'At last, the definitive guide to football phraseology across the world... Sparky and very funny.' Paul Hayward, Daily Telegraph ''Amusing and informative in equal measure.' Oliver Kay, The Times An expertly compiled and utterly fascinating compendium of the weird and wonderful words and phrases used to describe football around the world. To speak football is to speak a language of a thousand tongues... In this ground-breaking global glossary of football words and phrases, you'll discover the rich, quirky and joyously creative language used by fans, commentators and players across the world. From placing a shot 'where the owl sleeps' in Brazil, to what it means to use your 'chocolate leg' in the Netherlands, via Wembley-Tor – a phrase adopted by Germans to describe a dubious goal – this comprehensively researched book will entertain and inform in equal measure. Discover the unfortunate Finnish term for a holding midfielder, what it means when South Korean fans get nostalgic about a 'Leeds season' and why Dundee United supporters should keep their heads down in Nigeria. With over 700 terms from 89 countries (including 29 ways to describe a nutmeg), this is the definitive guide to the global language of football.

Who still says 'soccer'; why does 'Arsenal' sound so foreign; who was 'sick as a parrot' first; was Shakespeare the game's first clogger; and what makes footballers better wordsmiths than the Eskimos? The answers to all these and more are revealed in Football Talk, football's first dictionary of words.

Present and practise English with your students through the popular context of football

Essential reading for soccer fans as the 2022 World Cup approaches, this lively and lyrical book is "an ideal guide to the world's most popular sport" (Simon Kuper, coauthor of Soccernomics). Soccer is not only the world's most popular game; it's also one of the most widely shared forms of global culture. The Language of the Game is a passionate and engaging introduction to soccer's history, tactics, and human drama. Profiling soccer's full cast of characters—goalies and position players, referees and managers, commentators and fans—historian and soccer scholar Laurent Dubois describes how the game's low scores, relentless motion, and spectacular individual performances combine to turn each match into a unique and unpredictable story. He also shows how soccer's global reach makes it an unparalleled theater for nationalism, international conflict, and human interconnectedness, with close attention to both men's and women's soccer. Filled with perceptive insights and stories both legendary and little known, The Language of the Game is a rewarding read for anyone seeking to understand soccer better—newcomers and passionate followers alike.

The world?s most popular sport, soccer, is also one of the planet?s prevalent cultural expressions, celebrated and debated as an art form, observed with ritual and passion. Thus it has inspired literary efforts of every sort, from every corner of the globe, by women and men. The writings gathered in this volume reflect the universal and infinitely varied ways in which soccer connects with human experience. Poetry and prose from Ted Hughes, Charles Simic, Eduardo Galeano, G_nter Grass, Giovanna Pollarolo, 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature Winner Mario Vargas Llosa, and Elvis Costello?to name but a few?take us to a dizzying array of cultures and climes. From a patch of ground in Missoula, Montana, to a clearing in a Kosovo forest, from the stadiums of Burma and Iran to the northern lights over Greenland to remotest Sierra Leone, these writers show us soccer?s stars and fans, politics and rituals, as well as the game?s power to encourage resistance, inspire faith, and build community.

A fun, intelligent, and useful guide to understanding the nuanced language of soccer Every week, year-round, legions of devoted soccer fans across the country rise at the crack of dawn or quietly sneak out of work to watch their favorite teams play across the pond—complete with a soundtrack of two cheeky Englishmen spouting a stream of trite phrases and curious words that make maddeningly little sense. They’ll chat about flying teacups and cultured left feet, or point out a player who’s jinking through the corridor of uncertainty, hoping to bag one with aplomb. Confused? Many Brits are, too. In Football Clichés, London-based soccer writer Adam Hurrey amusingly translates the idioms of the sport, from the quaint to the ridiculous. Here you’ll find words for parts of the field and parts of the body; for ways to score a goal and ways to run, walk, or fake an injury. You’ll learn to read the shifting moods of fans at a soccer match and encounter the game’s oddly expressive gestures, which include the muted celebration and the beleaguered manager clap. Perfect for the die-hard or fair-weather fan, Football Clichés celebrates the world of soccer in all its glory.