Shadowing Practice: Who will win the Ballon d'Or? - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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So there we go, Rob, the thoughts of Anthony Gordon, and he's torn, as he says, but Earnshaw's not torn this morning on Sky Sports FC.
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Who is more deserving of the Ballon d 'Or award, Mr. Harry Kane or Lamin Amal?
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If I was going to pick one, Harry Kane.
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Harry Kane gets my vote.
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I think just about.
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I think this boy is special.
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Not only is he one of the best players in the world already at his age, at such a young age.
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Can he do this?
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He definitely can.
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And both have so much quality, both of them.
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But if I'm going to pick one right now and this past year, and I always lean on, it's not who wins the major trophies.
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Let's remember that.
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The Ballon d 'Or trophy is for the best player.
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Yes, it helps if you win trophies and all of these things.
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But the best player this year, by far, Harry Kane.
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You say that, and I agree with you to a certain degree, but is it that, based on what we've seen?
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I think I did a bit of research, and only Cristiano Ronaldo, was it Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo, two of six players who went a season without winning a trophy and won the Ballon d 'Or.
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It is about silverware.
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The numbers are absolutely crazy.
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I mean, look at that from Harry Kane.
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65 games last season.
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By the way, he's got six in seven this season.
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It's not based on that.
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It used to be the calendar year.
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Now it is just a season.
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73 goals, eight assists.
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Lamin Imal is a World Cup winner, right?
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About 57 games, 25 goals.
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I know he doesn't play as a nine.
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20 assists.
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73 goals.
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You win the Bundesliga.
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You won the German Cup.
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And you win the Super Cup.
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You come third at the World Cup.
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Is that enough?
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Because you're saying, yeah, it's individuals.
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It's what you've done.
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But he didn't win the World Cup.
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This guy did.
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Yeah.
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And I think that's the measurement.
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Because you lean on, okay, Lamin, because he won the World Cup.
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He's a great player also so it did well for Barcelona, yes.
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For Spain, yes.
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So there is an argument for that, and he absolutely should be in this category.
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And then Harry Kane, individual performance was just so much higher than everybody else.
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I think you've got to lean on that a lot.
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So, Rob, to the Spaniards, for example, Barcelona will be absolutely backing their man, and I'm sure that the Spanish public in general will back Yamal to lift that trophy.
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But is it fair to say his World Cup, all right, he's got a World Cup winner's medal, but he wasn't one of the star players in that Spain team?
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Not just from those numbers, from the performances, whereas Harry Kane, all right, it's bronze.
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It's not even second best, first loser, but six goals in seven games, continuing a season with, what, 70, can't even do the math.
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73 goals, yeah.
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Yeah, but take away those six.
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Yeah.
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I think Harry Kane has just done so outstanding.
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He's done so well that there's a gap between performances.
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And I think that's where I lean on Harry Kane more for the Ballon d 'Or, is because the gap is so big.
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Now, if it was a closer gap, okay, you haven't got a wrong answer.
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I mean, you really haven't got a wrong answer in this.
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The interesting thing is we put these two players up then you've got to put Messi in
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that category then you've got to put Mbappe in
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that category um I mean we could go on
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and on Rafinha as well people playing with Lamine Yamal as well like Rafinha
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that we're outstanding last year
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so we've got to go past the stats we start on the stats yes
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but then after
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that then it's okay what's the gap what's the gap between
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Harry Kane's performance in the last year to Lamin -Yemal's performance in the last year.
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Now there's a bit of a gap.
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That's why I lean on individually.
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I think Harry Kane was just so outstanding.
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And put it for context, it's the second best amount of goals ever in a single calendar year.
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To Messi's, what is it, 91 goals, I think the record -breaking.
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You've got to credit that.
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I mean, that's unbelievable.
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And not only that, if you look at him play now, I think he's by far, you know, a completely different,
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changed player than three years ago.
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He's way, way better now, on top of his goals as well.
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So, not just performances individually, also the stats, also the goals, also delivery.
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I think he's done outstanding.
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And is Kane's argument backed by this as well because he landed another accolade,
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Rob, becoming the second fastest player to get to 100 goals for club in a top five European league behind this man.
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So look, whose season would you have preferred to have had?
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Is that a silly question as well in terms of I'm going to offer you the World Cup winners medal.
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right?
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Or I'm going to offer you, you know, as a striker and a goal pig, 73 goals.
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That's a difficult one because you're there to deliver what you're trying to do individually as in terms of as a striker,
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you're delivering goals, you're delivering performances, and also creativity as well.
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So he's delivered that.
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I would choose the World Cup.
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Even if you didn't star at it yourself, I know, you know, yeah, because because I think that as much as individually you can do so well,
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so well, so well, you also want to win the trophies.
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You want to win the World Cup.
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You want to win the Champions League.
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You want to win the major trophies that, you know, later on in years,
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you look back and think that those were the most outstanding moments that how much joy that those moments brought us,
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not just like I scored loads of goals in that one season.
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So I think I'll choose the World Cup because I think the World Cup is iconic.
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The World Cup is something that not many players get to do that and get to lift the World Cup.
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So I think I would choose the World Cup.
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Said with a little grin on his face.
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Do we believe him? But!
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There's no type of buts here.
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Let's look at some of the other nominees, Rob, because, I mean, is it, as Anthony Gordon says, a straight shootout between those two?
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You mentioned some other names.
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You mentioned Kylian Mbappe.
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Trophy -less, by the way.
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Yeah.
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Trophy -less, Real Madrid and France.
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But, yeah, Rodri's name in amongst the contenders, of course, Lionel Messi.
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By the way, down here, featured Karatskelia, 14 -1, if we read anything into that.
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Scored in the Champions League final, back -to -back Champions Leagues, but had a very important role to play in the best team in the world, club -wise, PSG?
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I think PSG right now are the best team in the world, yeah, absolutely.
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I think they've been that.
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Should he be as low as that?
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I don't...
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He's the other one I forgot to mention earlier.
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I think...
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Is it just because you can't say his name, Rob?
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Kravis Kalia should be in this conversation, as much as Lamin Yemal.
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I think if you look at Kravis Kalia's last year, he's been PSG's best player.
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I think him and Vettinia
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I think Kravis Kelly should be probably ahead of Lamin Amal
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and therefore should he be punished just
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because Georgia weren't at the World Cup is the point isn't it
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because Lamin Amal will show the medal and then say well hold on
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and also by the way we should mention
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that Lamin Amal has won the Copper Trophy
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which is the young Ballon d 'Or winner for the last two seasons so do the diplomats just go
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okay we'll give him that he has a hat trick of those
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and Harry Kane gets it because one day you'll get it Lamin
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no no it should never be about that we should never discredit it in that way It's like saying Disneyland's real.
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There's politics involved here.
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Absolutely, there's politics involved, and I don't want it to be.
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And there's also, I think, this hyping up your players from different kind of sectors, different agents, things like this,
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that love to kind of get involved in this situation because what's the value of their player?
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What's the value even from a teamist perspective?
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What's the value of your player once he goes and is in discussion for the Ballon d 'Or?
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Now, if you look at this lineup here, in terms of performances, Harry Kane was outstanding, amazing.
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Kylian Mbappé, in terms of goals, outstanding.
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I think he also, there was moments where he struggled.
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Lionel Messi, incredible.
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He continues to be.
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And he was probably the best player of the World Cup.
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Rodri was brilliant, but I don't think he, maybe he's in this discussion.
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Travis Kelia, this last season, he's been PSG's best player.
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So I think Travis Kelia should be in this conversation probably before Yamal.
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But I would say I think there is a heavy lean on Spain winning the World Cup.
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There's always been, by the way.
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And if you can go back through the years, there's always been a lean on who's won the trophy.
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And then they get put into this discussion.
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Yeah, we will find out on the 26th of October but it won't be Cats, it won't be Starlight Express at the London Palladium.
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Who Will Benefit from This Video?
This video is perfect for intermediate English learners looking to boost their english speaking practice and understand real-world conversations. Whether you’re into sports or just want to follow casual debates, the dialogue’s mix of opinion, stats, and friendly banter helps you grasp natural flow—ideal for shadowing site practice or honing listening skills.
Words & Idioms Worth Stealing
- Torn: Struggling to choose between two options. "She was torn between pizza and sushi."
- Lean on: Rely on as a reason. "I lean on my notes when I forget a speech."
- Silverware: Trophies (sports slang). "The team won plenty of silverware last season."
- Star player: The best performer. "Mia is the star player on our basketball team."
How to Get the Accent Right
Focus on the speaker’s casual tone—short pauses, contractions ("he's," "it's"), and emphasis on key points like "73 goals" or "World Cup winner." To improve english pronunciation, try shadowspeak: repeat phrases like "the best player this year, by far" immediately after the speaker. Notice how "Ballon d’Or" is pronounced with a soft "n" and silent "d" (bah-LOHN DOR). Mimic the rising intonation when asking questions: "Is that enough?" This helps you sound natural in debates, just like the video’s speakers.
Using videos like this for practice makes learning fun—you’ll pick up sports vocabulary, conversational tricks, and pronunciation tips all at once. Grab a notebook, hit play, and start shadowing—your English will thank you!
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.