Who is your favourite football player? What do you know about him?

1. Who is your favourite football player? What do you know about him? What do you know about Diego Maradona? What would you like to know about him? http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

2. Read the passage and number the pictures as they appear in the text. (Put the pictures in a chronological order) Can you write captions for the pictures? http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

3. Diego Armando Maradona was born on October 30, 1960. He is a former Argentine football player. He is widely regarded as the (finer / finest) and (greatest / greater) player of all times. Maradona was born in Villa Fiorito, Buenos Aires, Argentina to a family of humble origin. He first (played / has played) in the Argentine Championship, for Argentinos Juniors (1976-81) and then for Boca Juniors (1981-82). He then went to Spain, where, playing for FC Barcelona, he won a Copa del Rey. On July 5, 1984 he went to Naples, Italy to join SSC Napoli, where he won two Italian Championships (1986/87 and 1989/1990), a Coppa Italia (1987), a UEFA Cup (1989) and an Italian Supercup (1990), plus Napoli were runners-up in the Italian Championship twice.Maradona (has led / led) the Argentine national team to victory in the World Cup in 1986, the team winning 3-2 in the final against West Germany. In this tournament, he became notorious for a goal in the quarter-final game against England, which video evidence later clearly revealed he had scored with the aid of his hand. He later claimed it was the "Hand of God" which had caused him to score the goal, to the general derision of the English public and in particular the tabloid newspapers, who still (resurrected / resurrect) the incident occasionally even today, branding him a cheat. However, Maradona showed the other side of his nature just a couple of minutes later in the same match, by running half the length of the pitch and beating almost the entire English team along the way, to score what is widely regarded as the most exceptional goal of all time. Maradona also (captain / captained) Argentina in the 1990 World Cup, leading a far weaker team to the final again, where they lost 1-0 to West Germany.Maradona left Napoli in 1992 and played for Sevilla FC (1992-93), Newell's Old Boys (1993) and Boca Juniors (1995-97). He also (attempts / attempted) to work as a coach on two short occasions, leading Mandiyú of Corrientes (1994) and Racing Club (1995). He (retired / has retired) from football on October 30, 1997.On April 18, 2004, doctors reported that Maradona (had suffered / suffered) a major heart attack and was in intensive care in a Buenos Aires hospital. Dozens of fans gathered around the clinic indicating his popularity even in 2004. Maradona was hospitalized in a floor that was closed so he could be attended to exclusively.Maradona is also (known / know) in Argentina as "El Pibe de Oro" (The Golden Boy). In 2002, Maradona published his autobiography Yo Soy El Diego, which became an instant bestseller in his home-country. http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

4. True / False?If False, Explain Why! • Maradona’s nickname is the golden boy. • He only played once for Boca Juniors in his career. • Tabloid newspapers in England believe that Maradona cheated against England in 1986. • Argentina won the football world cup in 1990. http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

5. Comprehension Check • With which team did Maradona win the UEFA cup? • What was the name of his autobiography? Was it a successful book? • Why is Maradona’s second goal against England in 1986 regard as the most exceptional goal of all time? • How many football teams has he coached? Do you think he was successful as a coach? Explain why! http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

6. Maradona’s life was not all a success!Complete the reading passage with the following sentences. • Maradona left Napoli in 1992, after serving a 15 month ban for failing a drug test, and played for Sevilla FC (1992-93), Newell's Old Boys (1993) and Boca Juniors (1995-97). • After he showed improvement, he was taken off a respirator on April 23, and remained in intensive care for several days before being discharged on April 29. However, he returned to the hospital on May 5. Since then, he has entered a psychiatric facility for substance abuse treatment in Cuba. • Maradona spent much of the 1990s battling a cocaine addiction, which included a well-publicized spell in a detox clinic in Cuba. He apparently surmounted the problem for the time being, and then embarked upon a new career as a talk-show host, with which he had great success. • In Naples, where he is still beloved, he also faced a scandal regarding an illegitimate son and was the object of some suspicion over his friendship with the Camorra, the local mafia. http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

7. Humble (origin) Championship Notorious Quarter-final Tabloid Brand (v) Cheat (n) Pitch Exceptional (goal) Fan Autobiography Bestseller Runner-up A person or team who comes second in a race or competition A high-level competition to decide who is the best Famous for something bad A book which is extremely popular and has sold in very large numbers Poor or of a low social rank A type of popular newspaper with small pages which has many pictures and short simple reports Any of the four games in a competition that decides which players or teams will play in the two semi-finals An area marked for playing particular sports, especially football A person who behaves in a dishonest way To say that you think someone is as stated A book about a person’s life, written by that person Someone who admires and supports a person, sport team, etc Much greater than usual, especially in skill, intelligence, quality, etc VocabularyMatch a word on the left with an appropriate definition on the right. http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

8. Grammar FocusRead the text again and choose the correct form of the verbs in the brackets. Give reasons for your choice. • (finer / finest) • (greatest / greater) • (played / has played) • (has led / led) • (resurrected / resurrect) • (captain / captained) • (attempts / attempted) • (retired / has retired) • (had suffered / suffered) • (known / know) http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

9. Argentine Juniors Cheat Suspicion Origin Resurrect Championship Popularity Humble Occasionally Abuse Notorious Reveal Addiction Victory Scandal Tournament Suspicion Public Score Pronunciation Practice Compare the underlined letters in the words facing each other. Do they sound the same? http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

10. Match Length Pitch Psychiatric Heart Improvement Pronunciation Practice Which letters are not pronounced in the following words? http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

11. Pronunciation Practice Spot the schwa and the stressed syllable in the following words. • Italian • National • Former • Evidence • Autobiography • Substance • Illegitimate • Surmount • Derision http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

12. Role play • Imagine that you had to interview Diego Maradona. What would you ask him? Prepare some questions. • Student A you are Maradona and student B you are the interviewer. Practise the interview. http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

13. Research for Presentation / Writing • Do some research for a presentation or a writing about a sport legend/hero from your country. http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

14. VideoTry out the following links. You might find them useful. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLZAQ2RC2q8&feature=related • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_PP7QJwNpM • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBpu-M6kXCk&feature=related http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/

15. Resources • http://www.famouspeople.co.uk/d/diegomaradona.html • http://www.live.com/?scope=images http://amirenglishclub.synthasite.com/