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- [00:01]
A
From Tokyo, Japan and Sterling in the United Kingdom, this is down to business English with your hosts, Skip Montreux and Des Morgan.
- [00:22]
B
Skip, I have a question for you.
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C
Okay. And what would that be? Destroyed.
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B
Well, I know that you're not into professional sports much.
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C
No, not so much.
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B
But I was wondering about when you were younger. You know, when you were a teenager, did you follow sports then?
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C
Oh, yeah, for sure. Being from Canada, I was a pretty big hockey fan.
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B
Of course, I suspected that. But only ice hockey, not baseball or basketball.
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C
You know, a lot of my friends were into baseball, but not me. I was basically only into hockey.
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B
K Did you have a favorite team?
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C
As a matter of fact, yes. I was a die hard Edmonton oiler fan. You know, number 99, the great Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messi. They were in their prime at that time. I never missed a game during the hockey season.
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B
You attended every game?
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C
No, I didn't attend. I lived quite far from Edmonton. I just watched the games on tv.
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B
And what did you do in the summer when the hockey season was over?
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C
Well, you know, I guess I followed a little football, too. I was a Saskatchewan Rough Rider fan.
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B
Stop right there. When you say football, you mean American style football, not soccer?
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C
No, not soccer, but not American football either. The Saskatchewan Roughriders belong to the cfl, the Canadian football League. It's similar to American football, but there are slightly different rules.
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B
I see.
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C
So, Des, where are you going with all of this? Why the sudden interest in my sports affiliations?
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B
Well, today on down to business English, I want to report on the recent European super League fiasco that unravelled in late April. Have you heard much about it?
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C
You know, I have read the odd headline, yes. But seeing as how I'm not a big sports buff, I didn't pay all attention to it.
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B
So that was why I was asking you if you had any favorite sports teams when you were younger.
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C
Right.
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B
Even though this is fundamentally a business story that pits wealthy club owners and foreign investors against local supporters, if you have even a waning interest in sports, the whole issue makes a lot of sense.
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C
Wealthy investors in professional sports sounds like the perfect topic.
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B
So let's do it. Let's get D2B down to business with the European super league. What happens when team owners focus too much on profit and lose sight of the beautiful game?
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C
The European Super League. You know, that has quite the nice ring to it.
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B
Well, other than its appealing name, doesn't have a lot going for it.
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C
Oh, do tell. What exactly is this all about and who is involved in it?
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B
On April 18, 12 of the biggest and richest clubs in European football announced that they were forming a Super league.
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C
And these teams were teams like Manchester
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B
United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea, to name but a few.
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C
Well, that sounds more like an English league.
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B
Those are the six English teams. Yes, but on top of that, there was Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus from Spain, along with inter Milan and A.C. milan from Italy.
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C
Some very famous names in there. Even though I don't know the first thing about European football, I have heard of all of those clubs. Well, most of them.
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B
Well, good for you. Skip those. 12 teams, along with three more to be decided at a later date, would form a core group of 15 permanent Super League members. And those 15 teams would automatically get a share of the 3.5 billion euros that was reportedly being put up by US investment bank JP Morgan.
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C
Hmm. A little startup money.
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B
But they are already existing clubs. What do they need the money for?
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C
Well, I. I don't know. A signing bonus maybe?
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B
Hmm, it sounds more like greed to me. Anyway, these 15 teams would be joined every year by an additional five teams from across Europe. These five would change annually based on their performance in the previous season.
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C
So in total, there would be 20 teams in this Super League?
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B
That's right. And they would play on weeknights when domestic leagues were not playing.
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C
Let me get this straight. In this new Super League, the best teams from across Europe would be facing off against each other. What exactly is the problem with that?
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B
Well, the problem is twofold. First, there already is a league that allows the best teams from across Europe. It's called the Champions League and that operates under UEFA.
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C
UEFA must have been quite unhappy about that announcement.
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B
Actually pronounced UEFA. And no, they most certainly were not.
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C
Okay, UEFA. Okay. Anyway, what is the second problem?
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B
Secondly, unlike the Champions League, which is open to all football teams, even small, less well financed clubs, this proposed Super League would be a closed competition.
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C
Closed competition meaning the core group of 15 clubs are automatically in the running for the playoffs every year. It wouldn't matter if they had played well or not.
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B
That's right. The whole concept of playing on a level playing field was thrown out of the window with this so called Super League proposal.
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C
Hmm, I see.
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B
No, I don't think you do. You're not a football fan and don't come from a football culture. I don't think you can fully appreciate how the concept of a closed league goes against the very nature of. Of football culture.
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C
Hmm. Okay, well, can you explain it to me more in detail?
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B
You have to understand that the aspect of football that makes it a beautiful game is its simplicity and the fact that anyone can play it.
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C
It is truly non elite in its nature.
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B
That's right. All of those now world famous clubs, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, they all started as small local clubs and have deep roots in their working class communities.
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C
Sure, sure. My image of soccer, I'm sorry football, is that it is very much a blue collar sport.
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B
It is in fact the entire format and league structure has been designed so that any team, regardless of their size or financial resources, has a chance to rise to the top.
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C
So this Super League would basically put an end to all of that.
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B
It would certainly make it more difficult. And so when news of the Super League's formation was announced, fans, sports announcers, former football players, politicians and even some members of the British royal family all decried the idea.
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C
All because they felt the move was taking away from the simple nature of the game.
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B
To be honest, I think this was the straw that broke the back of the camel. Over the last 20 years or so, football has really become more and more commercial. And there has been a flood of foreign investment in European football.
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C
I was not aware of that.
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B
Wow, you don't follow sports at all, do you? You need to have been living under a rock not to know that Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal all now have U.S. owners.
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C
Is that right? No, I did not know that.
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B
Well, they are. And this foreign ownership has really rankled fans who see them only as in it for the money.
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C
Well, I don't doubt that. So what is the current status of the Super League?
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B
Amazingly, after a few days of public outcry, all six English clubs announced that they are pulling out of the league. As did Atletico, Inter Milan and AC Milan.
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C
Are you telling me that nine of the 12 core clubs pulled out?
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B
That's right. Power to the people.
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C
So the Super League is basically super
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B
dead for the time being? It looks that way.
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C
And how about you Daz? What is your take on the Super League?
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B
As a Brit and a loyal fan of Chelsea, I was really disappointed that these teams tried to be so greedy. But I would not be surprised if another attempt is made to form a similar style league sometime in the future. However, it won't be for a while I think.
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C
Well, with that said, let's you and I dez get D2V down to vocabulary,
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A
Down to business. English audio scripts are a great learning tool and can help you get the most out of each episode. Be sure to visit the D2B website and download your free audio script of today's podcast downtobusinessenglish.com that's down to businessenglish.com.
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C
Today on our vocabulary list, we have two verbs, an adjective and an idiom. And as it happens, each one was used by des.
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B
I'm honored. Shall I start things off?
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C
Sure, by all means.
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B
Let's start with the verb unravel. Imagine you have a twisted ball of string or a box of old USB cables and electrical cords.
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C
Oh, I don't have to imagine that. I have a huge box of old cables and cords sitting on the shelf next to me right now. They are so twisted up that I can never find what I'm looking for.
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B
Well, if you took the time to carefully separate them, you could say that you unravelled the cables. That is what unravel means, to separate them. Things that are twisted.
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C
So idiomatically. If you say something unravels, you are saying that it comes apart or it fails.
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B
That's right. In the opening of today's report, I said that the European Super League unraveled in late April. Within days of it being announced, I said that the Super League fell apart or failed.
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C
A major headline in the finance world recently has been about Archegos Capital, the private investment fund operated by Bill Hwang. That fund unraveled in a matter of two or three days as his derivative swaps fell apart. He lost his entire net worth of $20 billion.
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B
Wow. In a matter of two days. No, I did not hear about that. That's a major unraveling.
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C
Oh, I'm surprised you hadn't heard about it.
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B
Me too.
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C
Apparently it is a world record loss.
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B
Anyway, what's our next word?
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C
The next word on our list is the adjective twofold. Twofold is used to describe something that has two equally important parts.
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B
The keyword there is equally.
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C
Yes. In today's report, when I asked DEZ what the issue with the Super League was, he said the problem was twofold. In other words, there were two big problems with it and he was communicating that each of the problems were equally important.
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B
A lot of second language English speakers rely on the phrases. There are two reasons for this. When they are giving a presentation or giving their opinion, twofold is another way that they can express this.
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C
Can you give us an example?
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B
Sure. Lets say when you want your company to pay for business class airline tickets for a business trip, you're soon taken to America. Instead of saying to your boss, there are two reasons why I should fly business class, you could say the reasons for flying me business class are twofold. Firstly, I will arrive Refreshed. Second, I'll be more motivated to have a successful trip.
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C
And those are two very good reasons for flying business class.
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B
There they are. Indeed.
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C
What's our next word?
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B
Moving on, let's break down the idiom to throw something out of the window. I think this idiom is quite easy to picture. When you throw something out of the window, you stop using it completely.
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C
For sure, if you throw something out of the window, it will be completely destroyed when it hits the ground.
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B
Well, I guess that all depends on which floor you live.
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C
I suppose so.
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B
Anyway, in our story, I said that the suit super league threw the concept of equality between teams out of the window. In other words, it made it impossible for football clubs to compete equally.
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C
I spent my entire morning today negotiating on the telephone, speaking with a potential new customer.
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B
Ok, and how did that go?
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C
Well, I thought it was going well. We negotiated the sales price, delivery dates, and even the payment terms. But at the last moment, when the buyer asked his manager for approval, his manager went and threw the whole contract out of the window.
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B
Oh, no.
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C
What a disappointment and a waste of my morning.
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B
That's just an example.
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C
No, actually, that really happened today.
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B
Well, I'm sorry to hear that. But don't despair, Skip. Tomorrow is a new day.
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C
I suppose.
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B
So, what's our next word?
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C
Our next and final word today is the verb rankle. When you rankle someone, you cause them to be extremely irritated or upset. In the story, Des commented that foreign investors buying British football teams in the recent past has rankled fans.
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B
In other words, British football fans are quite angry about their teams being purchased by American businessmen.
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C
Precisely. Des, what rankles you?
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B
I can't really remember being rankled in quite some time. Time, as a matter of fact.
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C
Okay, well, can you think of something that has happened in the news recently that illustrates rankle?
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B
Hmm, let me see.
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C
Really? You don't have an example? Well, that kind of rankles me. You knew you were going to be talking about this word today.
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B
Oh, hang on, hang on. Oh, yes, of course. I'm sure Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the royal family was quite rankled with Prince Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey.
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C
Of course. Right. Good example. Who wouldn't be rankled when a family member complains about you on national television?
- [16:08]
A
Would you like to support down to business English? Help D2B reach more people wanting to improve their business English skills? Be sure to subscribe. Subscribe to down to Business English on Apple podcasts or any place podcasts are found while you are there. Why don't you leave a rating and a review down to Business English Business News to improve your Business English.
- [16:55]
C
Thank you very much for that report on the European Super League Des and for giving me a wee bit of insight on European or at least British football culture.
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B
My pleasure.
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C
Skip it has always been a bit of a mystery to me why so many people are so passionate about Sock. I'm sorry, are so passionate about football.
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B
Well, hopefully we have unraveled that mystery for you a bit.
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C
You most certainly have unravelled it a little bit.
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B
Good to hear.
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C
Anyway, to all of our listeners out there, if you found Today's episode of D2B useful in your English self studies, if we have unraveled a few new English words or phrases for you, I strongly encourage you to become a D2B member.
- [17:43]
B
And why in the world would someone want to be a D2B member? Skip?
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C
Well, the reason for a membership is fourfold. Not twofold, no fourfold. First, a D2B membership gives you access to the entire audioscript library.
- [18:01]
B
So that would be audio scripts to 177 episodes and counting.
- [18:08]
C
That's right. And second, D2B members receive audio scripts of the newly released episodes as soon as that episode is released.
- [18:18]
B
Ah, yes. No need to visit the website, log into your account, find the correct audio strips and download it. Very convenient.
- [18:26]
C
Yes, it is very convenient. And third, D2B members receive members only down to Business English episodes. These are episodes unavailable to non members.
- [18:38]
B
Ah, exclusive content. Very nice.
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C
And fourth, fourth D2B memberships help us produce D2B episodes on a more regular basis.
- [18:50]
B
Excellent. Four good reasons to become a Down to Business English member.
- [18:55]
C
Just visit the down to Business English website and click on the membership link at the top of the page for more information. Thanks for listening everyone. See you next time. Bye bye.
- [19:12]
A
Have a comment or question about today's show? Don't be shy. Visit the D2B website or Facebook page and post any comments or questions there. Skip, Des or Samantha will be sure to leave a reply down to Business English Business News to improve your Business English,
- [19:42]
B
It.