1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,000 You're listening to the Footglitch Podcast. 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:06,000 Love football, learn English. 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,000 What sort of football club is Shemrock Rovers? 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,000 What are this team's strengths and weaknesses? 5 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:20,000 Who is the underdog in the Shemrock Rovers-Spartaprak game? 6 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:43,000 And what does the word underdog even mean? 7 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:47,000 Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Footglitch Podcast. 8 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,000 Hopefully your favorite English learning podcast about football. 9 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:56,000 My name is Denik Lukas, I'm your host and today I have a very special guest. 10 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:01,000 However, I may as usual be struggling with pronouncing his name 11 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:06,000 because it is spelled as if I should be pronouncing it as Cathal. 12 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,000 What's your name? 13 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,000 It's a good attempt, Denik, absolutely. 14 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:14,000 Cathal is the name. 15 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:20,000 To be honest, I did this a little bit on purpose because you're Irish. 16 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:28,000 You guys are notorious for having really difficult names to pronounce in English. 17 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:33,000 We always have to do almost like a little Irish lesson 18 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,000 at the beginning of every conversation that we have. 19 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,000 Exactly. 20 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:44,000 Gal, you are a Gunnar, you're an Arsenal fan and we have done some stuff before. 21 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:49,000 We also should tell our listeners the most important piece of information 22 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,000 and that we used to work together. 23 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,000 We are ex-co-workers. 24 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:55,000 Absolutely, yeah. 25 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:59,000 Very fun times working together, as Denik I remember. 26 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:04,000 Just super relaxed and always very chilled out. 27 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,000 Now that I know that you left the company, 28 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,000 I will tell you this has been my hardest job ever. 29 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,000 Like nothing will ever match that job. 30 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,000 I was in Ireland, listeners, it was a one-month gig 31 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:20,000 and I grew so many grey hairs there. 32 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,000 Me too. 33 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:28,000 I just put the hair so short now to get rid of all the grey hairs. 34 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:32,000 Right, so we're not going to talk about Arsenal 35 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,000 or our summer adventure job kind of thingy. 36 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,000 No, tonight there is an interesting match. 37 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,000 Again, it's in the grand scheme of things. 38 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:47,000 It's one of the most important matches, right, you could imagine in Europe. 39 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:53,000 It's actually the Champions League Qualifier Round 2. 40 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Absolutely, super important. 41 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:56,000 Exactly. 42 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,000 Between my team, I am from the Czech Republic, 43 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,000 and the team is Sparta Prague, arguably the biggest team in my country, 44 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,000 although Slavia Prague fans might not like what I just said. 45 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:12,000 And then your team, Shemrock Rovers, am I pronouncing it correctly? 46 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,000 Shemrock Rovers is right, absolutely, or Rovers, 47 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,000 as a lot of people would call them over here as well, 48 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:23,000 just affectionately or maybe unaffectionately as well. 49 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,000 I guess it depends if you root for that team or not. 50 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:27,000 Absolutely. 51 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:33,000 Is it fair to say that this is also the biggest club in Ireland or not? 52 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:34,000 I would say so, yeah. 53 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,000 I mean, historically speaking, they're definitely up there 54 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:43,000 and they've had their ups and downs like many, many clubs around there. 55 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:49,000 I suppose you could put the likes of Bohemians up there as well. 56 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:51,000 Bohemians? 57 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:52,000 I think so. 58 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:57,000 I mean, Bohemians, they've created great talents and in fact, 59 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:59,000 one of those talents is now playing in the Premier League, 60 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:05,000 Evan Ferguson, who plays for Brighton, is a Bohemians Academy alum. 61 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:09,000 Do you know why it sounds funny for someone from the Czech Republic? 62 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,000 Because we actually have a team called Bohemians as well. 63 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:13,000 No way. 64 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,000 In our first league, and they are pretty famous. 65 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,000 They are a Prague team and they are called the Kangaroos. 66 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,000 They have green jerseys. 67 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,000 The main colour of the symbol of the club is green. 68 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:33,000 I don't know if there's some kind of connection there. 69 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:34,000 I don't think so. 70 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:41,000 The colours for Bohemians in Dublin are black and red, so probably not. 71 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:48,000 The Bohemians are known as, like their nickname would be Boes. 72 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:54,000 They're probably the, certainly from what I have seen, 73 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,000 they're probably the second or the B-tide. 74 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,000 They're up there anyway as one of the bigger teams. 75 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:03,000 But definitely Shamrock Rovers are the top dogs historically. 76 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,000 We need to talk about them. 77 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,000 So first thing that sort of caught my eye is the name itself. 78 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:13,000 So first of all, there is no Dublin in the name, even though it's a Dublin team, right? 79 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:18,000 And secondly, it has the word Shamrock in the name, 80 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,000 which is the national symbol of Ireland, right? 81 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:29,000 So the Shamrock, it would be the kind of unofficial, I would say, symbol of Ireland. 82 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:35,000 The main symbol, the one that you would see on any sort of official documents 83 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:39,000 and things like that would be the harp, actually, the musical instrument. 84 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:44,000 But obviously, yes, internationally, the Shamrock is very much our symbol 85 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,000 and we're recognised for it. 86 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:50,000 A lot of people say the four-leafed clover, 87 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:56,000 but a lot of Shamrocks would have only three leaves. 88 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,000 Exactly. So it's basically a symbol that should tell us, 89 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,000 I don't know what the legend exactly is, 90 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,000 but it's something to do with your Saint Patricks, right? 91 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,000 Yes, Saint Patrick, yes. 92 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:17,000 He used the Shamrock as a way to teach the Irish people about Christianity. 93 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:21,000 So he used the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, all that sort of stuff. 94 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:28,000 So having the three points on the Shamrock was a good way of using that as a teaching tool. 95 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:33,000 But yeah, it's always been a kind of a nice symbol of Ireland around the world. 96 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:38,000 Well, in our culture, any sort of clover, especially the four-leafed one, 97 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,000 is like a symbol of luck, good luck. It should bring you good luck. 98 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,000 So is it the same in Ireland? 99 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:48,000 Well, I don't know if any of your viewers have heard of the phrase the luck of the Irish. 100 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,000 It's very much an international phrase. 101 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:58,000 And I think, in fact, in America, they have a breakfast cereal brand, 102 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:06,000 which is called Lucky Charms, and some of the cereal shapes are in the shape of Shamrocks. 103 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,000 So it definitely carries that look. 104 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:13,000 Now, whether Shamrock Rovers carry that look into their play at the moment, 105 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,000 they definitely seem to be playing very well. 106 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:22,000 So it seems the luck is doing them well. They're doing them a good, I suppose. 107 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,000 Yeah, so tonight there is a match between Sparta-Fraq. 108 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,000 It's happening in a few hours' time, I suppose. 109 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,000 Sparta-Fraq, Shamrock Rovers, it's in Dublin. 110 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:41,000 So tell us about the team a little bit. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? 111 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:49,000 Well, I think the strengths are definitely coming from the fact that, I suppose, 112 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:56,000 maybe not individuals, but the fact that the team is currently playing and the season has started. 113 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,000 We're also playing cup games and things like that as well. 114 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:04,000 I say we, like they're my team. Are you there as well? Are you part of the team? 115 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,000 Immediately behind the Irish team. 116 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,000 Well, then I wouldn't expect anything else. I'm exactly the same. 117 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,000 We are both Gunners, right? So we support an English team, 118 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:19,000 but obviously we are behind our teams of our country. 119 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:20,000 Our native teams, indeed. 120 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:21,000 It's natural. 121 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:26,000 Yeah, it's something that just comes naturally to most Irish people as well. 122 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:36,000 And indeed, in this situation, since you guys would definitely be the favourites in this draw, 123 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:41,000 it's natural for Irish people to support the underdog in any situation. 124 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:46,000 But yeah, I would say strengths at the moment, the fact that we're playing regular football, 125 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:53,000 that it's not really the start of our season. We've had plenty of games so far already. 126 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:58,000 I see, I see. Because Sparta-Prague, the season has just started. 127 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,000 So obviously they had a few friendlies, but at the weekend... 128 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,000 Oh, actually, they played their game on Friday. 129 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:11,000 The first game of the season was on Fridays, Sparta-Prague. 130 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:17,000 So maybe the strength or the advantage perhaps is match sharpness 131 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:24,000 and being used to the fact that they're playing regular football. 132 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:30,000 But overall, I think that the team is very comfortable, and the manager said this as well, 133 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:37,000 they're very comfortable playing out of possession, which is something that they will have to get used to 134 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,000 playing in these European competitions. 135 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:47,000 So they're not afraid to let the opposition have the ball and then break, counter-attack, 136 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,000 and do whatever they can, take their chances when they come. 137 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:55,000 So are you expecting that? Do you think it will be some sort of low block? 138 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,000 Or would you say they will play higher up? 139 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:04,000 I mean, a lot of their games recently have been very low scoring games. 140 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:12,000 So I would anticipate, especially against a high percentage possession team, 141 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:18,000 that's going to inevitably happen with the different levels of play. 142 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:25,000 I would imagine a low block would be something that would be employed by the manager. 143 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:30,000 Now, whether he has the players to do that and the players that can play, 144 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:35,000 because I was looking up the injury list, unfortunately, that came out, 145 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:39,000 is not looking very favourable for Shamrock Rovers at the moment, 146 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:46,000 missing the likes of Rory Gaffney, Graham Burke, and I think it was Aaron McAneff as well. 147 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:51,000 So these guys are all central figures in the team. 148 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:55,000 And also there's a suspension carrying over. 149 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,000 I can't remember quite the name of the player who's suspended, 150 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:03,000 but there is a suspension following over. 151 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,000 So it'll be tough, it'll be tough. 152 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:09,000 And I think a low block would suit Shamrock Rovers in this game. 153 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:13,000 Being at home, they just want to get a result. 154 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:17,000 But then again, they might take advantage of the fact that they are at home, 155 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:21,000 and Prague have to come a long way. 156 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:25,000 As you said, the schmack sharpness was actually a good point, 157 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:29,000 because several players from Sparta Prague didn't really have the pre-season, 158 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,000 as they had been to the Euros. 159 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:37,000 So that includes one Slovakian player, there's one player from Serbia, 160 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:41,000 and several players from the Czech Republic team as well. 161 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,000 So we will see what happens there. 162 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:49,000 It's kind of a pro-anacon, I guess, having the players being able to say 163 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:53,000 that you've had players that played in the Euros 164 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:58,000 is automatically going to give you an advantage against... 165 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:04,000 We're a relatively minnow team in Shamrock Rovers in European sense. 166 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:10,000 But Irish teams have faced off against big teams in the past, I'm sure. 167 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:14,000 You guys would definitely be up there in terms of the quality of teams 168 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,000 that have been played before. 169 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:21,000 Arsenal a couple of years ago played against Dundalk, my hometown team, 170 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:25,000 played against Arsenal, which was very interesting to see. 171 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:29,000 Guys that I know and I would have seen around my hometown 172 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:33,000 playing against the team that I support in England was very strange. 173 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:38,000 You also had the likes of AC Milan coming and playing against, 174 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:44,000 in terms of European superiority, 175 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:49,000 but I think you guys are right up there with the teams that you would have played against. 176 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,000 You know how this goes sometimes, though, right? 177 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,000 You can underestimate your opponent. 178 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:57,000 Honestly, Ireland is a nice destination. 179 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:02,000 The main message I'm getting from the media before this game is, 180 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,000 what a lovely place to be in, a great stadium. 181 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:07,000 This is the main thing. 182 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:13,000 I hope there is enough respect, you know, 183 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:17,000 because it's more like everyone expects Sparta Prague to really, 184 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:21,000 not necessarily thrash you, but at least give you a good game 185 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:25,000 or get a draw or beat you by one goal or something like that. 186 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,000 Get the job done, you might say. Get it over the line. 187 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,000 There's a narrative. 188 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,000 And you know how that goes sometimes, right? 189 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,000 Absolutely, absolutely. 190 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:40,000 And the things, the stranger things have been known to happen in European competition before. 191 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:43,000 So it'll certainly be interesting. 192 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:44,000 I'll be tuning in anyway. 193 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:47,000 You'll be tuning in. So you'll be watching the game. 194 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,000 Are you not going to the stadium? 195 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:51,000 I don't think so. 196 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:56,000 I do have the subscription to the League of Ireland TV channel. 197 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:58,000 So that's what it'll be shown on. 198 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,000 And yeah, we're looking forward to it. 199 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,000 Oh, it'll be absolutely carnage and carnage in the best sense. 200 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:11,000 That it'll just be people everywhere and obviously very good atmosphere. 201 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:15,000 But yeah, no, I, you know, now I'm thinking about it. 202 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:19,000 I might I might take a trip down and just kind of soak in the atmosphere. 203 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:27,000 But I did that for the Europa League final when Atalanta were playing against Leverkusen in Dublin. 204 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,000 And yeah, oh, yeah. 205 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:35,000 The atmosphere around the Aviva Stadium was incredible before and afterwards as well. 206 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,000 Obviously, all the Italian fans were delighted with the results. 207 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:45,000 But yeah, it's I can also imagine it's a wonderful place to go and get some beer because honestly, 208 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:49,000 Gal, Gal, I am I'm in love with the Guinness. 209 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,000 So this is very true. 210 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:57,000 So perhaps, I don't know, maybe the Irish hospitality for the the Prager players will be 211 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:00,000 so good that they might just take it easy on Shamrock Rovers. 212 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,000 And you never know. 213 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:04,000 Maybe that's your game plan. 214 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,000 You want to get our away fans drunk or something. 215 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,000 And we can't give away that. 216 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:16,000 That's because, you know, because as we know, you guys can drink so well that even if you drink a few pints, 217 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:20,000 you will still be able to support your team very well, even though the Czech Republic, 218 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:22,000 we are a drinking country as well. 219 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:28,000 So I was going to say you guys could probably hold your own in that sort of situation, you know, 220 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:33,000 although although the price of beer, especially the draft beer has gone up sharply. 221 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:38,000 So yes, very much, very much the same here, unfortunately. 222 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:45,000 But yeah, no, it's it's definitely it's something that helps helps get the crowd going a bit more, let's say. 223 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,000 So is the game sold out? 224 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,000 Do you expect full house? 225 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:56,000 I'm expecting well, so the way things work, especially with the League of Ireland teams, 226 00:15:56,000 --> 00:16:04,000 is that season ticket holders will always get first refusal for for those sort of things. 227 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:10,000 But it'll be interesting to see how many like what the numbers are like traveling away fans. 228 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,000 Do you know yourself how many fans are going to be traveling? 229 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,000 Not me. I'm not even a Sparta Prague fan. 230 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:20,000 And it's expensive, it's expensive, although it's not too far. 231 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:24,000 Right. But it's you know, no, I have no idea. 232 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,000 But it seems like a nice place to go. Right. 233 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:32,000 So I can imagine at the moment, Carl, basically Sparta Prague are on a high. 234 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,000 They are doing really well in the league. 235 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,000 They won their last two trophies. 236 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:42,000 They won the league twice in a row, which wasn't the case before in the in the years before. 237 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,000 So now the fans are really excited about the team a lot. 238 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:51,000 So I expect it will be more than it would have been a few years ago. 239 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,000 You know, so it could be you. 240 00:16:53,000 --> 00:17:00,000 Well, Tala Stadium, which is the name of the stadium that is going to be played in, 241 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:05,000 is much smaller than, say, the Aviva Stadium that the Europa League finalist stayed in. 242 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,000 And I think that's kind of by design. 243 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:11,000 They want to have it in Tala Stadium to kind of really get the crowd involved 244 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:17,000 and have a full kind of sound and, you know, we kind of really make the Sparta 245 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:20,000 Prague players feel the presence of the fans there. 246 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:26,000 And now, I mean, whether that's going to make a difference or not, 247 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,000 well, it remains to be seen, but it definitely does help. 248 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:34,000 I think from the home players perspective, it gives them a little bit more, 249 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:39,000 perhaps energy, that little adrenaline boost when they come out of the tunnel. 250 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:45,000 So, you know, we may not be the best, the best offices, favourites, 251 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:49,000 but certainly in our eyes we'll be giving it a go. 252 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:53,000 I'm looking at the capacity of the stadium. 253 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:58,000 It looks like it's around 10, 11 thousand. 254 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,000 Yeah. Yeah. 255 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:07,000 So like great noise coming out of it, great noise around it and outside as well. 256 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:11,000 So there'll be plenty of presence there. 257 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:14,000 And yeah, I'm looking forward to it for sure. 258 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,000 I'm looking forward to seeing how it all pans out. 259 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,000 Yeah. 260 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:22,000 As you say, like you guys have been on a good run of form. 261 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:29,000 It's kind of a mixed bag for Rovers because they got obviously a very good result 262 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,000 in the previous European match. 263 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:35,000 It was against an Icelandic team or something, right? 264 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,000 Yes. Yes. 265 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,000 And I thought, looking at it, I thought surely that's not the name of the team. 266 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,000 It's like Vikinger or something like that. 267 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:49,000 That's very much on the nose, naming an Icelandic or a Nordic team. 268 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,000 But there you go. 269 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:56,000 But following that, a bit of a disappointing result against the team that I previously mentioned, 270 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:02,000 Bohemians losing 1-0 in the Cup, which is a great result for Bohemians. 271 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:08,000 Yeah, Seamark Rovers certainly disappointed in that regard to have lost. 272 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,000 But yeah, I like that. 273 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:17,000 And they, like Rovers, they went away from home against the Vikinger Icelandic team 274 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:22,000 and got a 0-0 draw, but then came home and as they got the job done at home. 275 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:30,000 So I think having done that already to a team now, obviously the difference in class 276 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:37,000 and quality of players is going to be quite stark from the Icelandic team to now this, you know, 277 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:43,000 more, I won't say European giants, but by kind of difference, 278 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:49,000 they're certainly much more of a presence in European football over the last couple of years. 279 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:54,000 I would say so. Not exactly a Champions League team, but that's why we are playing you 280 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:59,000 and hopefully a few more teams, two more, you know, to get to the Champions League. 281 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,000 It's not an easy route. 282 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,000 No. 283 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,000 This is where it starts. 284 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:10,000 Something that's been done before and I think Rovers will take solace from the fact that they have also, 285 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:16,000 or they'll take encouragement from the fact that they've also done it before 286 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:20,000 and they've seen other Irish teams do it before as well. 287 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:24,000 Like the likes of Dundalk getting to those group stages of the Europa League. 288 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,000 But yeah, we'll see. We'll see. 289 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:31,000 So what happens when you lose this game? Do you still have a chance? 290 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:40,000 I think usually you have a chance to go to the lower league qualifier or something like that, right? 291 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:50,000 Yes. So this is what I was saying before about Dundalk playing Arsenal that was in the Europa League that year. 292 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:56,000 And I think it might have actually been Shamrock Rovers the previous time that played against Tottenham 293 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,000 in the Champions League many, many years ago. 294 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,000 Our favourite team, yeah, Gal. We love this team. 295 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,000 We're rooting for them in more ways than one. 296 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:12,000 How did you manage to squeeze the name of this team into this episode of the Footgrish podcast, I wonder? 297 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:15,000 Look, it had to be done. It had to be done. 298 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:22,000 Alright, Gal, and let me ask you one last question. So what's your prediction for this game then? 299 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:27,000 I mean, head or heart prediction, which one do you want first? 300 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:31,000 I want both. So you can start with your heart. 301 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:42,000 If I was going to go with heart prediction, I'm going to go with a very squeaky one-nil victory for Shamrock Rovers at home. 302 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,000 OK. And what does your head say then? 303 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:48,000 The head would say the complete opposite. 304 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,000 A squeaky win for Sparta Prague then? 305 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,000 A squeaky win for Sparta Prague, yes. 306 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,000 A squeaky 2-nil or 3-nil possibly win for Sparta Prague. 307 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:59,000 But definitely hoping for the former results. 308 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:03,000 I bet you do. Well, it was lovely to talk to you, Gal. 309 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:08,000 Maybe next time we are in touch, it will be to talk about Arsenal, who knows. 310 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:12,000 Thank you very much for being on the Footgrish podcast and have a good day. 311 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,000 Happy to be here. Thanks so much for having me. 312 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:17,000 And enjoy the game tonight. Bye bye. 313 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:26,000 All right, everyone, welcome back to the Language Corner segment. 314 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:31,000 As always, in this part of the show, I'm going to do my job because I'm an English teacher. 315 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:37,000 By the way, if you are looking for an English teacher to help you improve your English 316 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:44,000 and if you want to learn in a fun way through a fun conversation about football, well, I am your guy. 317 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:50,000 But in this part of the show, I'm going to explain the expression the underdog. 318 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:57,000 So if someone is an underdog or sometimes it's used in plural underdogs, as Gal said, 319 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:03,000 in this game, Shemrok Rovers are the underdog against Sparta Prague. 320 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:09,000 It basically means that they are the team that are not considered the favourites. 321 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:14,000 The underdogs is the opposite of the favourites. 322 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:20,000 Yeah. So I can give you a better definition here, which I found in a sports match, 323 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:28,000 a team with a weaker record or less skilled players compared to their opponents may be labelled as the underdog. 324 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:37,000 So this is quite a common expression that is used in definitely British English in England and Ireland as well, 325 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:44,000 I'm sure, to refer to a team whose odds are very high. 326 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:50,000 Right. Basically, this means that the probability of this team to win is very low. 327 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:57,000 So the odds are very high. You can win a lot of money if you bet on Shemrok Rovers beating Sparta Prague 328 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:02,000 or even winning this round two Champions League qualifier tie. 329 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:08,000 All right, guys, I hope you enjoyed the entire episode, whether you are a fan of the main part, 330 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:15,000 where I interview my guests or the language corner or even the introduction or is it the jingle? 331 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:22,000 I don't know. But one more thing, let me remind you that there is a poll in the description of this episode, 332 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:29,000 a poll where you can tell me which team you support. And we don't have that many entries there yet. 333 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:39,000 So I'm waiting for more people to fill out the form. And then one day I will speak about this on the podcast. 334 00:24:39,000 --> 00:25:00,000 All right, everyone, that's it for today. Thank you very much for listening and I'll speak to you soon. Take care. Bye bye.