Hard: Genius
Hard: Genius
Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.
This episode is hard so we’re looking at more difficult football phrases and idioms. These phrases can be used to talk about football but are also useful when talking about other topics.
Summary
Learn more football vocabulary with Premier Skills English. Each lesson in our Premier Vocabulary section looks at one football word or phrase. This lesson looks at the word genius.
You can find more lessons on the side of this page.
Transcript
Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and welcome to Premier Skills English - Premier Vocabulary.
Jack: Hi there! I’m Jack. We’re here to help you with your football English.
Rich: Remember you can find transcripts for all of our podcasts on the Premier Skills English website.
Jack: Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time.
Rich: We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.
Jack: This episode is hard so we’re looking at more difficult football phrases and idioms. These phrases can be used to talk about football but are often useful when talking about other topics.
Rich: The phrase we are looking at in this episode is just a word and it’s: genius.
Jack: A genius is a person who has unusually high levels of intelligence, creativity or skill in a specific area.
Rich: Marie Curie and Albert Einstein are seen as geniuses in the field of physics.
Jack: William Shakespeare and Virginia Woolf are seen as geniuses in the field of literature.
Rich: And Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi were political geniuses in their fights for social justice.
Jack: The sporting world also has geniuses: Michael Jordan in basketball, Lewis Hamilton in F1, Tiger Woods in golf and Sachin Tendulkar in cricket.
Rich: A genius is very special and there are very few men and women that are classed as geniuses in their field.
Jack: The football world said goodbye to one of the true geniuses of the game when Diego Maradona died at his home in Argentina this week.
Rich: Diego Maradona was one of the best if not the best footballer to ever play the game. He was a true genius on the football field.
Jack: He was described as a child genius when he was spotted by talent scouts at eight years old. He made his professional debut at just 15 and made his international debut for Argentina when he was just 16.
Rich: At times he was described as a tormented genius, a tortured genius and a flawed genius but when he stepped on the pitch nobody could stop him.
Jack: Maradona captained Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986. The goals he scored in that World Cup took Argentina to the trophy.
Rich: The goals he scored in that tournament were the works of genius. The goal against England when he dribbled past most of the team and then the goals against Belgium - strokes of genius both of them.
Jack: Maradona was and is a hero to millions at home in Argentina and across the world. A true genius on the football pitch and probably the best player to have ever played the game.
Rich: There is the final whistle!
Jack: We’ll be back soon with more Premier Vocabulary from Premier Skills English.
Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.
Discuss
Was Diego Maradona the best player ever?
Did you ever see Diego Maradona play?
Write your answers in the comments section below.
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Comments
23/11/2022
points
I don't think so, maybe Pele or Ronaldo R9 is better. He was before my time.
23/11/2022 09:59
Liverpool
759
I don't think so, maybe Pele or Ronaldo R9 is better. He was before my time.
14/03/2022
points
I think Diego Maradona was the best player ever.
14/03/2022 12:44
Manchester United
738
I think Diego Maradona was the best player ever.
27/05/2021
points
No, he wasn't. He was top level, but I think Pelé is in front of him by a large scale.
I had saw Maradona playing in 1994 World Cup and when he got back to Boca Juniors. He was tremendous! Really a genius! And I think he would probably be even better if he hadn't so much problems outside the field in his career.
27/05/2021 19:45
Arsenal
1512
No, he wasn't. He was top level, but I think Pelé is in front of him by a large scale.
I had saw Maradona playing in 1994 World Cup and when he got back to Boca Juniors. He was tremendous! Really a genius! And I think he would probably be even better if he hadn't so much problems outside the field in his career.
30/11/2020
points
In my opinion, Diego is not the best player in the world. But he is part of football history.
30/11/2020 02:57
Liverpool
133
In my opinion, Diego is not the best player in the world. But he is part of football history.
27/11/2020
points
I think Diego Maradona is one of the best 3 players ever but for me Messi is the best player I've ever seen in my whole life.
I watched Diego Maradona playing in World Cup 1994 in USA but it was his late days and for sure , I watched lots of his videos on YouTube. He was simply a pure genius.
RIP Diego Armando Maradona
Anyone who loves football must love Maradona <3
27/11/2020 09:57
Manchester United
6510
I think Diego Maradona is one of the best 3 players ever but for me Messi is the best player I've ever seen in my whole life.
I watched Diego Maradona playing in World Cup 1994 in USA but it was his late days and for sure , I watched lots of his videos on YouTube. He was simply a pure genius.
RIP Diego Armando Maradona
Anyone who loves football must love Maradona <3
27/11/2020
points
Diego Maradona was one of the best players of all time. I am sure that he was and will be the most beloved player in my country. We will have to overcome this mourning.
27/11/2020 04:15
Leeds United
5086
Diego Maradona was one of the best players of all time. I am sure that he was and will be the most beloved player in my country. We will have to overcome this mourning.
27/11/2020
points
Yes, of course, Diego Maradona was the best player ever.
I saw his play at the World Cup 1986, when I was 10 years old.
At that time, Diego's play was very very famous, so, many children did imitations of his play in Japan.
And many children called Diego the "Golden Left".
27/11/2020 01:38
Liverpool
76
Yes, of course, Diego Maradona was the best player ever.
I saw his play at the World Cup 1986, when I was 10 years old.
At that time, Diego's play was very very famous, so, many children did imitations of his play in Japan.
And many children called Diego the "Golden Left".
27/11/2020
points
Hi Yoshichika, it is very nice what you tell us.
Cheers
27/11/2020 13:19
Leeds United
5086
Hi Yoshichika, it is very nice what you tell us.
Cheers
26/11/2020
points
Thank you very much for this tribute to Diego. We are living very sad days. Today I was remembering the day the whole family went to the stadium to see a charity game where Maradona played in 2006 so that our 4-year-old son could meet him.
26/11/2020 17:41
Leeds United
5086
Thank you very much for this tribute to Diego. We are living very sad days. Today I was remembering the day the whole family went to the stadium to see a charity game where Maradona played in 2006 so that our 4-year-old son could meet him.
27/11/2020
points
Sad times for all but great memories!
We hope you are well from all of us at Premier Skills English.
27/11/2020 08:58
Liverpool
594
Sad times for all but great memories!
We hope you are well from all of us at Premier Skills English.
27/11/2020
points
Thank you very much to all of you.
27/11/2020 12:46
Leeds United
5086
Thank you very much to all of you.
26/11/2020
points
Was Diego Maradona the best player ever?
Maradona (May Allah have mercy upon him) was the one of the best player in the world like- as I remember- Pele,George Best my compratiot Metin Oktay, Eric Cantona and others.
Did you ever see Diego Maradona play?
Yes. I watched him at the world cup matches.
26/11/2020 16:41
Tottenham Hotspur
5526
Was Diego Maradona the best player ever?
Maradona (May Allah have mercy upon him) was the one of the best player in the world like- as I remember- Pele,George Best my compratiot Metin Oktay, Eric Cantona and others.
Did you ever see Diego Maradona play?
Yes. I watched him at the world cup matches.
26/11/2020
points
Diego Maradona wasn't the best player, just for one reason - his handball in an important game. There were other players who didn't think it a must to perform a fair play, but the position or status of genius should dictate the right conduct. Nevertheless, he's one of the best, indeed.
26/11/2020 15:00
Liverpool
6281
Diego Maradona wasn't the best player, just for one reason - his handball in an important game. There were other players who didn't think it a must to perform a fair play, but the position or status of genius should dictate the right conduct. Nevertheless, he's one of the best, indeed.
27/11/2020
points
Football players have mischief, they always try to get some advantage.
"Football is a gentlemen's game played by hooligans, rugby is a hooligan game played by gentlemen and cricket is a gentlemen's game played by gentlemen".
Cheers
27/11/2020 04:45
Leeds United
5086
Football players have mischief, they always try to get some advantage.
"Football is a gentlemen's game played by hooligans, rugby is a hooligan game played by gentlemen and cricket is a gentlemen's game played by gentlemen".
Cheers
27/11/2020
points
Hi Alex, I wanted to tell you that my country had been at war with Great Britain in 1982 and although Maradona said that war should not be mixed with football, which is a game, in the collective unconscious Argentines feel a bit of justice with those two goals in 1986. I once heard someone who said better that it was with the hand and not with the head so British hurt more. That game was very close to the warlike conflict and the wound was still open.
Regards!
27/11/2020 03:57
Leeds United
5086
Hi Alex, I wanted to tell you that my country had been at war with Great Britain in 1982 and although Maradona said that war should not be mixed with football, which is a game, in the collective unconscious Argentines feel a bit of justice with those two goals in 1986. I once heard someone who said better that it was with the hand and not with the head so British hurt more. That game was very close to the warlike conflict and the wound was still open.
Regards!
27/11/2020
points
Diego Maradona is also remembered fondly in Scotland: https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/diego-maradona-adored-argentina-immortal-italy-special-scotland-3047887
27/11/2020 09:01
Liverpool
594
Diego Maradona is also remembered fondly in Scotland: https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/diego-maradona-adored-argentina-immortal-italy-special-scotland-3047887
27/11/2020
points
It's amazing, Rich.
27/11/2020 13:32
Leeds United
5086
It's amazing, Rich.
26/11/2020
points
I saw Maradona on TV a lot. I remember well his dribbling skills, then his speed and his firmness in duels on the pitch. In three words, he was swift, steady, and speedy. RIP, Diego.
26/11/2020 14:52
Liverpool
6281
I saw Maradona on TV a lot. I remember well his dribbling skills, then his speed and his firmness in duels on the pitch. In three words, he was swift, steady, and speedy. RIP, Diego.
26/11/2020
points
R.I.P The hand of hand
26/11/2020 13:44
Chelsea
93
R.I.P The hand of hand
26/11/2020
points
Hi gogo, the hand of God
26/11/2020 22:19
Leeds United
5086
Hi gogo, the hand of God