the bad-tempered and arrogant players. ...

Video Games

When EA Sports introduced a brand new video game series called FIFA International Soccer in 1993, they released a 30 second promotion ad and crossed their fingers people would buy it. Now, nearly 30 years later, EA’s promotional videos can be seen on the YouTube accounts of some of the world’s biggest teams, often watched by millions and millions of viewers. October 1, the day the latest version of the game is released each year, has become as big a day as transfer deadline day or the FA Cup Fin...

Free Kicks

Most teams have a free-kick specialist. Or rather, most teams have a player who fancies themselves as one. However, it’s actually quite rare for a direct free kick to end up in the back of the net. In the Premier League, only around 5.5% of free kicks are scored, which is quite low considering the excitement and anticipation that takes over a stadium when a free kick is awarded just outside the box. In this episode we’re talking about free kicks; the best takers, the techniques and some of our f...

Making Football Competitive

There are still four months remaining in most European domestic leagues, but the big titles are largely already decided. It’s a situation we’ve become accustomed to: the rich clubs wrapping up the league by the turn of the year, allowing them to concentrate on what really matters to them, the Champions League. Winning the title, the fundamental point of holding a national league system, is barely a story, and tense run-ins are largely a thing of the past. If you believe the betting exchanges, PS...

Update

After a week off due to Tommy catching COVID, we're back for a quick chat about what's been going on.

Movies & TV Shows

The current January transfer window is crucial for Newcastle United. With just one win in the first half of the Premier League season, they find themselves in the bottom three, in desperate need of reinforcements. There are many reasons players could be persuaded to move to Tyneside - playing at St James' Park in front of 52,000 passionate fans, the possibility of building a successful new era under the new owners, and, of course, the money. But there is another reason many players have made the...

Ange

He’s won trophies in Australia, Japan and now Scotland. He’s won a continental trophy for his country, lifting the Asian Cup with Australia in 2015. He’s set records and individually changed the course of history for coaches and football in Australia. Now with one of the biggest teams in Europe, he’s trying to restore Celtic back to the top of Scotland...and he’s brought some Japanese friends for the ride. Today we’re telling the story of Ange Postecoglou. アンジェ・ポステコグルーは、オーストラリア、日本、そして現在監督を務めるスコッ...

The FA Cup

Another edition of the world’s oldest football competition, the FA Cup, gets underway for Premier League teams this weekend. It is a competition with rich history, where clubs from all throughout the English football pyramid get the chance to play for their right to progress. Where clubs made of plumbers, publicans and office workers step onto the same stage as multi-millionaire, world class footballers from around the world. This week we’re taking a look at the history of the FA Cup, some of th...

Boxing Day

Ball Kids

For many young football fans, it might just be the best job in the world. A pitch side seat to watch your heroes up close, and all you have to do is fetch the ball every now and then. Sometimes, however, this seemingly insignificant job can have a bigger impact on the match than you realise. Some managers have realised this, going as far as giving instructions to a ball kid on how slowly or quickly they should do their job. Does it make a difference? Well, it definitely can, as you'll find out i...

That Peter Crouch Podcast

Peter Crouch: he's scored more than 100 Premier League goals, capped by England 42 times and scorer of 22 goals for his national team. He's played in Champions League Finals, won the FA Cup and numerous individual awards. But now? He's known as Peter Crouch: the podcaster. His show, alongside hosts Chris Stark and Tom Fordyce, has become *the* football podcast to listen to. But how has someone who was first known for being "tall" turned into highly successful footballer and now highly successful...

Hooligans

They hunt in packs, often fuelled by alcohol, cocaine and other drugs. Though some are old enough to be fathers and even grandfathers, they're hooked on violence and confrontation, and the well out-of-date idea that by fighting with opposition fans, they're showing support for their club. Though their numbers have decreased as technology has progressed and the football culture changed, these people are still around. And as we saw at the Euro 2020 Final in London, sometimes you don't need to be a...