Cesc Fabregas – post-match interview

Difficulty Level: (1)→2→(3)

[Important football vocabulary is defined at the bottom of the page]

Background: It’s September 2011. England have just between Spain 1-0. Cesc Fabregas is being interviewed post-match. In the summer of 2011 he moved from Arsenal to his home-town club Barcelona. This is his first football match back in England.

[Think about the answer to this question the first time you watch the video:]

Why isn’t Fabregas very concerned about this defeat to England?

[Afterwards, check your understanding with the text. Watching to get the answer to this question before you read will help you to improve your listening skills, and help you to focus on overall meaning first before looking at the detail]

Well Cesc, your first return to London ends in a defeat…. what were your thoughts on the game?

Well, two very different styles. I think we had at least 80, 85% of possession. We, just, played very well… we couldn’t find a goal. England just defending with 10 men, one up front, trying to go counter attack… I don’t know… sometimes this happens in football. We felt that the only way they could beat us is from a set piece, and that’s what happened.

And yourself, you came on in the second half, you had a couple of half-chances… you please to get involved in the game?

Yeah, I didn’t play [I haven’t played] for Spain for a very long time. Last year with injuries at Arsenal I didn’t at all. And, so it’s good to be back. You know… at the end of the day, it’s just a friendly game, and, you know, what we want to be is in… at the Euros next season, which is the most important [thing].

Of course, the two sides may even meet again there. So it will be a different game all together…

Oh, definitely, definitely, I mean that’s different you know. This is the way it is. We all want to win. England won this time, so just congratulate them, that’s it!

How do you feel Wembley went? … the atmosphere and the pitch and everything…?

It’s good. I’ve never won here. You know, I’ve played two times, I lost [I’ve lost] two. So, I will try to make this change [to change this]

Yourself, obviously been at Barcelona since the summer. How’s it going there? You settled in and pleased with the way you are playing?

Yeah, I’m very happy, very happy. You know, I’m feeling very good in the team and playing a lot. And, you know, everything at the moment is going on my way [is going for me]. So, I’m… hopefully it will keep going like that.

Thanks for your time.


A defeat: a loss, the opposite of ‘a win’
Possession: A team has possession of the ball when the team have the ball and they are passing it to each other.
Up front: in attack.
To counter attack: to quickly move the ball from your defence to your attack when the other team lose the ball.
A set-piece: a free kick, corner, or throw-in.
A friendly: a match which is not part of a competition.
The pitch: here it is used to talk about the quality of the playing surface. There had been problems with the quality of the grass at Wembley.