Barcelona Face Feyenoord in Champions League Opener
Listen to the story
Barcelona will start their Champions League season today against Feyenoord. This match is the debut game for both teams in this year's competition.
The Champions League is Europe's most important club football competition. Top teams from many countries compete for the trophy.
Feyenoord is a Dutch football team and will be Barcelona's rival in this opening match.
Rafael van der Vaart, a former professional footballer, gave his opinion about the game. He said Feyenoord has only "a 1%" chance of beating Barcelona.
This shows that most experts see Barcelona as the clear favourite to win the match.
Barcelona has a star player who recently reacted to news about the Ballon d'Or. The Ballon d'Or is one of football's most famous individual awards, given each year to the best player in the world.
The player was reportedly not selected for the award this time, but he responded to the situation in a calm way, according to reports.
Fans and analysts are now watching to see how Feyenoord's playing style will work against a strong Barcelona side. Even though Feyenoord is seen as the underdog, football matches can sometimes surprise everyone.
This first Champions League game of the season will give an early sign of how both teams might perform in the competition this year.
Vocabulary10 words
- Champions League
- the top football competition for club teams in Europe
- debut
- the first appearance in something
- rival
- a team or person you compete against
- favourite
- the team most people think will win
- Ballon d'Or
- a famous yearly prize for the best football player in the world
- underdog
- a team that is not expected to win
- professional
- someone who does something as their job
- analyst
- a person who studies and comments on something
- opening match
- the first game in a competition
- trophy
- a prize given to the winner
Quiz
Answer key
1. Their debut Champions League game this season 2. 1% 3. Not winning the Ballon d'Or
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Barcelona will start their _____ season today against Feyenoord. This match is the _____ game for both teams in this year's competition.
Feyenoord is a Dutch football team and will be Barcelona's _____ in this opening match.
Rafael van der Vaart, a former professional footballer, gave his opinion about the game. He said Feyenoord has only "a 1%" chance of _____ Barcelona.
This shows that most experts see Barcelona as the clear _____ to win the match.
Barcelona has a star player who recently reacted to news about the _____.
The Ballon d'Or is one of football's most famous individual _____, given each year to the best player in the world.
Even though Feyenoord is seen as the _____, football matches can sometimes surprise everyone.
This first Champions League game of the season will give an early sign of how both teams might _____ in the competition this year.