I’m involved with a group (Yanks in Germany) that supports the US national team in their international matches. We’re trying to put together a guide to Germany in advance of the 2006 World Cup and I need some help translating phrases that one might encounter watching a match in Germany. Anybody speak German well enough (Coldfire?)and know fussball enough to give a go at translating these?
thanks,
Shibb
Note: these were culled from a Spanish/English website, feel free to suggest improvements (additions/deletions/changes etc)
The Field
the field, the pitch
the middle/half of the field
the penalty box
sideline; touchline
endline; goal-line
penalty spot
right corner flag
left corner flag
The Teams
national team
team
visiting team
home team
the lineups; the roster
the coach
The Players
player
defender
midfielder
wingers
goalkeeper
forward; striker
usually a lone striker; any forward
a goal scorer, one who scores very often
leading goalscorer
reserve players
injured
countryman
The Fans
attendance
fans
the dedicated fans / supporters
flag
scarf
face paint
chants
songs
drumming
hooligans
Rules and Standings
the score
the beginning, the start (of the season, of the game, etc)
first half
second half
regulation time
the referee
linesman; line judge; referee’s assistant
to leave the field (as in substitution)
to enter the field (as in substitution)
the season
the playoffs
the second leg in a two-game series or revenge, as in the second
time that two teams meet
undefeated
yellow card
red card
ejection
to waste time (intentionally)
tactics; strategy
technical ball skill
Technical Terms
the/a play; “handiwork”
set plays
cross; center (e.g. into the penalty area)
throw in
goalkick
corner kick
offside
free kick
infraction
penalty kick
bench
substitution
warming up (reserve players)
at home
on the road
first-time; one-time
bicycle kick; overhead volley
diving header
backheel pass
shot at goal
a shot way off the mark
a REALLY hard shot at goal, usually from long distance
to finish (an opportunity)
to score a goal
to tie/draw
header
elbow foul
shoulder foul
handball
to open the field (i.e. spread it out to the wings)
a switch of play to the opposite side of the field
counterattack
to/through the middle
the defensive wall during a free kick
pass
very short passing; early cross?
return pass
defensive clearance
extra time
overtime period
formation
442
352
Describing the Run of Play
The Hand of God (referring to Maradono goal)
It is a handball!
There’s no time for any more! (end of first half, regulation time,
overtime, etc.)
Here it comes! It’s coming! (a goal)
“It’s (almost) here!” (a goal)
It doesn’t count! (disallowed goal, or when play proceeds a little
after the offside call, etc.)
[player name] broke through on the ground (as in keeping the ball low;
or
as in reference to a fallen player; etc.)
of a ball hit long and high (said with a negative tone…)
slow
totally off the mark (a shot at goal)
outside (refers to shots that go wide)
up (refers to shots over the crossbar)
looking for the tie, or striving for the tying goal
he messed up
good
bad
from long distance
to run
to ask for (e.g. the ball)
to maintain possession of the ball (by a player or team)
to regain (the ball)
danger! (as during a threat at goal)
to leave it (the ball) for another player to run onto
he hit it! (at goal)
pressure (defensive or offensive)
a play bringing the ball out of one’s defensive half
from the back (as in an attack generated by the defense)
to win
to lose
in favor of; for; belonging to (The free kick for the US)
to fight (for the ball, for the win, with each other, etc.)
Feel free to take a shot at a single section if you like. I can also give a shot at translating these but my German’s not that tight and I’m afraid I’d cause more problems than I’d solve.
the dedicated fans / supporters - der Anhänger, pl. die Anhänger
flag - die Fahne, die Flagge (technically a Flagge is only something on a string for setting on a pole)
scarf - der Schal
face paint - die Gesichtsbemalung, die Schminke (“makeup”)
chants - die Gesänge (pl.)
songs - die Lieder, (die Gesänge ?)
drumming - trommeln (v.), das Trommeln (n.)
hooligans - die Hooligans (pl.) We never needed a native word for that!
Rules and Standings
the score - der Spielstand
the beginning, the start (of the season, of the game, etc) - Season: *der Saisonbeginn - * Game: der Spielbeginn, der Anpfiff (actual whistle signal for the start)
first half - die erste Halbzeit
second half - die zweite Halbzeit
regulation time - die reguläre Spielzeit
the referee - der Schiedsrichter
linesman; line judge; referee’s assistant - official: der Schiedsrichterassistent common: der Linienrichter (*)
to leave the field (as in substitution) - ausgewechselt werden
to enter the field (as in substitution) - eingewechselt werden
the season - die Saison
the playoffs - die Endrunde ? (playoffs is also known as a foreign word, but usually not refering to soccer)
the second leg in a two-game series or revenge, as in the second
time that two teams meet - das Rückspiel opposite: das Hinspiel
undefeated - ungeschlagen
yellow card - die gelbe Karte
red card - die rote Karte
ejection - der Platzverweis
to waste time (intentionally) - die Spielverzögerung
tactics; strategy - die Taktik, die Strategie
technical ball skill - die Technik, das Ballgefühl (“ball feeling”)
(*) This was officially changed a few years ago from Linienrichter (“line judge”) to Schiedsrichterassistent (“referee’s assistant”.) Bad joke from that time: “It’s also not called post any longer, now it’s crossbar assistant.” (I hope I didn’t mingle it too badly.)
Seriously, Kellner, I’d like to give you a credit in the guide (if they do that), so if you’re interested in an honorable mention then you can email me your particulars.
BTW, how would you say qualified or went through to the next round, or conversely, failed to make the next round? Is that similar to “standing” or “falling down” like with exams? For example, “Germany are through again to the quarterfinal, having defeated the English 6-0. This is the umpteenth time England have failed to make it into the semi-finals.”
I missed a few of those. Sometimes I think I knew what those are but could not find of a fitting German phrase. Keep in mind that I see very little English language soccer.
Technical Terms
the/a play; “handiwork” - das Spiel (“game” and “play”/“way of playing”)
set plays - ?
cross; center (e.g. into the penalty area) - die Flanke*
throw in - der Einwurf
goalkick - der Torschuß
corner kick - der Eckstoß
offside - das Abseits
free kick - der Freistoß
infraction - die Übertretung
penalty kick - official: der Strafstoß very common: der Elfmeter (“eleven meters”)
bench - die Bank
substitution - die Auswechslung, der Wechsel
warming up (reserve players) - aufwärmen
at home - zuhause
on the road - auswärts
first-time; one-time - ? erstes…, einziges…
bicycle kick; overhead volley - der Fallrückzieher
diving header - header = der Kopfball
backheel pass - Hackentrick
shot at goal - Torschuß
a shot way off the mark - ?
a REALLY hard shot at goal, usually from long distance - der Distanzschuß
to finish (an opportunity) - verwandeln (v.)
to score a goal - ein Tor erzielen (formal), ein Tor schießen
to tie/draw - ausgleichen
header - der Kopfball
elbow foul - das Ellbogenfoul
shoulder foul - ? don’t know any special term, der Rempler~“jostle” might be close
handball - das Handspiel
to open the field (i.e. spread it out to the wings) - ?
a switch of play to the opposite side of the field - ?
counterattack - Konter
to/through the middle - durch die Mitte
the defensive wall during a free kick - die Mauer
pass - der Pass
very short passing; early cross? - short passing: der Kurzpass
return pass - der Rückpass
defensive clearance - klären (v.) (all nouns I can think of sound clumsy)
extra time - literally: zusätzliche Zeit or see below
overtime period - die Nachspielzeit
formation - die Formation
442 - I guess the numbers are ok (vier-vier-zwei) but there are also other names for formations
352 - drei-fünf-zwei
Soon I’ll attempt the last group.
I think the most common versions would be:
to qualify for x - x erreichen
Italy qualifies for the next round - Italien erreicht die nächste Runde.
or sich für x qualifizieren Italien qualifiziert sich für die nächste Runde.
to fail to make x - either simply the negation of the phrases above (Italien erreicht die nächste Runde nicht.) or ausscheiden (very general) Italien scheidet aus.
For most of those there are of course many possibilities:
Describing the Run of Play
The Hand of God (referring to Maradono goal) - Die Hand Gottes
It is a handball! - Das ist Handspiel!, Handspiel!
There’s no time for any more! (end of first half, regulation time,
overtime, etc.) - Die Zeit ist um.
Here it comes! It’s coming! (a goal) - ? many possibilities, relatively literal: Es kommt, es kommt!
“It’s (almost) here!” (a goal) - ? almost literal: Es ist fast da!
It doesn’t count! (disallowed goal, or when play proceeds a little
after the offside call, etc.) Es zählt nicht. or Es wird nicht gegeben (goal or expected penalty)
[player name] broke through on the ground (as in keeping the ball low;
or
as in reference to a fallen player; etc.) - ?
of a ball hit long and high (said with a negative tone…) - ?
slow - langsam
totally off the mark (a shot at goal) - weit vorbei, völlig daneben…
outside (refers to shots that go wide) - das Aus (n.), Aus!
up (refers to shots over the crossbar)
looking for the tie, or striving for the tying goal - “den Ausgleich anstreben”
he messed up - Er hat es versaut/versemmelt/versiebt. (informal)
good - gut
bad - schlecht
from long distance - aus der Distanz
to run - rennen, laufen (more general)
to ask for (e.g. the ball) um x bitten player asking for the ball: sich anbieten (“to offer oneself”)
to maintain possession of the ball (by a player or team) den Ball behalten
to regain (the ball) den Ball zurückerobern
danger! (as during a threat at goal) - Achtung!
to leave it (the ball) for another player to run onto - jemandem den Ball überlassen
he hit it! (at goal) - Er hat getroffen.
pressure (defensive or offensive) - der Druck
a play bringing the ball out of one’s defensive half - den Ball nach vorne spielen (not very literal)
from the back (as in an attack generated by the defense) - von hinten, aus der Tiefe
to win - gewinnen
to lose - verlieren
in favor of; for; belonging to (The free kick for the US) - zugunsten der USA (“in favor of…”), für die USA (“for…”, more general, can include negatives)
to fight (for the ball, for the win, with each other, etc.) - kämpfen (“the fight/struggle”=der Kampf
My full name is Phillip Kellner (that’s not that secret anyway.) Do you need anything else?
If you have any questions on the translations or additional phrases, let me know! (I also have a mail address entered)
