Football, Storytelling and Irish Identity!
What You’ll Learn in This Episode of Our English Language Learning Podcast:
- Natural expressive English through immersive storytelling
- Vocabulary related to sport, emotion and competition
- Key phrases including “underdog”, “petulant” and “resilient”
- How tone and storytelling make language more memorable
- How sport unites a nation and lifts people’s spirits
In this episode, we talk about the road to the World Cup and the unifying force of a nation that is football!
Here is this episode’s free transcript →
Episode 5 – Ronaldo’s Antics and the Dreams of the Irish Nation
Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of the podcast. Alright, so I’m going to assume that you have not seen the big match—at least the big match, or one of the two big matches for Ireland that took place a couple of weeks ago. Today, we are going to discuss the positive effects of football on a nation. So, I guess I should start this story with the flamboyant one.
He’s definitely one of the top ten players of all time, and he’s in the top two for longevity – keeping his standards as high as possible. Look, he’s undoubtedly gifted and incredibly hard-working—you don’t reach that level without being both. But he has to be up there as one of the most petulant footballers out there. I know probably with great talent comes great confidence – and/or arrogance, but this guy, he takes the biscuit.
And as a role model? Well, he comes across as someone who’s a bit condescending, a bit superior—at least on the football pitch. He seems to look down on other players, you know? Whether that’s who he really is or not, that’s the impression he gives. We’re talking about none other than Ronaldo, well, Ronaldo version two, 2.0 – the Portuguese Ronaldo.
So, I gotta give a back story. For those of you who aren’t into football, Ireland are in the World Cup qualifying group, or were, with Portugal, Hungary and Armenia. Now, just going by ranking alone, Ireland should finish third in that group, but we have been to three World Cups, and Ireland just takes great pride in being giant killers or the underdog.
We are the ultimate underdog team, or at least we have been historically, but it’s been a hot minute since we’ve been involved in a World Cup. 2002 was the last one.
So we were involved in 1990, the first one; 1994, the second one; and in 2002, the third one.
In this particular qualifying campaign, the Irish fanbase started with very low expectations. The team drew with Hungary, which wasn’t too bad at home, but it was a game that was seen as a must-win game. Then Ireland went and lost to Armenia away from home, and it was a bit of a shock.
That was seen as a must, must-win game to have any chance of staying alive in this rollercoaster of a group. And then they went, and they put in a performance in Portugal, yet they lost 1-0, even though Ronaldo missed a penalty. Or I should say, Caoimhín Kelleher, the goalkeeper, saved a penalty from Ronaldo.
It wasn’t even a penalty, right? It was a handball, but it wasn’t. Petulance again. And yeah, they scored anyway in the last couple of minutes.
So, there you have it. First half of the group stages. Ireland had drawn, lost, and lost.
So, they were on one point, and hope in the country was slim… and hope in the country, in general, is quite scarce.
So Ireland’s success in football is strangely linked sometimes to depression—in terms of both the feeling in the community, but also I suppose the economic factors in the country, which inspired that feeling in the general society. Italia 90’ occurred after a recession in the 80s and really reflected the hope that international football can bring in the darkest of times. But in any case, we kind of always go into these tournaments, or we have done, when we’ve qualified, with this kind of buzz, this aura, this underdog mentality, thinking that we can beat anyone, we can take anyone, we can do it – a giant killer mentality.
Moving back to the recent past, it’s been a long time since Ireland was involved in a tournament. We got to the European Championships back in 2016, but that’s coming up on 10 years ago.
We’re in a real, real dry spell. We’re in a barren spell.
Ireland have had a new coach this campaign, and his name is Heimir Hallgrímsson, and he was, I believe, involved in Iceland’s epic journey to the European Championships in 2016 and the World Cup in 2018. However, with Ireland, expectations were low. It was looking pretty grim.
The second phase of the group stage started back a couple of months ago. Ireland played Armenia at home after the first game with Portugal. Ireland lost against Portugal, but they put on a good performance, a good display, and they went on to beat Armenia by playing very, very defensively. It was a little bit depressing, but they got the win.
That’s all that matters. And then we fast forward to last week, and what happened? There was a little bit of glitz, a little bit of glamour because Ronaldo came to town. In the build-up, I think the Portuguese gave out in their press conference about Ireland time-wasting during the previous match or something.
So Ronaldo was kind of being a little bit petulant even before the game, a little bit touchy, a little bit emotional.
During the game, Ireland went ahead.
They got a goal through Troy Parrott, who had just reentered the team that week. He gets a goal, and then before halftime, he gets a second goal. And what do you know? Ireland are winning 2-0 against Portugal.
But Ireland is the underdog, and we just never believe that we can really do it. We can never feel comfortable that Ireland is going to see it out. And when you’re playing the likes of Portugal, you’re probably right not to feel comfortable.
We skip to around the 60th minute, and there seems to be a bit of a confrontation in the Irish penalty area. And Ronaldo starts doing a kind of crying gesture, taunting some Irish defenders.
Stop giving out to the ref, essentially, seems to be what he’s gesturing childishly.
So, he was claiming that Irish players were putting pressure on the referee to make decisions or give decisions their way, the usual kind of thing. And they review the incident; the video assistant referee reviews it, and it turns out that Ronaldo had elbowed one of the Irish players in the back, kind of a karate-style elbow.
It was pretty amazing. And subsequently, he was sent off, and all of the fans started doing the crying gesture to Ronaldo, and it’s iconic already, absolutely iconic. Possibly… because Ronaldo has that air of superiority about him.
You know, on the pitch, he comes across as somebody who looks down on other players. He seems to think he’s better than the rest, which is true from a talent perspective, but maybe not when it comes to having class or sportsmanship —at least that’s how it appears. So, it was hilarious when he got sent off, and then he started to have a little confrontation with the Irish manager, just embarrassing stuff. Egotistical, really.
So what do we have? To recap, we had Ireland with a draw in the first game, then two losses, and then a win against Armenia and Portugal. And then we’re moving to the last game, which is in Hungary, in Budapest, away from home. Winner takes all!
Ireland, after four minutes, are losing 1-0.
Then they get a goal back, and they’re drawing. Troy Parrott again, this is his third goal in two games. And then a little bit later, Hungary gets another goal, 2-1.
So, the hope is kind of dwindling. We’re a little bit in the doldrums again, thinking, oh, maybe it’s just, it’s not going to happen. We’re never going to have that performance that just lifts the country.
But this team, they were resilient. They were battling in the trenches together. Every single player was putting themselves on the line for their teammates. And then around the 80th minute, there’s just a beautiful passage of play, and Troy Parrott scores again.
And then a couple of minutes pass, and there’s a little bit of pressure. There’s a little bit of fear in Hungary. They’re getting a little bit of lead in the boots. They’re getting a little bit tired.
And in the 95th minute, there’s a long ball from the keeper, Caoimhín Kelleher. Liam Scales knocks it down, and Troy Parrott knocks it into the net. Getting it over the line—getting the job done. And Ireland are through to the playoffs for the World Cup.
Troy Parrott, the difference maker—a new hero in Irish sports folklore.
But you know what? Even if Ireland don’t go through in the qualifying play-off for the World Cup, this was possibly the best week in Irish football in the last, I want to say, 30 years.
It was an absolutely great feeling, and the celebrations were just beautiful.
So, the petulance of Ronaldo midweek sent the Irish team on their way, and the absolute unifying beauty of football, especially on a national level, prevailed and sent joy into Irish hearts around the world when the week was capped with victory against Hungary.
It’s one of those things. It’s one of those reasons you’ve got to love being Irish.
It’s just joyous – absolutely joyous, when the underdog wins, even for just a few brief moments.
Okay, guys. I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of the podcast.
Wishing you all a great week.
Ciao. Take care. Ciao.
Comprehensive Glossary
the flamboyant (adj/noun) – showy and confident; someone who attracts attention through their style
longevity (noun) – long duration; the ability to maintain performance over a long period
undoubtedly gifted (phrase) – certainly talented; without question skilled
incredibly hard-working (phrase) – extremely diligent; putting in exceptional effort
petulant (adj) – childishly sulky or bad-tempered; irritable
he takes the biscuit (idiom) – British/Irish expression meaning he’s the worst or most extreme example
petulance (noun) – the quality of being childishly bad-tempered or irritable
comes across as (phrasal verb) – appears to be; gives the impression of being
condescending (adj) – acting superior to others; patronising
superior (adj) – higher in rank, quality, or importance; acting as if better than others
seems to look down on (phrase) – appears to regard as inferior; gives the impression of treating with contempt
back story (noun) – background information; the history leading up to current events
giant killers (noun phrase) – underdogs who defeat much stronger opponents
the underdog (noun) – a competitor thought to have little chance of winning
it’s been a hot minute (idiom) – it’s been a long time (informal, American English)
must-win game (noun phrase) – a match that a team absolutely needs to win
staying alive (phrase) – remaining in contention; keeping hopes alive in a competition
rollercoaster (noun) – something with extreme ups and downs; unpredictable and exciting
recession (noun) – a period of economic decline
buzz (noun) – excitement; a feeling of energy and anticipation
aura (noun) – a distinctive atmosphere or quality surrounding someone or something
giant killer mentality (noun phrase) – the mindset of an underdog ready to defeat stronger opponents
dry spell (noun phrase) – a period without success or achievement
barren spell (noun phrase) – a period with no results or productivity
epic (adj) – heroic; grand in scale; impressively great
putting on a good performance (phrase) – playing well; delivering a strong display
display (noun) – a performance; a showing of skill or ability
glitz (noun) – showiness; glamorous appearance and excitement
glamour (noun) – attractive or exciting quality; prestige
touchy (adj) – oversensitive; easily upset or offended
see it out (phrasal verb) – to finish something; to maintain a lead until the end
confrontation (noun) – a hostile encounter; a direct conflict
taunting (verb) – mocking or provoking someone in a cruel way
video assistant referee (noun phrase) – VAR; technology used to review referee decisions in football
iconic (adj) – widely recognised and memorable; representing something important
superiority (noun) – the state of being better or higher in quality than others
looks down on (phrasal verb) – regards as inferior; treats with contempt
egotistical (adj) – excessively self-centred; thinking too highly of oneself
dwindling (verb) – gradually decreasing; becoming smaller
in the doldrums (idiom) – in a state of stagnation or depression; lacking activity
resilient (adj) – able to recover quickly from difficulties; tough and determined
battling in the trenches (idiom) – fighting hard in difficult conditions; working together through challenges
putting themselves on the line (phrase) – taking risks; making sacrifices for others
passage of play (noun phrase) – a sequence of moves or actions in a game
lead in the boots (idiom) – feeling heavy-legged; tired and sluggish
getting it over the line (idiom) – completing something successfully; finishing the job
getting the job done (phrase) – accomplishing the task; achieving the goal
playoffs (noun) – additional matches to determine qualification or a winner
difference maker (noun phrase) – a person who has a decisive impact on the outcome
folklore (noun) – traditional stories and legends of a community or culture
unifying (adj) – bringing people together; creating unity
joyous (adj) – full of joy; extremely happy
**Alternatively, you can watch the video below and turn on the subtitles by clicking the CC button in the top right corner:
If you liked this episode, you may enjoy the following:
https://nopressureenglish.com/podcast/episode-2-halloween-and-an-old-irish-legend/
https://nopressureenglish.com/podcast/episode-3-how-old-are-you-in-english/
Additional reading on this topic:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cdrzv4v04v8o
