Saturday Football in Seville: Betis and Sevilla on One Team (A1)
The narrator wants to play on Saturday. Diego supports Sevilla and the narrator supports Betis, but they are on the same small team. One pass, one goal. A Spanish A1 reading.
Me gusta el fútbol
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About this article
What you'll learn
present tense, querer plus a verb, football words: balón, pelota, portero, arquero, portería
A boy in Seville wants Saturday football. His father takes him to a small field. Diego supports Sevilla and the narrator supports Betis, so on Friday they argue. On Saturday they are on the same team of six, with backpacks for goals, not eleven players. In Spain they say balón and portero. A cousin in Buenos Aires says pelota and arquero. They both chase the ball and collide. Their father says only, pass it. The narrator passes to a free friend, who scores, and Diego forgets the clubs for a moment. At home there is no Clásico, the Barcelona against Real Madrid match. They will still watch the World Cup together every four years, green and red on the same sofa. Diego will play next Saturday, and he still does not like Betis.
After reading
Article learning block
Phrases, words, grammar, and quick practice from this text.
Phrases for training
Add useful phrases to SRS or mark them as already known.
mi deporte favorito
newmy favorite sport
Favorito comes after the noun and agrees with it: deporte favorito, posición favorita.
Core phrase for talking about hobbies and sports.
¿Qué deporte te gusta?
newWhat sport do you like?
Te gusta is the same verb as me gusta, with te for the person you are asking.
Turns any me gusta sentence into a question for someone else.
Solo necesitas una pelota
newyou only need a ball
Necesitas is the tú form of necesitar, used here for people in general.
The pattern for a minimum requirement: solo necesitas + noun.
marcar goles
newto score goals
After me gusta the verb stays in the infinitive: me gusta marcar, me gusta ver.
Key action for the striker role in the text.
jugar al fútbol
newto play football
Jugar takes a before a sport, and a + el becomes al: jugar al fútbol, juego al tenis.
Dropping the al is the most common mistake with this verb.
trabajar en equipo
newto work as a team
A set phrase for cooperating. Aprender also takes a before an infinitive: aprendo a trabajar.
The lesson the narrator takes from football.
yo soy del Betis
newI support Betis
Ser de + a club means you support it: soy del Betis, es del Sevilla.
This is how Spaniards say which team is theirs.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
Ball
pelota
ball
In Spain people usually say el balón for a football; in Argentina and Uruguay, la pelota. Same object, two words.
One object, two words, depending on the country.
Goal (the net)
portería
goal, the net
La portería is the frame with the net. El gol is the point you score. English uses goal for both.
Two Spanish words where English has one.
Striker
delantero
forward, striker
El delantero attacks and scores. The word comes from delante, in front.
One of the two positions named in the text.
Goalkeeper
portero
goalkeeper
In Spain el portero, in Argentina el arquero (from arco, the goal). Note jugar de portero.
The same player has different names across countries.
Teammates
compañeros
teammates
Compañeros are the people on your own team, not just friends.
The word you need for a team you belong to.
Players
jugadores
players
Jugador is built from jugar; the plural adds es because it ends in a consonant.
Shows how Spanish makes a person out of a verb.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
Gustar: gusta and gustan
Me gusta el fútbol
I like football
The thing liked is the subject, so the verb follows it: me gusta el fútbol (one thing), me gustan los partidos grandes (several).
Get this backwards and the Spanish sentence stops working.
Present: regular habits
Juego todos los fines de semana
I play every weekend
The present tense covers habits, not only this moment. Jugar changes u to ue: juego, juegas, juega.
How you describe your own routine.
Ser: the most ... in the world
El fútbol es el deporte más popular del mundo
football is the most popular sport in the world
Ser says what something is as a rule. El más + adjective + del mundo builds a superlative.
A ready pattern: el país más grande de Europa, la ciudad más antigua de España.
How often: cada semana
cada semana
every week
Cada + a singular noun says how often: cada semana, cada sábado, cada cuatro años.
Pairs with the present tense to describe a routine.
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