Italian Language Blog
Menu
Search

Gol! Posted by on Jul 4, 2010 in Culture, Italian Language

I must admit I’m not a big football fan. However, there is something special about Il Mondiale (The World Cup), and as we don’t have a televisione we usually go round to my parents’ apartment to watch the more interesting partite (matches) with my dad, who is an enthusiastic ‘couch footballer’.

After  a grueling primo tempo (first half),  l’intervallo (half-time) is particularly welcome on these hot sultry July days, and we all retire to the spogliatoio (dressing room – which in our case means my mum’s kitchen) to refresh ourselves with a gelato and prepare for il secondo tempo (the second half) of the partita (match).

Calcio (football), like all sports, has its own particular vocabulary which is much too extensive to list in this blog. But just to give you a taster here are a few common terms that you will hear football commentators using very frequently if you happen to be watching La Coppa del Mondo here in Italy:

la squadra
un calciatore
il capitano
il portiere
il commissario tecnico (ct)
l’arbitro
fischiare
un fallo
fuori gioco
il cartellino giallo
il cartellino rosso
ammonire
essere espulso
il guardalinee
gli spettatori
lo stadio
la porta
la rete
una parata
un gol (due, tre, ecc. gol)
un calcio d’angolo
un calcio di punizione
un calcio di rigore
l’area di rigore
una rimessa laterale
una rimessa dal fondo
un cambio/una sostituzione
l’attacco
la difesa
tempo di recupero
tempi supplementari
andare ai rigori
segnare un gol
subire un gol
che azione!
che parata!
il risultato
vincere
perdere
sconfiggere
in vantaggio
in svantaggio
un pareggio
the team
a footballer
the captain
the goalkeeper
the coach
the referee
to whistle
a foul
off side
the yellow card
the red card
to book
to be sent off
the linesman
the spectators
the stadium
the goal
the net
a save
a goal (two, three, etc. goals)
a corner kick
a free kick
a penalty kick
the penalty area
a throw in
a goal kick
a substitution
the attack
the defense
injury time
extra time
penalty shoot out
score a goal
concede a goal
well played!
what a save!
the result
to win
to lose
to defeat
in the lead
behind
a draw

 

Tags: , ,
Keep learning Italian with us!

Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.

Try it Free Find it at your Library
Share this:
Pin it

Comments:

  1. Jeannet:

    Ciao Serena,

    Speaking for myself I am not at all interested in ‘calcio’ but only then when the finale is coming up; I have to watch specially when my country is involved.

    At an sand sculpture exhibition in Olanda on the famous history of Italie , there was one glorious statue to be seen with the aureola “Viva Italia La Coppa del Mondo”. -Very, very proud indeed!

    Now, ‘Olanda’ makes a pretty good chanche to become a WK champion, at least one will cross their fingers, and biting nails :
    v i n c e r e……

  2. Vince Mooney:

    Salve Serena:

    America is always being criticized for using the word ‘soccer’ instead of the word ‘football’. Do Italians also get criticized for using the term ‘calcio’ instead of ‘football’? Is there a reason for using ‘calcio’? (For example, is the term used in Dante?)

    America uses the word ‘soccer’ because that is what the English, themselves, often called the game a hundred years ago. ‘Soccer’ is part of the Queen’s English!

    Vince

    • serena:

      @Vince Mooney Ciao Vince,

      From what I know, the first time that the word calcio was used to refer to a game similar to football was in the fifteenth century.

      Serena

  3. Lesley:

    Grazie mille Serena for your list of words relating to calcio. I was not sure of the italian for ‘a draw’ when I was emailing my italian friends after our surprising and exciting New Zealand/Italy partita and I chose ‘pareggio’ without being too sure if that was correct. Your list is great and very topical – just what we need durante Il Mondiale.
    Salute, Lesley

  4. Mike Dove:

    Thanks Serena for posting our link up on your blog. On the first page of the dictionary it talks about the possibility of England meeting Italy in the World Cup Final. Unfortunately I will always be the eternal optimist so I will change the wording to read ‘European Finals’.

    Cheers – Mike Dove.

  5. Constance Rinaldi:

    Per favore, mi aiuti. Ho scritto una lettera elettronica dopo la partita finale oggi ad un’amica che ama il calcio e mi ho reso conto di non sapere come si dice (dica?) “shots on goal”….che, qui negli U.S., vuole dire gli atti degli attacanti che provano a segnare un gol. Certo l’Espagna ha avuto molti shots on goal durante la partita, ma Olanda non tanti. Sa qualcuno questa frase in italiano? Grazie.
    Costanza

    • serena:

      @Constance Rinaldi Salve Constance,

      I’m afraid I’m not much of an expert on calcio, but according to the site that I linked to in my blog, ‘tirare a rete’ means ‘to shoot at the goal’. It also lists ‘calciare verso la porta’ – ‘to shoot / to take a shot at the goal’.

      A presto, Serena

  6. Jeannet:

    Salve Serena,

    Gol. WK Final.

    In the heath of the struggle it was raining,
    raining yellow cards on both sides. Helas for the Durch equipe it came to an end, at last, with the
    flag in top for Spain!

    All have given everything their utmost but only
    ‘one’ can win, that’s it how it goes.

    For Spain WK 2010: ‘We are the champions”! from (2e of 32) Olanda:

    Congratulations!

    • serena:

      @Jeannet Ciao Jeannet,

      ‘Raining Yellow Cards’, yes, unfortunately it wasn’t a very nice match, we enjoyed a lot of the other matches much more.

      Serena


Leave a comment: