Emiliano Martínez: Playing Through the Pain
Listen to Course
0:00
0:00
← Previous LessonEmiliano Martínez: Ten Years of WaitingNext Lesson →Erling Haaland: The Viking Goal Machine
EN: Reported speech with a 'that' clause (with 'that' omitted). When reporting what someone said, we often use a reporting verb like 'tell' followed by an indirect object (Martínez) and a noun clause acting as the direct object. In this sentence, 'told Martínez [that] his broken finger needed an operation' has the conjunction 'that' omitted, which is very common in informal and spoken English.
The coach told the players their hard work paid off.
EN: The past simple tense is used here to describe completed actions in the past ('told' and 'needed'). When reporting past events, the verbs in both the main clause and the subordinate clause typically shift to the past tense to maintain backshift/tense agreement.
She realized she lost her keys after she arrived at the office.
EN: The verb 'choose' is followed by an infinitive ('to' + base verb) to express a decision. In contrast, the verb 'mean' (when signifying 'result in' or 'involve') is followed by a gerund (verb-ing) to show the consequence of an action.
She chose to study abroad, even though it meant leaving her friends.
EN: The subordinating conjunction 'because' is used to introduce a subordinate clause of reason, explaining why the action in the main clause ('He chose to refuse') occurred.
They cancelled the match because the weather was terrible.
EN: Compound adjectives with hyphens (e.g., 'thirty-three-year-old') are used before nouns. Note that the noun within the compound adjective ('year') remains singular.
We stayed in a five-star hotel during our vacation.
EN: The past participle phrase 'hidden inside his glove' acts as an adjective modifying the noun 'pain'. It describes the state of the pain being concealed.
She found a letter written in French on the desk.
EN: In professional sports, particularly football (soccer), playing through severe pain or injury is often romanticized as a heroic act of dedication to one's country or team. Goalkeepers, who rely heavily on their hands, face immense physical and psychological pressure when playing with hand injuries.
EN: The verb 'keep' can be used in the pattern 'keep + object + object complement' (noun or adjective) to describe maintaining someone or something in a specified state. In this sentence, 'his injury' is the object, and 'a secret' is the noun phrase acting as the object complement.
She always keeps her desk clean and organized.
EN: The word 'almost' is an adverb of degree used to modify negative pronouns like 'no one', 'nobody', or 'nothing'. 'Almost no one' means 'practically nobody' or 'hardly anyone', which emphasizes the near-total exclusion of people.
Almost no one attended the meeting due to the heavy snow.
EN: The coordinating conjunction 'and' is used here to connect two independent clauses with the same subject ('Martínez'). In English, when two clauses share the same subject and are joined by 'and', the subject of the second clause is typically omitted to avoid repetition.
She finished her homework and watched a movie.
EN: The term 'clean sheet' is a common sports idiom, especially in football (soccer), meaning a game in which a team's goalkeeper prevents the opposing team from scoring any goals.
The goalkeeper was proud to keep another clean sheet in the final match.
EN: In football (soccer), keeping a 'clean sheet' is a highly regarded achievement for both the goalkeeper and the defense, as it means they successfully prevented the opponent from scoring during the entire match. In a tournament like the World Cup, clean sheets are crucial for advancing in the knockout stages.
EN: The verb 'help' can be followed by a bare infinitive (verb without 'to') or a full infinitive (with 'to'). In this sentence, 'helped carry' uses the bare infinitive pattern, which is very common in modern English to describe assistance in achieving an action.
Her advice helped me solve the complex math problem.
EN: The preposition 'past' is used here as a preposition of motion, meaning 'beyond' or 'to the other side of'. In a sports context, 'carry/get past [an opponent]' means to defeat them and advance to the next round.
The runner managed to push past his rival in the final meters.
EN: In international football tournaments like the World Cup, the 'defending champions' refers to the team that won the previous edition of the tournament. Argentina, having won the 2022 World Cup, enters the 2026 World Cup as the defending champions. The term 'clean sheet' used in the context means preventing the opponent from scoring any goals during a match.
EN: The verb 'guide' can be used with a prepositional phrase starting with 'past' to mean leading or directing someone or something beyond a certain point, obstacle, or opponent. In sports contexts, 'guide someone past an opponent' means to lead a team to victory over that opponent.
The captain guided his team past France in the final match.
EN: The prepositional phrase 'with great strength' acts as an adverbial modifier of manner, describing how the action of guiding was performed. 'With' is commonly used with abstract nouns (like strength, courage, or patience) to describe the manner of an action.
She spoke with great confidence during the presentation.
EN: In international football (soccer), matches between England and Argentina carry deep historical and sporting rivalry, dating back to famous World Cup clashes. Defeating England in a major tournament semifinal is always a highly charged and celebrated achievement for Argentine players and fans.
EN: The idiom 'all the way to' is used to emphasize the long distance, great effort, or complete extent of an action reaching a specific destination or point.
She ran all the way to the train station to catch the last train.
EN: The preposition 'against' is used to indicate opposition, competition, or contact. In sports and contests, it introduces the opponent.
Our school team will play against the defending champions tomorrow.
EN: The preposition 'after' is used here as a temporal preposition to indicate that one event (winning) occurred following the conclusion of another event (extra time). In sports contexts, it specifies the condition or period in which the final result was achieved.
The team scored the winning goal after extra time.
EN: Adverbial of manner using scores (e.g., '1-0', pronounced 'one-nil' or 'one to nothing' in football/soccer). It functions as an adverbial modifier showing the margin or score of the victory.
They defeated their rivals 2-1 in a thrilling match.
EN: In football (soccer) terminology, scores are read differently than in other sports. '1-0' is pronounced as 'one-nil'. 'Extra time' refers to the two 15-minute periods played when a knockout match is tied after the standard 90 minutes, which is distinct from 'injury time' or 'added time' added at the end of regular halves.
EN: The modal verb 'could' is used here to express past ability or possibility. In this context, 'could blame' indicates that it was not possible or reasonable for anyone to criticize the goalkeeper given the circumstances.
She could not attend the meeting because her flight was delayed.
EN: The subordinating conjunction 'because' is used to introduce a clause of reason, explaining why 'nobody could blame the goalkeeper'. It connects an independent clause with a dependent adverbial clause.
We stayed indoors because the weather was terrible.
EN: In sports culture, playing through severe pain or injury for the sake of the team is often romanticized as 'heroic.' Goalkeepers, in particular, bear immense pressure as their mistakes are highly visible, making a heroic but losing effort highly respected by fans and media alike.
EN: The past perfect or simple past can be used with reporting verbs like 'hinted' followed by a noun clause starting with 'that'. In this sentence, 'that' introduces a noun clause functioning as the direct object of the verb 'hinted', explaining what was hinted.
She hinted that she might accept the job offer.
EN: The modal verb 'might' is used to express weak possibility in the past or future. When followed by 'be + -ing' (continuous aspect), it describes a temporary action or situation that is possibly happening or changing around a certain time.
He might be planning a surprise party for his sister.
EN: In professional football (soccer), 'international career' refers to representing one's national team (like Argentina) in global tournaments, which is distinct from playing for a professional club. Hinting at retirement from international duty often happens after major tournaments like the World Cup due to the immense physical and mental toll on aging players.
EN: The phrase 'on one's own terms' is an idiomatic expression meaning to do something according to one's own conditions, choices, or decisions, rather than being forced by others or circumstances.
She decided to leave the company on her own terms rather than waiting to be laid off.
EN: The past real conditional (using 'if' with past simple) is used to describe a real situation or possibility in the past. Here, 'If this was his goodbye' acknowledges that it might indeed have been his final appearance, and links it to the past result.
If he was angry with us, he did not show it.
EN: In professional sports, 'retiring on one's own terms' is highly respected. It means the athlete chose when and how to end their career, rather than being forced out by injuries, poor performance, or decisions made by team management. For a goalkeeper like Martínez, playing through pain to finish a tournament embodies this ultimate sense of control and dedication.
Key vocabulary words with IPA pronunciation, definitions, example sentences, and interactive quizzes.
Phrases with type tags, bilingual definitions, usage notes, and example sentences.
A game in which a team's goalkeeper prevents the opposing team from scoring any goals.
According to one's own conditions, wishes, or decisions rather than those of others.
An additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to decide a winner when a game is tied at the end of regular time.