Fans outside of Emirates Stadium
Football Jargon
Like any sport, football, or soccer, has a language of its own.
Words that rarely crop up in everyday speech – or at least have different meanings – are commonplace and take some getting used to.
Commentaries and reports are full of weird and wonderful terms so it’s no surprise that new fans of the sport can struggle to cross the language barrier.
If you need some help, take a look at our jargon-buster and you’ll soon make sense of soccer-speak.
Back-heel – An unusual form of passing in which a player uses his heel to direct the ball back towards a team-mate (or the goal)
Henry opened the scoring against Charlton with a clever back-heel.
Booked – a player who has received a yellow card.
Eduardo was booked for showing dissent to the referee.
Box – the penalty box; an area that extends 18 yards from the goal where the goalkeeper can handle the ball with his hands.
Fabregas fired a powerful shot past Bolton’s keeper from just outside the box.
Boxing Day – The day after Christmas and traditionally a big day for soccer in the UK.
Arsenal’s match with Aston Villa was one of the most anticipated Boxing Day matches.
Break – Winning possession near your own goal and running at pace towards the opposition goal to try and score a goal. Also known as a ‘counter-attack’.
Henry led the breakaway and Vieira arrived in the Spurs box to finish off a sweeping move with a fine finish.
Caught in possession – When a player steals the ball from an opposing player, thereby giving possession back to his own team.
Terry was caught in possession by Bendtner and Arsenal quickly created a chance to score.
Caution - a warning by the referee for an offense committed during the match. This is not as serious as a yellow card.
The referee decided not to book Cesc Fabregas but did caution the Arsenal captain.
Cross - When a player kicks the ball from a position near the touchline into the penalty area.
Everton tested Arsenal’s defense with a number of dangerous crosses but the Gunners kept them at bay.
Cup tie – A match between two teams in a cup competition.
After defeating Burnley, Arsenal’s next FA cup tie was against Hull City.
Derby – A match between two teams from the same city or general area.
No matter what stage of the season, the North London derby against Spurs is always an important match for Arsenal.
Double – When a team wins two competitions in a single season.
Arsenal secured the double after winning the league and beating Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
Draw - The process in which teams are placed in groups or matched-up in competitions such as the Champions League.
The Champions League draw put Arsenal in Group H along with Sevilla, Steaua Bucharest, and Slavia Prague.
Extra time - In a knockout competition, when a winning team is required for each match, extra time is played when the scores are level after normal time i.e. 90 minutes. Extra time comprises 30 minutes (two periods of 15 minutes). If the scores are still level after extra time, a penalty shoot-out is required to separate the teams.
Arsenal and Manchester United were still locked at 2-2 when the final whistle blew so their Cup tie went into extra time.
Finishing – Rounding off an attacking move with a shot and – hopefully – a goal.
Eduardo proved once again what a clinical finisher he is with a low shot into the corner.
Fixtures –Upcoming matches or a team’s schedule.
Arsenal faced a tough end to the season with away fixtures against Manchester United and Chelsea.
Foul - an infringement of the rules, but not one worthy of a yellow card.
It was a clear foul by Gerrard and he was lucky to escape with a caution.
Friendly – A game between two teams that does not count in the standings.
Arsenal will kick-off their pre-season competition with a friendly against Barnet at Underhill Stadium.
Good in the air – A player who is good at jumping to head the ball
Bendtner is as good in the air as any striker in the Arsenal squad.
Ground – often substituted for the word stadium.
In the last North London derby, Arsenal defeated Spurs at their ground.
International break – A break during the League season, when players join their national teams to play in competitions such as World Cup Qualifiers.
Cesc Fabregas had a successful international break, scoring twice for Spain.
Kit – uniform and equipment worn by players.
Andrey Arshavin was on hand to show off Arsenal’s new away kit for next season.
Late challenge – a tackle which is made after the player in possession has kicked the ball out of the reach of the tackling player. Usually results in a yellow card for the perpetrator.
Arshavin was in full flow until a late challenge from Carragher stopped him in his tracks. The Liverpool defender was deservedly booked.
Lifting silverware - Winning a trophy.
After four years without a trophy, Arsenal finally lifted some silverware when they won the Champions League.
Linesmen - The officials who patrol both sides of the pitch and help the referee to control the game, with particular emphasis on offside decisions and throw-ins. Also known as assistant referees.
Walcott thought his opponent had got the last touch before the ball went out of play but the linesman awarded the throw-in to Chelsea.
Marking - When one player stays close to an opponent in an attempt to restrict his influence on the game. Usually deployed by the defending team at corners and free-kicks etc, although a talented individual could be ‘man-marked’ throughout the game
Fulham’s tight marking gave Arsenal little space in midfield and Fabregas struggled to impose himself on the game.
Nutmeg – A trick maneuver whereby one player passes the ball through the legs of an opponent and runs around him to collect possession.
Song nutmegged his marker and sprinted away with the ball to launch another Arsenal attack.
Offside – The attacking player must have two opposing players (which can include the goalkeeper) between him and the goal when the ball is played forward to him. Otherwise he is offside and a free kick is awarded to the defending team. You must be ‘interfering with play’ to be ruled offside i.e. directly involved in the attacking move.
Adebayor had strayed into an offside position so Fabregas turned and picked out Arshavin on the left-hand side.
Offside trap – A defensive ploy designed to catch attacking players offside
Adams and Bould played the offside trap expertly to catch Stein out again.
Pace – speed.
Theo Walcott used his pace to blow past the defenders before scoring the opening goal for Arsenal.
Pitch – The field of play.
After all the rain, the conditions on the pitch were not ideal for Arsenal’s style of play.
Professional foul – A cynical foul designed to deny an attacking player a clear goal-scoring opportunity. If the perpetrator is the last defender, this offense is punished with a red card.
Bendtner raced through on goal but was halted in his tracks by a professional foul from Terry. The Chelsea captain was deservedly sent off.
Red card - Brandished by the referee to a player who has committed a serious offence e.g. a dangerous two-footed tackle, elbowing an opponent, foul and abusive language. A player will also receive a red card if he receives two yellow cards in the same game. Any recipient of a red card has to leave the field of play.
Smith’s two-footed tackle on Diaby was clearly dangerous and he fully deserved to receive a red card.
Relegation – At the end of each season, the bottom three teams are sent down to the next lower division. They are replaced by the teams promoted from the lower division.
Newcastle United were unable to fend off relegation after losing on the final day of the season.
Set piece – The term given to ‘dead ball’ situations e.g. corners, free-kicks and throw-ins. Teams will often practice these in training and implement their set-piece tactics in a match.
Arshavin was a constant threat with his accurate delivery from set pieces.
Selling a dummy - This phrase is used when an attacking player pretends to do one thing but then does something different, thereby confusing the opposing player. For example, a player might drop his shoulder as he approaches an opponent, feigning to go one way and then going the other way.
Van Persie sold Ferdinand an outrageous dummy and left the United captain trailing in his wake.
Stepover – Rolling your foot over the ball without moving it, a ploy designed to unbalance your opponent so you can go past him.
Van Persie bewildered the full-back with a succession of stepovers before firing a low shot straight at the keeper.
Stoppage time - An amount of time added on to the normal 90 minutes to compensate for time taken to restart the match after injuries, goals and substitutions during the game. Also known as injury time
The 90 minutes were up but Arsenal still had four minutes of stoppage time to find a winning goal.
Super-sub – Label given to a player with a knack of coming off the substitutes’ bench to influence the game, sometimes even with their first touch.
Eboue proved himself to be a super-sub with two goals within five minutes of coming off the bench.
Sweeper - A player who stays slightly behind the defensive line in order to "sweep" up any loose balls. Franz Beckenbauer and Franco Baresi were two of the finest exponents of the sweeper role.
O’Leary operated as a sweeper just behind the two centre-backs, Bould and Adams.
Table – standings in the league or a competition group.
After defeating Fulham, Arsenal passed Liverpool to move to third in the table.
Through-ball - A pass to a team-mate who has made a forward run which bypasses the opposing defense. Generally leads to a goal scoring opportunity.
A perfect through-ball from Fabregas sent Vela clear on goal.
Touchline – sideline.
Ramsey is standing behind the touchline waiting for the referee’s permission to sub into the game for Denilson.
Wall – A line of defending players positioned 10 yards from where a free-kick is taken. Designed to block the free-kick’s route to goal.
Arsenal had five men in their defensive wall as Ronaldo stepped up to take the free-kick.
Yellow card - shown to a player who is deemed to have contravened the rules. A referee may opt to caution a player and then show him a yellow card after the player has committed another offence. If a player is shown a second yellow card in the same game he is immediately shown a red card and is sent off.
Toure was shown the yellow card after a mistimed challenge on the Liverpool striker. as shown the yellow card after a mistimed challenge on the Liverpool striker.
