Spanish Soccer VocabularyOn my very first visit to Spain, I put my basic soccer vocabulary to good use by talking football with some Spanish guys in a bar. It wasn't the most profound of conversations but with a few words like 'Gol', 'Defensa' and 'Ataque' and the occasional cry of 'Gary Lineker! Fantastico!' I seemed to get my point across. Obviously, to really communicate you need to study a Spanish course but as sport is so visual just a few words will get you a long way. Also if you buy a Spanish football paper you'll find it's full of players' and managers' names and lots of statistics so once you've learnt the essential soccer vocabulary you'll be surprised at how much you understand. The list below is not complete and you really need audio tapes for the pronunciation but I hope it gets you started. The Spanish really love their football and for me it's a continual joy talking to them about the Beautiful Game. Organisations and CompetitionsBefore we start let's get some soccer vocabulary basics out of the way. As I tend to use the Spanish words in my articles on the rest of the site - I can't imagine using the English word - you might need the translation so you know what I'm talking about.The Spanish Football League is La Liga or La Liga de Fútbol Profesional - literally, the Professional Football League. The First Division is La Primera División, La Primera Liga or now, because of sponsorship, La Liga BBVA, and the Second Division is La Segunda División or La Liga Adelante. All other competitions are controlled by the Spanish Football Federation, the RFEF or Real Federación Española de Fútbol - literally, the Royal Spanish Federation of Football. THe RFEF's main competition is La Copa del Rey - the King's Cup. This is the equvalent of the English FA Cup and during the dictatorship, it was called La Copa del Generalísimo - the (Big) General's Cup. People and PositionsI've used the masculine forms of the Spanish words for players just for convenience - if you play for a Women's or Girl's team, just change the 'El' to 'La' and the final 'o' to 'a' because the fact that Latin-based languages have an inherently sexist element doesn't mean that soccer vocabulary should reflect this.
TerminologyPerhaps this section should be called 'Crimes and Misdemeanours'. If you can think of any more, get in touch through the 'Contact Me' page.
Places - Stadium and PitchEvery club seems to use slightly different words to describe the different sections of the ground. This list includes the names I've seen most frequently, but WATCH OUT for regional variations.
*I've not used articles for certain parts of the stadium because whereas in English we'd say 'Let's go in THE covered stand', the Spanish equivalent would be 'Vamos a tribuna' (without the article). EquipmentOne piece of vocabulary I haven't included is 'bocadillo' but nobody in Spain would consider going to a match without a sandwich in their pocket for half-time.
Some Useful VerbsThere's simply not space to include all the wonderful soccer vocabulary you hear on the terraces, but here are some 'polite' expressions - you'll just have to let your imagination do the rest!
All of us know that average players can become great footballers through hard work and training but all the hard work in the world can't turn base metal into gold. What makes the real difference is the method and the approach. Well, learning a language is just the same. If you want to find a great way to go beyond soccer vocabulary and get your mindset just right to reach the heart of Spanish (or French and German), Click Here.
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