Goal!!!!
Simon: Where are you from?
Matt: I'm from a little country called England.
Simon: Oh, yeah, where in England?
Matt: All of it! I have no hometown.
Simon: OK. OK. Where do you live now?
Matt: I'm living in Tokyo, in Japan.
Simon: What do you do in your free time?
Matt: So, my main hobby is football, or soccer to the yanks.
Simon: OK. OK. Football. Yeah! What position do you play?
Matt: I'm a defender so usually I play on the right side of defense.
Simon: What's your favorite thing about defending?
Matt: My favorite things is definitely "hacking" down the stiker coming through. If he's too fast, don't worry about the ball, get the man.
Simon: OK. OK. Did you hack anybody today?
Matt: Um, I didn't hack anyone. A few people bounced off of me, but no! They're all a bunch of girls.
Simon: So you did play today?
Matt: I did play. I played two games today.
Simon: Did you score?
Matt: I did score.
Simon: Can you describe it?
Matt: Well, I was walking up from the back, there was a nice little corner. I thought, oh, I'll just wait at the edge of area. See what happens. Ball comes in, defender heads it out, bounces in front, chested it down, a nice volley into the far top corner, just over the keeper's flailing hand. Beautiful goal.
Simon: Alright! Alright! Do you do those kind of goals often?
Matt: I do those goals about once a lifetime.
Simon: So it was a pretty special day for you?
Matt: Very special day for me, yeah, definitely! I'm looking forward to the next one in about five years.
Simon: OK, thank you for that!
Matt: Cheers mate!
position
What position do you play?
Your 'position' in a sports team refers to the part that
you play in the team. For example whether you play in
offense or defense.
Notice the following:
- He might not get in the team, there is a lot of
competition for the position of goalkeeper.
- I can play almost any position in soccer.
defense
I'm a defender, so usually I play on the right side of
defense.
When you play in 'defense' it is your job to stop the other
team from scoring points and to stop their attacks.
Notice the following:
- The defense played very poorly and I think that is why
we lost.
- We need to improve our defense if we want to have a
chance of winning the cup.
hack down
My favorite thing is definitely "hacking" down the striker
coming through.
When you 'hack someone down' it means that you physically
stop them from attacking your team and scoring a point.
Notice the following:
- We really hacked down well today and that is why we won.
- When you hack down you have to be careful not to hurt
your opponent.
volley
Ball comes in, defender heads it out, bounces in front,
chested it down, a nice volley into the far top corner.
A 'volley' is when the ball does not touch the floor or
bounce but instead is hit or kicked and kept in the air
using different body parts..
Notice the following:
- That was a really good volley.
- When you volley the ball you have to really give it a
good kick or it won't go far enough.
flail
Just over the keeper's flailing hand.
When you 'flail' it means that you are fumbling in order to
catch or get hold of something. It usually refers to a full
and useless extension and movement of the arms or legs.
Notice the following:
- I was flailing about in the water before I could get
hold of the rope.
- When you go to catch the ball try not to flail your
arms.
Vocabulary Quiz
volley • flailing
