Learn English Through Football

In this short podcast on the language of football we listen to a Manchester City fan discuss his team’s historic treble. You can access the transcript of the show below, and also check out our huge glossary of footballing phrases here. We have hundreds of previous posts and podcasts too on our website. If you are a teacher of English, why don’t you use the audio and transcript to provide practice for their students: Try a gap-fill activity for example. And learners of English can access all resources for free.  Let us know if you have any suggestions or questions then you can contact us at admin@languagecaster.com.
Learn English Through Football
DB: Hello everyone. My name’s Damon and you are listening to a languagecaster.com football language podcast. podcast for all lovers of the beautiful game – football – and for those interested in learning English, too. Now, Damian, the other member of the languagecaster team will soon be doing a podcast on the 2023 Champions League final, won of course 1-0 by English side Manchester City. Come along to languagecaster.com to check that out, as he discusses some of the football language connected to the match. On this short podcast, we’ll be listening to James, a massive Manchester City fan, talk about his team’s historic treble.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Polish)
DB: Yes, you are listening to languagecaster and that message was in Polish.
The Treble
DB: OK, before we listen to James, let’s talk about the football phrase ‘the treble‘. What exactly is it and why is it so special?
Well, the treble is when a club side wins the domestic double (the league and the main cup competition) and the main continental trophy, which in Europe is the Champions League. And these three trophies are all won in the same season. Today, we are focused on Manchester City, an English side, so the treble in this case is winning the Premier League title, the FA Cup, and the Champions League.
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Winning all three competitions in any country is remarkably hard and only eight teams in Europe have achieved this. The teams are Celtic, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Barcelona (twice), Inter Milan, Bayern Munich (twice) and, the most recent, Manchester City.
The treble is different from a domestic treble, which would be the league title and the two domestic cups, something Manchester City managed in the 2018-2019 season.
A Fan’s Voice
DB: OK, we asked James, a Man City fan, to answer a few questions about his team’s treble, and this is what he had to say.
Which part of the treble gave James the most satisfaction?
DB: First, which part of the treble gave you the most satisfaction?
James: Okay, so if I had to think which part of the treble gave me the most satisfaction, I think I’ve got to say the FA Cup. Beating (Manchester) United in the final, it just means so much. And, and scoring after 12 seconds and destroying their dreams in such a short space of time.
It’s just a beautiful thing. And, you know, I think it comes from, you know, as well, I never dreamt of winning the league or winning, the, the Champions League when I was a child.