Last post on football - maybe!

On the eve of Euro 2008, I sought an assessment of Spain's chances from a waiter in a spit-and-sawdust restaurant.

"They'll be knocked out in the group stage," came the gruff reply. As I mumbled something about the virtues of Torres and Fabregas, my underwhelmed analyst was already pouring vino tinto at another table.

For decades, pessimism has been hardwired into the footballing psyche of this otherwise proud sporting nation. Only once, as hosts of the 1964 European Championship, have Spain won a major tournament.

In subsequent competitions, talented Spanish teams have shone brightly early on, only to burn themselves out or self-destruct when it really mattered.

The tag of "perennial underachievers" hurt because Spaniards, more than anyone, knew it to be true.

No longer. "We are the best!" proclaimed the respected sports daily Marca, following Spain's semi-final demolition of Russia.

In opinion columns, the Spaniards' artistry was likened to an orchestral symphony, a ballet and (inevitably) a bullfight.

"Whoever wins the final," declared Marca's editorial, "Spain is the best team in Euro 2008."

What has most delighted fans here is the way they have done it.

Occasionally criticised for a lack of physicality, Spain's triumph in reaching the final has been one of style and guile over brute force - at times, the passing and movement of the "bajitos" (little guys) has bewildered bigger, stronger opponents.

Whatever happens on Sunday night, Euro 2008 has marked a new start.

In past tournaments, Spain's failures have produced angst-ridden debates about alleged refereeing conspiracies, player cliques and the very commitment of footballers to their national team, in a nation which remains politically and regionally fractured.

This time, a fresh generation of players have quite simply gone out and had fun.

Tens of thousands of young Spaniards will throng Madrid's Plaza de Colon for the final, while King Juan Carlos will lead the travelling support in Vienna.

Millions more will watch the match on La Cuatro Television, whose studio is adorned with voodoo dolls in the colours of Spain's past victims. Already, a Germany doll has a pin through its heart.

But for most Spaniards, voodoo trickery is an unnecessary evil.

Instead, there is a mounting belief in the ability of Spain's players to secure their own destiny. The mood is best summed up by La Cuatro's one-word tournament jingle - "podemos!" ("we can do it!")

Source: BBC News

Vocabulary Practice:

Which of the expressions mean the same as or similar to the following?

1. eliminated from
2. crowd into
3. spoke indistinctly
4. compared to
5. looked for
6. increasing
7. confused
8. decorated
9. make exhausted
10. full of anxiety
11. a catchy slogan
12. brusque
13. a label
14. summarized
15. cunning

Wall Street turmoil

Shares on Wall Street plummet* 3%

Leading US stock market indexes have plummeted around 3% after the price of oil soared* to yet another record high.

The Dow Jones index of 30 leading shares fell nearly 400 points to close at 12,209 - a drop of 3.13%.

The S&P500, seen as a better market barometer, fell 43 points to 1,360.68, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq shed 75 points to close at 2,474.

Investor confidence had been shaken by a sharp increase in US unemployment, and a jump of $11 in the price of oil.

It was the largest one-day rise in the history of US oil markets, with one barrel of light crude oil now trading for around $139.

Earlier in the day markets had been surprised by a sudden rise during May in the US rate of unemployment, from 5% to 5.5% - the sharpest increase in more than two decades.

Financial services firms and airlines were the biggest losers on Wall Street, with United Airlines down nearly 15%, Washington Mutual down 12.5%, and Northwest Airlines, Continental and American Airlines all seeing their shares drop just under 9%.

The bad economic news from the United States had also startled European investors, with London's FTSE 100 index falling 1.48%, Frankfurts Dax shedding 1.99% and the Cac 40 in Paris down 2.28%.


Vocabulary Focus

*plummet means to fall rapidly while *soar means to rise rapidly. Look at the following ways to describe increases and decreases:

• There has been a dramatic increase in mobile phone sales over the last 10 years...
• .....while there has been a steady decrease in the number of people buying radios.
• The number of people buying on-line has risen sharply.
• Advanced bookings have dropped slightly this year.
• Binge drinking is on the increase among youngsters.
• Consumer confidence is continuing to tumble.
• Inflation climbed to a peak of 7.5%.
• The government's opinion poll rating has sunk to it's lowest ever.
• Crime rates have shot up since this government came to power.
• House prices have diminished substantially recently.
• Unemployment went up steadily last year but this year it seems to have levelled off.
• Church attendance has dwindled over the past 20 years.
• The cost of the project has jumped by 10%.
• My savings are shrinking fast.
• Spiralling costs mean that more and more families have difficulties reaching the end of the month.

So you see that there are many ways to express increases and decreases. Use some of the examples above to create some statistics of your own.

Truck Drivers on Strike

Spanish hauliers on fuel strike

Tens of thousands of Spanish lorry drivers have begun an indefinite strike over the soaring price of diesel, which has risen by 20% this year.

After stopping work at midnight, many disrupted traffic at one of the border crossings between Spain and France.

A number of lorries crossing the picket lines had their windscreens broken, lights ripped out and tyres slashed.

The government is preparing a package to assist the sector, with emergency loans and more flexible contracts.

It would also offer cash payments to older lorry drivers who are willing to retire.

Wide support

Overnight, about 200 lorry drivers parked their vehicles beside roadside toll booths in the Catalonian town of La Jonquera, close to the border with France.

The protesters prevented other lorries from passing, and caused delays to car traffic. There have also been protests in Barcelona, the Basque country and Valencia.

Most of the 90,000 hauliers participating in the strike are self-employed, or working for small and medium-sized haulage companies, and they have warned that many supermarkets will run out of goods within days.

They are receiving support from counterparts in south-eastern France, who had threatened to disrupt the flow of traffic along one of the main routes into Spain.

However, Spain's largest hauliers' trade union is not taking part.

The drivers want the Spanish government to establish, by law, a minimum price for their services, and to ensure that haulage contracts better reflect the fluctuating cost of fuel, which has risen by more than 20% since the start of the year.

Their strike follows action by hauliers in France and other European countries.

They are following the lead of Spanish and French fishermen, many of whom are already on strike because of the soaring price of fuel.

The fishermen have said they will go out of business unless the EU allows national governments to give them more financial aid and subsidise maritime diesel.

However, the EU has insisted that any fuel subsidies would be illegal under European law and unsustainable in the long term.

EU rules state that the value-added tax (VAT) rate on fuel cannot be less than 15%. Member states are free to set VAT rates at or above that minimum.

Source: BBC News

Do you have any sympathy with the truck drivers?

Is it right that workers with grievances can disrupt the lives of the public?

Can you think of any strikes which achieved their purpose?

Footie for the next month

Like it or not, for the next month or so, football is upon us. How well do you think Spain will do? Do you think the drought will end and they will finally lift the European Championship cup once more?

Unfortunately Scotland isn't being represented at the Championship; the only consolation is that England isn't there either!

Scotland were unlucky not to qualify - we had the World Champions Italy and runners-up France in our qualifying group.

We beat France, one - nil, at both the home and away games.

We just needed to draw against Italy in the last, all-important match. We were holding them to a one - all draw into injury time, when Italy were awarded a free-kick that they should never have got.

An Italian player clearly fouled a Scots one, but the ref gave the free-kick to the Italian side. I wouldn't be surprised if the Italians had bribed him.

The Italian player involved in the tackle dived. The Italians are noted for their unfair play and unsportsmanship like conduct. What a bunch of cheats!

You can only imagine how Scots hearts sunk when the Italians scored the winning goal from the free-kick. Once again, so near but yet so far.

Had the ref not made the wrong decision, Scotland too would be in these Championships alongside Spain.


Would you like to learn some more football-related vocabulary? Then have a read of this BBC Learning English page and then try the fun quizzes and games.


Can you remember any important matches involving Spain or the team that you support? What happened? Were there any controversial decisions?

Maybe you can't stand all this football but you can have an opinion on some related topic such as:

Do you think football players are paid too much?

Should we expect players to behave on and off the pitch?

Isn't the cost of football strips outrageous?

Which player do you admire most?

What do you think of the current Spanish coach?

Who are the best looking players in these Championships?




We didn't deserve to lose. Italians are also the World Champions at cheating. We were robbed!




Our first victory over France in France in 50 years; with an incredible goal!

Have a listen to the commentary. Do you understand any of it?