1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,600 You're listening to the Footglitch Podcast. Love football, love English. 2 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:14,240 The European Championship 2024, which is this time held in Germany, is just around the corner. 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:20,160 Who are the favourites to win the tournament? What are my thoughts on the Czech team? 4 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,680 And how do you say that you're excited in English? 5 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:30,480 These are the topics of the first episode of the Footglitch Podcast. 6 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:52,880 Hi everyone, welcome to the Footglitch Podcast. My name is Zdenek Lukas 7 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:57,600 and this is my brand new podcast about football and learning English. 8 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:02,080 That is the idea of this concept and I hope you guys like it. 9 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:07,200 And as I said in the introduction, we're going to be talking about the Euros. 10 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:16,080 So first of all, let me remind you that there are 24 teams in Euros 2024. 11 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:22,800 24 teams in Euros 2024. Is that a coincidence? I don't know, but it's really interesting. 12 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:31,680 Isn't it? Anyway, these 24 teams are divided into six groups. Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E. 13 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:40,400 And what a surprise, Group F as well. And the first, obviously these teams play each other, right? 14 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:46,320 So each team plays three matches and so there you have three rounds of the group stages. 15 00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:52,320 And the first two teams from each group automatically qualify to the knockout stages. 16 00:01:52,320 --> 00:02:02,640 And then also the four best third places or four teams in the third places that have the most points. 17 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,480 You are comparing the groups against each other basically. 18 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:14,000 And so there's a pretty decent chance to progress in the tournament into the last 16, 19 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:21,360 which is, as I said, the knockout stage. Then after that, the quarterfinal, semi-final, and then the final 20 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:28,320 to determine the winner of the tournament. And well, when it comes to the favorites, 21 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:34,320 I think it's the usual suspects, right? It's probably going to be what most people say these days, 22 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:43,840 most pundits and experts. And I think it's France, Italy, Portugal, of course, Germany, they are the hosts. 23 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:51,680 They play on home soil. So, yeah, they haven't been playing very well in the recent years, 24 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:56,720 but I think this time they look much better. They've got some young talents there. 25 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:03,280 And also England. And personally, not just because I like the English language and I like to teach it 26 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:10,000 as an English teacher, but also because I really think they are an excellent team. I think my money 27 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:18,000 this time is on England. I actually think they will win it this time. But when I say things like that, 28 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:25,760 they usually don't happen. So you never know. When it comes to the dark horses, that is teams that 29 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:35,520 might surprise us all and might actually do really well, I would say it's always teams from the Balkans, right? 30 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:43,200 So Croatia, Serbia, and this time we also have Slovenia and Albania. Yeah, I wouldn't underestimate them 31 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:54,560 at all because they are the dark horses. Also Slovakia, they beat Wales 4-0 in the pre-Euro friendly 32 00:03:55,360 --> 00:04:02,720 match. So they look pretty good as well. When it comes to the underdogs, that is teams that 33 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:09,520 bookies think will definitely not win anything. I would say it's again probably Albania, even though 34 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:14,800 I don't think they are underdogs at all. For me, they are dark horses of the tournament. But also 35 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:22,560 Georgia, it looks like they are the biggest underdog of this tournament because it's their first time. 36 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:28,240 And I would also add Czechia to that group. That is my team. Czechia, the Czech Republic. 37 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:33,600 That's because we have the youngest team of the entire tournament. I believe the average age 38 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:42,160 of our team is around 25 years, which is not much, but that's actually pretty good as well, 39 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:47,280 isn't it? Because that means that there is a promise for the future. We will see what happens. 40 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:53,840 But to be honest, the Czech team, they always like to be in that position of the underdogs. 41 00:04:53,840 --> 00:05:00,000 So you never know what could happen. We could even win it. Keep dreaming, Zdenek. 42 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:06,800 And I think there is no question about who I will be supporting in the tournament. Of course, my team, 43 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:13,600 the Czech Republic, because I'm Czech. So it makes sense that I might as well support my own team 44 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:20,720 because I am from there, right? It's logical. But I think I'll also be supporting England, 45 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:27,840 again, the connection there makes total sense. I like the English language. So I watch the Premier 46 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:34,080 League a lot as well. I know a lot of England players. So I think I'll definitely be supporting 47 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:40,000 England. And they haven't won anything for a long, long, long, long, long time. So hopefully they 48 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:48,640 will this time. And then also traditionally, I will support Slovakia because, well, they are 49 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:54,800 always supporting us. Because, well, we always love Slovakia because we used to be one country, 50 00:05:54,800 --> 00:06:02,080 Czechoslovakia, right? So that makes sense. Also Poland, our neighbors, Polish, the Poles, right? 51 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:08,320 Definitely supporting them. And then also this time I will be supporting Ukraine. And that's because 52 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:14,800 of the whole war situation. I will definitely support Ukraine in this tournament. 53 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:21,920 Traditionally, when it comes to the Euros, we actually do pretty well, the Czech team, 54 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:28,640 or you could say Czechoslovakia. As Czechoslovakia, we won the Euros back in 1960, 55 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:38,560 19, sorry, 1976. And it was with that famous Panenka kick. Yeah, we won it on penalties and 56 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:45,840 Panenka scored the final penalty. And since then, it has been called the Panenka kick. It's like a 57 00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:54,400 chip in the middle, right? And yeah, and then we also reached the final in 1996 as the Czech 58 00:06:54,400 --> 00:07:02,480 Republic. And then I think our best tournament was in 2004. I remember that pretty well. And 59 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,800 that's when we played fantastic football. But unfortunately, we were beaten by Greece in the 60 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:13,120 semi-final. It was also when Milan Barosz became the top goal scorer. He won the Golden Boot with 61 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:21,920 five goals. So those times are over. Unfortunately for the Czech team, our team is not among the 62 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:28,000 favorites this time. And I also have to say that in the previous Euro, we also did pretty well. 63 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:35,600 It was the COVID one. I believe it was supposed to be Euro 2020, but it was played in 2021, 64 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:42,720 something like that. The tournament was postponed because of the whole virus situation, because of 65 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:49,520 the pandemic, right? So yeah, we did quite well in that as well. We beat the Netherlands and then 66 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:58,800 got beaten by Denmark in the quarterfinal. So the Czech team played two friendlies before the Euros. 67 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:07,760 We beat Malta 7-1. Nobody really understands why we chose to play Malta. No offense, but probably 68 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:14,320 we should have chosen a tougher opponent, although everyone says that nobody really wanted to play 69 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:21,120 with us, so we didn't really have a choice. The next match was against North Macedonia. That was 70 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:30,080 a better match. I mean, when I say better match, a better opponent, but a match. I think it's 71 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:38,880 a normal thing that the last games before the Euro, they are not the best performance. The teams 72 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:47,600 don't put in the best performances because of the fact that nobody wants to get injured. And you also 73 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:54,160 want to kind of try all different players. The games are usually not that good, and it was the 74 00:08:54,160 --> 00:09:00,000 case in this game. We beat North Macedonia 2-1, but scored two goals from penalties. They were 75 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:06,800 barely penalties, really soft penalties. But the main thing is that nobody got injured from the 76 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:14,240 Czech team on the pitch. Well, that's because there was actually one player who had to be sent 77 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:24,640 home because he got injured off the pitch. Yes, he was riding down a hill on one of those big hills 78 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:32,720 in Austria. You could say a slope where people go skiing. So apparently he was riding it down 79 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:40,000 with a couple of his teammates on a tricycle, which is that vehicle that kids use. I don't understand 80 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:44,880 how this could have happened, but it's a personal tragedy for this player. And of course, 81 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:52,160 I wish him a speedy recovery, but it's also slightly amusing. I can't help it. It's slightly amusing 82 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:59,840 and slightly stupid. Unfortunately, that's what I think about this. And yeah, our biggest stars 83 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:06,960 would be probably our captain Tomas Socek, who plays for West Ham. Then we also have another player 84 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:14,160 who is at West Ham, and that's Vladimir Tsofal, the right back, the life and soul of the party, 85 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:22,240 the party animal. Yeah. And then we've got a few up and coming young players such as Krejci, 86 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:28,880 who is heavily linked with Girona. It looks like he's going there, the second team of La Liga, 87 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:34,800 and the team that will hopefully play in the Champions League. I say hopefully because as we 88 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:41,040 know, there are some issues that Manchester City and Girona have the same owner. So something will 89 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:46,480 have to be done about that, some kind of exception given. But anyway, then we also have Hlozek and 90 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:53,920 Kovář playing for Leverkusen. And then of course, probably our biggest star, Patrik Schick, 91 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:59,360 who knows, he did really well in the previous Euro. He scored a goal from the halfway line. 92 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:08,960 And so, yeah, we will see what happens. But overall, I would say that our team lacks creativity, 93 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:16,640 and the only way we can really succeed is if we play like a team. Yeah, we need to go for some 94 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:24,320 kind of team performance and cohesion and work together as a unit because let's say our individual 95 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:31,440 skills are no match. No, the other way around. The individual skills of the other teams are no match 96 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:40,640 for the likes of Czechia. Unfortunately, we don't have much creativity, as I said. So I think, 97 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:48,720 I'm guessing that we are going to sit much deeper and play physical football. We will be relying on 98 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:56,640 set pieces because we've got some players who are capable from those game situations. We have 99 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:02,640 people who can head the ball pretty well in the back of the net. So that is probably what's going 100 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:11,680 to happen. I say probably because our new manager, Ivan Hasek, isn't revealing much. It's a bit of 101 00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:18,640 smoke and mirrors kind of thing. He's trying to hide as much as possible from his opponents. 102 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:25,760 So we will see what happens. I'm really buzzing about this tournament. I can't wait. It's going 103 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:36,800 to be a lot of fun. And yeah, don't worry, guys, by the way. I won't always talk about the Czech 104 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:44,320 team on this podcast. Since I'm Czech, it's inevitable. You will have to put up with me 105 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:51,440 talking about the Czech teams, Czech players quite a lot. But I'm also planning to have some guests 106 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:58,560 who come from countries like England, the Netherlands, Turkey, Poland, Germany, anyone 107 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:05,600 really that is interested in featuring on this podcast and talking about their team. And I'm 108 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:10,560 up for it. I would like to hear different voices and different accents on this podcast because 109 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:17,760 ultimately this is an English learning podcast. So it's going to be quite fun hearing 110 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:24,720 different people on this podcast that have different nationalities. Yeah. And one last thing about 111 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:32,400 the Czech team. What is my prediction? Do I think we will win the tournament? No, I don't think so. 112 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:39,360 Not a chance. Not a chance. Not with this team. Unfortunately not because the other teams, 113 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:49,440 they just have superstars and their players just have more ability. That's my idea. But I hope we 114 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:57,520 can make it out of our group. Speaking of the groups, I could actually, you know what, I could 115 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:07,840 go through the groups here. Groups Euro 2024. I could tell you what the groups are. So we have 116 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:15,760 group A, which features Germany, Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland. Group B, I believe group B is the 117 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:23,920 group of death. Yeah. Each time groups are drawn in any tournament, you always try to identify the 118 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:30,480 group of death and it's group B because you have Spain, Croatia, Italy and Albania there. So 119 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:37,600 definitely group of death. And group C has Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia and England in it. 120 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:44,560 Really interesting group as well. Group D Poland, Netherlands, Austria, France, another group of 121 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:51,840 death. Actually, I don't know which one is more the group of death. Is it B or D? Who knows? Group E 122 00:14:51,840 --> 00:15:02,960 Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine and group F Turkey, Georgia, Portugal and Czechia. So that's 123 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:14,640 that. And yeah, guys, I think I think that will be it when it comes to football. Now, let's talk about 124 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:22,960 the language. Okay, guys, so in this bit, I would like to teach you something. So let's talk about 125 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:28,880 the ways you can say that you're excited about something in English. Okay. First of all, notice 126 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:35,520 the preposition excited about something. But some people might say to be excited for something as 127 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:43,200 well. Okay, that's possible too. But I think that's the way to say it. So let's talk about 128 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:51,040 possible two. And obviously, if you want to be a little bit more formal, and you don't want to sound 129 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:58,480 sound so strong, you can say I'm looking forward to the euros. I'm looking forward to the first 130 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:07,200 match. Right? Now be careful about this phrase of verb to look forward because it it is also 131 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:13,760 joined by the preposition to you have to add the preposition to when you are using another verb. 132 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:19,440 And a lot of people get this wrong all the time. So you should say something like this, I'm looking 133 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:29,760 forward to watching the euros, right? It's also used in emails in email English, you would write 134 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:35,840 at the end of your email, you would write something like I look forward to hearing from you. Okay. 135 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:43,440 Okay. So make sure you put that verb after the preposition to in the ing form. Okay, another way 136 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:49,920 to say that you're excited about something is simply to say I can't wait for something. You can 137 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:58,960 say I can't wait for the euros to start. I can't wait to watch the first game. Right? I can't wait 138 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:06,400 for it as well. You can say I can't wait for the first match. Okay. And then something that is used 139 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:14,800 a lot by football fans in England by basically, you know, I hear it a lot on on different YouTube 140 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:20,560 channels. For example, they say I'm buzzing. I'm absolutely buzzing about this. I'm buzzing about 141 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:26,320 our next game. I'm absolutely buzzing about whatever like so when you're really excited, 142 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:32,400 right? It could be after an achievement after you have won a game, but it could be before 143 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:39,200 a game like that, right? You have such a strong emotion, which is positive, right? So you again, 144 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:46,560 to be buzzing about something. And again, I've also heard people say for but I think the right 145 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:51,120 way is to be buzzing about something. And then there are other expressions, for example, to be 146 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:58,560 stoked about something. I think it has nothing to do with that team Stoke City. I don't think so. 147 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:05,280 But anyway, this is it. I hope you find it useful, guys. And let me know what you are buzzing about 148 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:11,440 yourselves. Please let me know in the comments on my YouTube channel, teachers, the YouTube channel, 149 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:17,280 because that's also where I will be publishing this podcast. Or you can even send me an email, 150 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:33,440 I guess, at teachers, then at gmail.com. And that's it. I will speak to you soon. Bye for now. Cheers.