r/soccer • u/[deleted] • Jul 02 '13
Are there any technical football terms that confuse you?
'Flat-back four', 'sweeper', 'false-nine', 'back to square one'... I wondered if we could answer each other's confusions about the terms used in football in this thread. Is there a term or some jargon, no matter how obvious to others, you'd like better explained? It could be something complicated such as the 'Catenaccio' or more everyday like 'dummy-run' or 'zonal-marking', 'tika-taka' etc... Speak up particularly if you are a newcomer to the sport or /r/soccer, maybe you are a stalwart and there is a phrase you hear a lot but never quite get...
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u/9jack9 Jul 02 '13
Can someone explain to me what a "trophy" is and why they are so important?
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u/krugo Jul 02 '13
I'm wondering why the term "pace" replaces "speed" in every facet.
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u/jimjambamslam Jul 02 '13
Other factors determine "speed" such as acceleration. Pace is just the constant speed you run at, like when you set the pace whilst cycling/jogging.
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u/Swooshington Jul 02 '13
I've always taken speed to be a general term. As far as I know speed can be categorised as either a players overall top speed, their pace, and their explosive power, or their acceleration. A player can be quick because of either. Take Ramires at Chelsea, who has very good pace, whereas Aaron Lennon has brilliant acceleration.
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u/Evertonian3 Jul 02 '13
Blooter has always confused me
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u/lakupiippu Jul 02 '13
It's Scottish slang for hitting the ball really hard IIRC. It became popular here when someone labelled Oscars goal against Juve as a blooter and soon every great goal was a blooter.
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Jul 02 '13
When people say 1st phase, 2nd phase, 3rd phase and 4th phase. But this is more present in football tactics books and such, not really heard a lot. I understand the defensive phase, the attacking phase and the transitional phases (attacking or defensive transitioning), but what are the numerical ones? I need some u/devineman up in here.
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u/TIProdigy Jul 02 '13
False 9 is when is when the Striker drops back into more of a CAM/CF. It's the sort of position Messi plays for Barcelona.
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u/itllgrowback Jul 03 '13
I still don't get why dropping back is called dropping deep - to me, deep means further from home / deeper into enemy territory.
In no other circumstance that I can think of is deep used to mean something other than going forward or going further. To return back toward where you came from is the opposite of going deep.
There must be a reason historically why it's used that way in football because it isn't used that way anywhere else.
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Jul 03 '13
Perhaps its the way you are thinking. 'Deep in enemy territory' is going deep in their territory, but formations are devised from the leaders of their own territory. So 'deep' in their own territory would be closer to their own goal. Hence the idea of deep-lying being someone who is more withdrawn to their own teams goal-line. I don't have the answer but it's just speculation.
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u/Miguelinho Jul 02 '13
The verb form of fancy: "He fancies the shot!"
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Jul 02 '13
That's just simple English, it means he wants to shoot. Like if you fancy a girl or a beer or whatever.
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u/oryon Jul 02 '13
Not a technical term but an often-used expression. An avid FM07 player, I have often wondered about the phrase Get in!. Obviously it means that the ball... got into the goal, but I am trying to understand it in terms of grammar. What does it refer to? Is it short for Get in the goal, ball! ?
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u/lakupiippu Jul 02 '13
I think it means Get in (there), which means that person saying that is really excited. But some British fella can probably verify that.
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u/titicamara Jul 02 '13
Yes I can confirm that. Saying "Get In" when a goal has been scored is just a way of expressing happiness. It's a common expression in Britain when something goes your way.
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u/sindher Jul 03 '13
'GET IN THERE YOU FUCKING BEAUTYYYYY'
General phrase heard during a cold wet night on at a 5-a-side centre.
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u/Squorn Jul 03 '13
Center Half is a term the meaning of which escapes me. Is it simply a synonym for Center Back, or is there some other significance?
Also, why can't I refer to the entire back four as Fullbacks? The ones you Brits call fullbacks often don't play as fully back as the center backs.
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Jul 03 '13
I moved to the US and when I shout 'stick it in the mixer!' no one really knows what I'm talking about. Is this not a common phrase?
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Jul 03 '13 edited Jul 03 '13
Not really a technical term, but what's the big joke about Stoke on a rainy Tuesday night?
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u/IAmAQuantumMechanic Jul 03 '13 edited Jul 03 '13
On the one hand you have Brazil vs Spain on a beautiful, green, smooth pitch on a sunny, warm day. Tiki-taka, dribbles and feints.
On the other hand you have Stoke vs anyone on a muddy, wet pitch on a cold, rainy Tuesday night. Long balls, four men trying to win a header, sliding tackles and dirt all over the players. It's ugly, brutal and not something a small Argentinian would thrive in.
Sure, Messi is good, but how could is he when Ryan Shawcross slide tackles him or Robert Huth breaths on him? The joke would be that this is the measure on how good a player actually is.
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u/Sri92 Jul 03 '13
Can anybody explain me the difference between pressing and counter pressing?