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Fabricio Coloccini - Player of the Week

Fabricio Coloccini - Player of the Week

It's five in a row for Newcastle!

Coloccini scores the second goal for Newcastle.Newcastle Utd made it 5 consecutive wins after a comfortable 2-0 victory away to West Brom. Four of those wins were in the Premier League, the other was a fantastic 2-0 win at Manchester City in the League Cup. Spanish striker Ayoze Pérez scored in the first half with a brilliant backheel and Fabricio Coloccini made the game safe when he was left unmarked in the penalty box and headed in at the back post. It was Coloccini's first goal in more than 3 years but, more importantly, the Newcastle captain and central defender has now helped Newcastle keep 4 clean sheets in their last 5 matches. Newcastle are now only 2 points away from the Champions League places. It's been an amazing recovery by 'The Magpies'. At the beginning of October, they were bottom of the table, and didn't win any of their first 7 Premier League matches this season.

"It's been a long time since I scored a goal - too long. It was nice to put that right."  Fabricio Coloccini.

What do we know about Fabricio Coloccini?

Coloccini has played more than 200 times for Newcastle.Fabricio Coloccini was born on 22 January, 1982 in Cordoba, which is the second largest city in Argentina. He started his professional career with Argentinian giants, Boca Juniors and scored on only his second appearance for the team. But that was his last game for Boca because AC Milan, from Italy, signed him and sent him on loan to Boca's rivals, San Lorenzo. Coloccini helped San Lorenzo win the Argentinian title in 2000/2001. At the end of the season, AC Milan sent Coloccini to play in Spain. For the following 3 seasons, Coloccini played on loan for Alaves, Atletico Madrid and Villareal in the Spanish top division. In 2005, he signed permanently for another Spanish team - Deportivo La Coruña, he only ever played 1 official game for AC Milan. He made over 100 appearances for Deportivo before signing for Newcastle in August 2008 for about £10 million.

"Coloccini is an essential part of this team, one of my most important players."  Alan Pardew, Newcastle manager.

What has he achieved with Newcastle?

Coloccini celebrates with teammates.Coloccini has made over 200 appearances for Newcastle Utd and is now in his seventh season with 'The Magpies', Newcastle haven't won any major honours since 1969, but Coloccini did help Newcastle win the Championship (England's second division) after they had been relegated from the Premier League in 2008/09. He was named in the Championship team of the season, and in 2011/12, Coloccini was named in the Premier League's team of the season after helping Newcastle to a fifth place finish. Since 2011, Coloccini has been club captain at Newcastle United.  

Which teammate is Coloccini supporting?

Coloccini played for Argentina at the 2006 World Cup.Coloccini has played for Argentina 39 times, including at the World Cup in 2006 and the Olympics in 2004, where he won a gold medal. Over the last few years, he has been in and out of the national team, and has also been unlucky with injuries and missed out on the World Cup in 2010 and 2014. Coloccini is not the only Argentinian on the books at Newcastle, Jonas Gutierrez signed for Newcastle just one month before Coloccini, back in 2008. Gutierrez was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2013, and until recently only a few friends, including Coloccini, knew about the surgery and treatment. But this week, Gutierrez has been told that he is free of the cancer and Coloccini dedicated his goal to his Argentinian teammate.

"I am going to spend a few days with Jonas and give him all the messages from his teammates, the staff, the fans and the Club. It will be nice to see him. The goal was for him. It has been a great week for everyone."  Coloccini talking about his friend and teammate - Jonas Gutierrez.

Are Newcastle unlucky?

Newcastle play at St. James's Park.Newcastle have the third highest attendances in the Premier League, after Manchester United and Arsenal; an average of 50,395 fans saw each match at St. James's Park last season. Alan Shearer and Andy Cole, the highest ever Premier League goalscorers, have also played for Newcastle. But, don't forget, they haven't won a major trophy since 1969. During the Premier League era, however, they have come very close. In 1993-94 and 2002-03, they finished third in the Premier League and in 1995-96 and 1996-97 they were runners-up. They were also finalists in the FA Cup in both 1998 and 1999. Will Newcastle's luck change this season?

Now click the learn tab below and have a go at the activities, then click the talk and quiz tab, and test your understanding or add a comment.

Coloccini has been Newcastle's captain for the last 3 seasons, Getty.

What did you understand?

 
Match the numbers to the correct sentence.
Activity 1:  In this activity, think about what you read. Can you match the numbers to the correct statement?

 


 

How much did you understand?

It's five in a row for Newcastle!

Newcastle Utd made it 5 consecutive wins after a comfortable 2-0 victory away to West Brom. Four of those wins have come in the Premier League, the other was a fantastic 2-0 win at Manchester City in the League Cup. Spanish striker Ayoze Pérez scored in the first half with a brilliant backheel and Fabricio Coloccini made the game safe when he was left unmarked in the penalty box and headed in at the back post. It was Coloccini's first goal in more than 3 years, but more importantly, the Newcastle captain and central defender has now helped Newcastle keep 4 clean sheets in their last 5 matches.Newcastle are now only 2 points away from the Champions League places. It's been an amazing recovery by 'The Magpies', at the beginning of October they were bottom of the table, and didn't win any of their first 7 Premier League matches this season.

"It's been a long time since I scored a goal - too long. It was nice to put that right."  Fabricio Coloccini.

What do we know about Fabricio Coloccini?

Fabricio Coloccini was born on 22 January 1982 in Cordoba, which is the second largest city in Argentina. He started his professional career with Argentinian giants, Boca Juniors and scored on only his second appearance for the team. But that was his last game for Boca because AC Milan from Italy signed him and sent him on loan to Boca's rivals San Lorenzo. Coloccini helped San Lorenzo win the Argentinian title in 2000/2001, at the end of the season AC Milan sent Coloccini to play in Spain. For the following 3 seasons, Coloccini played on loan for Alaves, Atletico Madrid and Villareal in the Spanish top division. In 2005, he signed permanently for another Spanish team - Deportivo La Coruña, he only ever played 1 official game for AC Milan. He made over 100 appearances for Deportivo before signing for Newcastle in August 2008 for about £10 million.

"Collocini is an essential part of this team, one of my most important players."  Alan Pardew, Newcastle manager.

What has he achieved with Newcastle?

Coloccini has made over 200 appearances for Newcastle Utd and is now in his seventh season with 'The Magpies', Newcastle haven't won any major honours since 1969, but Coloccini did help Newcastle win the Championship (England's second division) after they had been relegated from the Premier League in 2008/09. He was named in the Championship team of the season, and in 2011/12, Coloccini was named in the Premier League's team of the season after helping Newcastle to a fifth place finish. Since 2011, Coloccini has been club captain at Newcastle United.  

Which teammate is Coloccini supporting?

Coloccini has played for Argentina 39 times including at the World Cup in 2006 and the Olympics in 2004, where he won a gold medal. Over the last few years he has been in and out of the national team, and has also been unlucky with injuries and missed out on the World Cup in 2010 and 2014. Coloccini is not the only Argentinian on the books at Newcastle, Jonas Gutierrez signed for Newcastle just one month before Coloccini back in 2008. Gutierrez was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2013, and until recently only a few friends, including Coloccini, knew about the surgery and treatment. But this week, Gutierrez has been told that he is free of the cancer and Coloccini dedicated his goal to his Argentinian teammate.

"I am going to see Jonas now, to spend a few days with him and give him all the messages of support from his teammates, the staff, the fans and the Club. It will be nice to see him. The goal was for him. It has been a great week for everyone."  Coloccini talking about his friend and teammate - Jonas Gutierrez.

Are Newcastle unlucky?

Newcastle have the third highest attendances in the Premier League, after Manchester United and Arsenal, an average of 50,395 fans saw each match at St. James's Park last season. Alan Shearer and Andy Cole, the highest ever Premier League goalscorers, have also played for Newcastle. But, as mentioned earlier, they haven't won a major trophy since 1969. During the Premier League era, however, they have come very close. In 1993-94 and 2002-03, they finished third in the Premier League and in 1995-96 and 1996-97 they were runners-up, they were also finalists in the FA Cup in both 1998 and 1999. Will Newcastle's luck change this season?

Activity 2: In this activity, have a go at these more difficult questions. Answer the questions to show how much of the article you understood.

 


 
Find the word from the article before you lose!
Activity 3: Were there any words in the article you found difficult? In this game, look at the definition and use the letters to guess some of the words from the article.
 

 

Did you know.......?

  • Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were in the team with Coloccini when Argentina won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
  • Coloccini also has an Italian passport.
  • Coloccini has his own foundation called Mama Silvia (named after his mum) which helps young people in Argentina.
  • People from Newcastle are called 'Geordies'. 
  • Some past Newcastle players include: Alan Shearer, Faustno Asprilla, david Ginola and Paul Gascoigne.
Coloccini was in the Premier League's team of the season in 2011/12, Getty.

Quiz

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What do you think?

Newcastle United have won 5 consecutive games after a bad start to the season.

What is the longest winning run that you can remember? 

Why do you think a team can play badly for a long time and then suddenly start playing really well?

 

 

 

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Comments

hsn's picture
hsn
07/12/2022
TR
5558
points

Sentences
• She was left unmarked until recently.
• Four of those medals are in the Olympic games from different style of swimming contests.
Joke
• Two Turkish go to the U.K. as tourist. They went a restaurant for having lunch. Unfortunately they don't know English even one word. One of them says; " No problem, we put "ish" (postfix) at the end of every Turkish meal name then order. When the waiter came they did what is suggested. After meal one of them says "Did you see, it worked ! ". At that moment waiter says; " If I hadn't been Turkish you couldn't have ordered and got lunch"-:)


hsn's picture
hsn
07/12/2022 17:35
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5558

Sentences
• She was left unmarked until recently.
• Four of those medals are in the Olympic games from different style of swimming contests.
Joke
• Two Turkish go to the U.K. as tourist. They went a restaurant for having lunch. Unfortunately they don't know English even one word. One of them says; " No problem, we put "ish" (postfix) at the end of every Turkish meal name then order. When the waiter came they did what is suggested. After meal one of them says "Did you see, it worked ! ". At that moment waiter says; " If I hadn't been Turkish you couldn't have ordered and got lunch"-:)

Gabriel Amaral's picture
Gabriel Amaral
10/06/2021
BR
1512
points

I remember that Arsenal's unbeatten run, but I can't remember how many matches they won consecutively.
It can be for a lot of reasons, but they are all surrounded by a positive mentality, players trusting each other, finding some key playing strategies.


Gabriel Amaral's picture
Gabriel Amaral
10/06/2021 16:23
Brazil
Arsenal
1512

I remember that Arsenal's unbeatten run, but I can't remember how many matches they won consecutively.
It can be for a lot of reasons, but they are all surrounded by a positive mentality, players trusting each other, finding some key playing strategies.

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
21/06/2020
TR
6539
points

the longest winning run that I can remember was Liverpool in this season 2019-2020 for 21 games in a row.


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
21/06/2020 22:00
Turkey
Manchester United
6539

the longest winning run that I can remember was Liverpool in this season 2019-2020 for 21 games in a row.

kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
02/07/2016
GH
4779
points

The players could be psychic to play better by the team psychologist


kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
02/07/2016 10:01
Ghana
Manchester United
4779

The players could be psychic to play better by the team psychologist

kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
02/07/2016
GH
4779
points

Arsenal's unbeaten run in 2004


kwesimanifest's picture
kwesimanifest
02/07/2016 09:58
Ghana
Manchester United
4779

Arsenal's unbeaten run in 2004

HakanUslu1881's picture
HakanUslu1881
27/03/2016
TR
1761
points

Sometimes 'An unvisible hand' can touch a team.


HakanUslu1881's picture
HakanUslu1881
27/03/2016 21:03
Turkey
Leicester City
1761

Sometimes 'An unvisible hand' can touch a team.

HakanUslu1881's picture
HakanUslu1881
27/03/2016
TR
1761
points

In my country,Fenerbahce won 12 consecutive matches in 2005-2006 season.


HakanUslu1881's picture
HakanUslu1881
27/03/2016 21:02
Turkey
Leicester City
1761

In my country,Fenerbahce won 12 consecutive matches in 2005-2006 season.

assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
22/02/2016
PS
3705
points

I think the tactic is what make a team good or bad with good players.


assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
22/02/2016 15:59
Palestinian Territory
Liverpool
3705

I think the tactic is what make a team good or bad with good players.

assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
22/02/2016
PS
3705
points

I can remember that Real Madrid won 22 consecutive formal matches and they lost to Valencia 2-1 in the spanish league.


assemjuve's picture
assemjuve
22/02/2016 15:57
Palestinian Territory
Liverpool
3705

I can remember that Real Madrid won 22 consecutive formal matches and they lost to Valencia 2-1 in the spanish league.

aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
01/12/2015
ME
3557
points

Sometimes the players are not motivated, the atmosphere is bad, the coach's tactics are revealed..and in that case it is a question of time when a team will break a losing streak. We have that situation this year with Chelsea. Last year they won PL, and this year something is missing.


aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
01/12/2015 16:27
Montenegro
Arsenal
3557

Sometimes the players are not motivated, the atmosphere is bad, the coach's tactics are revealed..and in that case it is a question of time when a team will break a losing streak. We have that situation this year with Chelsea. Last year they won PL, and this year something is missing.

nikosonris
04/12/2015
UA
2453
points

It might well be Jose's strategy: to get down to the bottom of the league and then re-appear at the top in order to show his Special managerial skills))


nikosonris
04/12/2015 17:13
Ukraine
Arsenal
2453

It might well be Jose's strategy: to get down to the bottom of the league and then re-appear at the top in order to show his Special managerial skills))

nikosonris
17/11/2015
UA
2453
points

I remember the famous unbeaten run by Arsenal back in 2003/04. One of the greatest achievements made by the Gunners!


nikosonris
17/11/2015 14:07
Ukraine
Arsenal
2453

I remember the famous unbeaten run by Arsenal back in 2003/04. One of the greatest achievements made by the Gunners!

aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
02/11/2015
ME
3557
points

Probably with Alan Shearer, when they played in CL.


aragorn1986's picture
aragorn1986
02/11/2015 20:56
Montenegro
Arsenal
3557

Probably with Alan Shearer, when they played in CL.

almirpereira's picture
almirpereira
25/10/2015
BR
1339
points

very good


almirpereira's picture
almirpereira
25/10/2015 20:01
Brazil
Chelsea
1339

very good

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3hsn5558
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8assemjuve3705
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Club ranking
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2Liverpool111355
3Chelsea90220
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8West Ham United7671
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Level

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Average: 4 (1 vote)

Goals

In this article, you will:

Practise reading.

Learn about Fabricio Coloccini and learn some new vocabulary.

Tips

Recording Vocabulary

How do you keep a record of new vocabulary? There are some great apps you can use on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Here are a couple of suggestions:

  • Evernote is a fantastic tool for storing and categorising vocabulary.
  • Anki is another great tool - you can use it to create flash cards and then test yourself.

Extension

We are all happy that Newcastle midfielder, Jonas Gutierrez, has been told that he is free of testicular cancer. Read more about men's health and what Southampton football club are doing to encourage men to talk about health issues.