Flashcards: Footy words
About these flashcards
Created by:
anacik on June 19, 2010
Subjects:
Description:
Here are a few football terms to help you sound like a World Cup expert.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/football/06/09/world.cup.bluffer.guide/index.html
All 10 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Square ball | Refers not to another controversial ball design, but rather a simple pass of the ball sideways to a teammate. |
| Through-ball | When a player passes the ball forward past two or more defenders to a teammate, usually a striker, who is in position to run through on goal to score. |
| Cross | Nothing religious, it refers to the delivery of the ball, either in the air, or along the ground, from either side of the pitch towards the opponent's goal for a teammate. |
| Dribble | Funnily enough this is a skilful technique where a player runs past opponents with the ball apparently glued to his feet. Watch Argentina star Lionel Messi for a master class. |
| Header | As you would expect. For the best players, the head is as good as their feet. The hardest part of the skull is the forehead so use that for maximum power. |
| Volley | Kicking the ball when it's reached you in the air, like in tennis. This is a technique which can lead to spectacular goals or derisive cheers from fans if the ball ends up in "row Z" of the stand. |
| Tackle | Taking the ball off an opponent, robbing him of the ball and often leaving him on his backside. |
| Foul | A tackle where you usually hack away at the opponent's feet first before running off the with ball. Not allowed. |
| Professional foul | A pre-meditated foul, usually a last-ditch desperate act to stop an almost certain goal. The methods have become sophisticated though so it often takes a sharp-eyed referee to make the right call. A professional foul will often lead to a red card. |
| Man-marking | Nothing like as serious as it sounds. Man-marking is when a player shadows an opponent to crowd him out and give him no space to run with the ball or pass it. Some players will hold or grab any part of their opponent's anatomy to hinder their progress. |