Learn English Through Football

This weekend in Milan sees the final of the 2016 Champions League between two rivals from Madrid: Atlético and Real. This is the second final in which these two teams have faced each other in three years with Real defeating Atlético after extra time  in 2014. Can Atlético gain some revenge this time round? Will Real Madrid win their 11th European title? Listen to the report by clicking below, while explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) can be found at the bottom of the post.

2016 Champions League Preview
European Cup/Champions League History
No club in European football can top Real Madrid’s number of European Cup titles – they have 10 in total which is 3 more than Italian powerhouse AC Milan. Real won their last title in 2014 when they ran out winners against this year’s opponents Atlético Madrid – coming from behind to eventually win 4-1 in extra time. That was the second consecutive loss for Atlético in a Champions League final as they had previously lost to German side Bayern Munich in 1974 in a replay after a 1-1 draw. So, can it be third time lucky for Atlético or will they become the first team to lose their first three European Cup/Champions League finals?
Road to Milan
Both sides comfortably qualified from the group stage with Atlético topping their group ahead of Benfica and Galatasaray, while Real Madrid also won their group by beating Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar Donetsk. In the knock-out rounds, Real’s road to Milan was arguably easier than their crosstown rival‘s as they faced Roma, Wolfsburg and Manchester City; Atlético, on the other hand, knocked out Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, holders Barcelona and favourites Bayern Munich.


Recent Form
For many years Real Madrid were seen as a bogey side for Atlético; indeed Atleti failed to beat los blancos in 22 matches after their promotion from the second division in 2002. That has all changed in recent years as Atlético, under manager Simeone, have won four and drawn two of the last six league matches against Real, while they have also beaten them in a Spanish Cup final. Of course, they lost out to Real in the Champions League final two years ago but their recent form against their more illustrious rivals means they no longer have an inferiority complex.


The Managers
Both managers are seen as legends of their respective clubs. Atlético‘s Diego Simeone played for the club in their double-winning season of 1995-96 and then returned to manage the side to more glory: the Europa League title of 2012, the Copa del Rey in 2013 and the Spanish league title in 2014 and, of course, taking them to the Champions league final two years ago. Zinedine Zidane represented Real Madrid over 150 times as a player and he won the Champions League with them in 2002 thanks to one of the greatest ever goals in a final. He has only been in charge since January of this year but he has taken the club to...