6 Minute English – Brazilian football

Rob: Hello I’m Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English. The World Cup is on. I love football and that’s what we are going to talk about today. Let’s kick off the programme with Pele!
Pele, Brazilian football player:
I was invited to go to Italy, to Spain. I was okay in Santos, it was my team. The team used to win almost all the tournaments. And then I never have, you know, desire to play outside Brazil or to play for money.
Rob: So that’s Pele, one of the most celebrated football players in the world. And I’ve invited Grace, my Brazilian colleague, to have a chat about football in her home country.
Grace: Hi Rob.
Rob: Hi there. Well, is Pele still popular in Brazil?
Grace: As far as football goes, Pele’s record speaks for itself, Brazilians love him; but when he talks about politics, well, he’s often criticised. But you started – you kicked off – the programme talking about Pele, so of course our quiz question today is about this fantastic player.
Rob: Okay, well, shoot!
Grace: How many goals did Pele score in his career? Was it…
a) About 700 goals
b) About 1,200 goals
c) About 1,600 goals
Rob: Well, I know he was a great player, but 1,600 sounds too many, so I’ll go for the middle answer – around 1,200 goals.
Grace: We’ll find out if you are right or wrong a bit later. Now let’s get this ball rolling and talk about football.
Rob: Yes, good idea. It’s interesting that Pele mentioned in the clip that he wouldn’t leave his team – Santos – to play football abroad…
Grace: Yes, although, he did end his career with the New York Cosmos. In any case, Pele said he didn’t play for money. When he said that he was already well known and had some money in his pocket, but Pele came from poverty.
Rob: Yes, his family didn’t have much money at all. They lived in poverty.
Grace: Football has changed the lives of many youngsters in Brazil. Listen out for the expression Brazilian sports reporter Daniel Gallas uses to describe how football can help someone.
Daniel Gallas, Brazilian sports reporter:
Football is very important for social mobility in Brazil because not many people have the chance to move from poverty into higher classes. For a while football was also a profession which young men could follow through a proper career that they wouldn’t have in other areas. But nowadays middle class guys are becoming well known.
Rob: So football is important for social mobility – the ability to go from one class of society to another.
Grace: And poor youngsters who have a natural talent to play football can become middle class – they can own a home, have a car, live comfortably. Nowadays some players come from the middle class already. And they… well, they become millionaires!
Rob: Lucky them! They do earn their money but they are very exposed when they play. Supporters can be very demanding. I know I am. I want to see my team score goals!
Grace: Let’s hear what reporter Daniel Gallas has to say about what Brazilians – and Rob – like to see on the pitch. Listen out for the positions of the players who are not very famous, not very celebrated in Brazil.
Daniel Gallas, Brazilian sports reporter:
Brazilians like to see attacking football. They want to see strikers like Ronaldo, Bebeto, Romario always aiming for the goal and not just passing the ball around from one side to the other or backwards… they just want to move forward all the time. Brazilians don’t tend to boast too much about their goalkeepers.
Rob: So we have the goalkeepers – the players who are between the goalposts – that area in football where you have a frame and a net. They try to prevent the other team from scoring goals…
Grace: And Brazilians, to be honest, they don’t tend to pay too much attention to them. They cheer like mad when the strikers score.
Rob: The strikers are very important – the players who go on the attack, who strike the ball and hopefully score! These are the ones we like to boast about!
Grace: I speak proudly – I boast about – Neymar, veterans like Ronaldo, Bebeto. And obviously, the best player of all time, Edson Arantes do Nascimento – our Pele!
Rob: Pele, yes. Well, I have my heroes too, you know. Here in England we have David Beckham of course our great footballer of modern times, but there’re some classic players like Bobby Charlton and have you heard of George Best?
Grace: Yes, George Best, I’ve heard about him…
Rob: Very famous, yes. Well, look, we are running out of time but first, I want to know if I got the answer to the quiz right.
Grace: How many goals did Pele score during his career as a footballer? The figure was rounded off to make it easier for you. The options were: about 700; 1,200 or 1,600.
Rob: And I said 1,200. Was I right?
Grace: Oh, yes. Scored the goal, Rob! According to the international governing body of football, FIFA, Pele scored 1,281 goals in his career. In one match against Botafogo in 1964, Rob, Pele hit the back of the net no less than eight times.
Rob: Wow, amazing!
Grace: Indeed. And now we must go. But let’s remember the words we heard today.
Rob: Yes, we heard:
to kick off: (here) to start something; the first kick of the game when two players from the same team in the centre circle play the ball and start the match
poverty: extreme lack of money or resources
social mobility: ability to go from one level of society – one class – to another
middle class: level in society where people typically can own a house, a car, buy food and live comfortably
striker: player who kicks the ball to score goals
goalkeeper: football player who stops the ball from crossing the goal-line and is allowed to use his hands to do that
to boast: to speak with pride
goalposts: the wooden sticks which form a frame and have a net attached to them
That’s it for today. Please join us soon for another 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
Both: Bye.