Language first

By Jason Moore THE another night I watched Gary Lineker's interview with Diego Maradona. The first thing that struck me is that Lineker is an excellent ambassador for his sport and his skills as an interviewer/presenter are first class. Secondly, I was amazed that he was able to hold a long conversation in Spanish with Maradona. Lineker spent a spell at Barcelona, twenty years ago, and he mastered the language, very well, it appears. Then I thought of David Beckham, who holds Lineker's former role in the England team at the moment. Despite being at Spain's most Spanish club Beckham still has great difficulty expressing himself in Spanish. I watched one of his press conferences which allegedly should have been in Spanish and you would have thought that he arrived yesterday in Madrid rather than two years ago. Not many English players have enjoyed success outside the British Isles; only three spring to mind; David Platt, Gary Lineker and Steve McManaman. There is one common denominator between these three, they all mastered the language, which of course is vital. You can't say that Beckham has been a success at Madrid. I doubt that he will remain there. Perhaps, Japan beckons. One thing for sure, if you want to successfully work abroad you have to master the language. If you don't you usually end up moving back “home.”