Did you know that…

Zinedine Zidane

  • Has a name of Arabic origin. Zinedine translates as “the beautiful one of the path”. Yazeed, a part of his real Arabic name Zayn-u-Din Yazid Zaydan means “one who becomes greater”.
  • Zidane have had sponsorship deals with the following companies: Adidas, Lego, Danone, Generali, France Telecom, Orange, Audi Ford and Christian Dior. This made him in 2005/2006 the sixth highest paid football player.
  • Zidane is said to be modest, shy and quiet. However, we have seen him showing some deeply hidden temper – for example in his controversial situation in the 2006 World Cup final.

Otylia Jędrzejczak

  • Started swimming at the age of six to correct a slight curvature of her spine. At the beginning she hated sport but her attitude changed completely when, at the age of eight, she won the first prize in a competition in Germany.
  • She is a big lady: measures 186 centimetres and has a shoe size of 43.
  • After winning a gold medal for butterfly 200 metres, she auctioned the medal and handed the money to the Oncology and Haematology Clinic. It was 257,550 PLN!

Robert Kubica

  • Started his interest in cars really early – he was only four years old! he persuaded his father to buy him a go-cart. It was a miniature of a Jeep.
  • Is afraid of swimming in the ocean.
  • If he could change one thing in himself, it would be his height. With his 1.84 m he is slightly too tall for Formula One. Life would be easier if he was shorter.

The world of ski-jumpers is full of nicknames

  • British jumper Eddie Edwards was nicknames “Eddie the Eagle” despite his constant crashes and lack of success.
  • Tommy Ingebrigsten was called Lotto Tommy because you never knew what his jump was going to be like. He seemed to be unable to produce two good jumps in turn.
  • The Japanese daring jumper Noriaki Kasai was, of course, nicknamed kamikaze.

Ronaldinho

  • Loves Brazilian music, but he not only listens to it: he also plays the drums and sings with friends in Barcelona.
  • There are comics based on the characters of Ronaldinho, his brother and his mother. The comic is published in the UK and in Spain.
  • Has his own series of clothing called R10.

Improve your vocabulary!

slight curvature of her spine – lekkie skrzywienie kręgosłupa
modest – skromny
nickname – ksywka, przydomek, przezwisko
despite – pomimo
lack – brak
daring – odważny, śmiały