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Football dictionary
general
Home match: A match played at the teams own home ground
Away match:Match played at the other teams home ground
Draw:A game that ends with a tied score.
Yellow card:A playing card-sized card that a referee holds up to warn a player for dangerous or unsportsmanlike behavior; also called a caution; 2 yellow cards in one game earns a player an automatic red card, signaling his removal from the game.
Red card:A playing card-sized card that a referee holds up to signal a player's removal from the game; the player's team must play the rest of the game shorthanded; presented for violent behavior or multiple law infractions (two yellow cards = one red card).
Unsportsmanlike conduct:Rude behavior.
Defence:A team's function of preventing the opposition from scoring.
Play, one-touch:Passing the ball first time, i.e. without controlling the ball.
Possession:Player or team having control of the ball.
Defending team:The team that does not have possession of the ball.
Deflection:The ricochet of a ball after it hits a player.
Shinpads /shinguards:Pads that strap onto a player's lower leg to protect the shins should he be kicked there.
Make a substitution:Replacement of one player on the pitch with another player
Hat trick:3 or more goals scored in a game by a single player.
Formation - 4-3-3: Team consists of 4 defenders, 3 midfielders and 3 forwards.or 4-4-2: Team consists of 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 forwards...etc etc
Injury time:Time added to the end of any period according to the referee's judgment of time lost due to player injuries or intentional stalling by a team.
Kickoff:The method of starting a game or restarting it after each goal.
Match:A football game.
Official game clock:The clock that the referee carries with him on the field so he can signal when each half is over; does not stop during the game, even when play does.
One touch football:Interpassing among teammates without stopping the ball.One touch:72% of all goals are from one touch.
Own goal : When a player scores a goal by accident in his own goal
Play on:A term used by referees to indicate that no foul or stoppage is to be called; used by referees when applying the Advantage Law.
Rules
Direct free kick;A restart situation that can be scored directly by the shooter.
Halftime:The intermission between the 2 periods or halves of a game.
Foul:A violation of the laws for which an official assesses a free kick.
Free kick:A kick awarded to a players team for a foul committed by the opposition; the player kicks a stationary ball without any opposing players within 10 yards of the ball.
Obstruction:When a defensive player, instead of going after the ball, uses his body to prevent an offensive player from playing it.
Hand ball:A foul where a player touches the ball with his hand or arm; the opposing team is awarded a direct free kick.
Goal:When the ball passes completely over the goal line and under cross bar, one point is scored per goal.
Off-side, when can not be declared off-side;A player can not be declared off-side by the referee if he receives the ball direct from a goal kick, a corner kick or a throw in.
Off-side:A situation in which an attacker positioned in the opponents' half of the field does not have two opponents between him or herself and the goal at the moment the ball is played to him or her.
Out of play:When a ball is outside the boundaries of the field (pitch) or play has been stopped by the referee.
Penalty shot or penalty;The result of a direct foul committed by a defender within his penalty area.
The pitch
Corner flag:The flag located at each of the 4 corners of the field
Centre spot:A small circular mark inside the centre circle that denotes the center of the field from which kickoffs are taken to start or restart the game.
Crossbar:The horizontal beam that forms the top of a goal and sits on top of the two posts; it is 24 feet long and supported 8 feet above the ground.
Goal area:The rectangular area 20 yards wide by 6 yards deep in front of each goal.
Flank (wing):The area of the field within fifteen yards or so of the side-lines.
Penalty area;At each end of the soccer field two lines are drawn at right angles to the goal line, 18 yards from each goal post. Lines also extend into the field of play for a distance of 18 yards and are joined by a line drawn parallel with the goal post.
Penalty spot:The small circular spot located 12 yards in front of the center of the goal line from which all penalty kicks are taken; positioned at the center of the penalty arc.
Kicks and ways to hit the ball
Back header:A player's use of his head to direct the ball backwards.
Bicycle kick When a player kicks the ball in mid-air backwards and over his own head, usually making contact above waist level; an acrobatic shot.
Flick header:A player's use of his head to deflect the ball.
Centre pass:A pass from a player located near the sideline towards the middle of the field; used to get the ball closer to the front of the goal.
Chip shot:A kick lofted into the air to try to sail the ball over the goalkeeper's head and still make it under the crossbar into the goal.
Clearing:The act of moving the ball out from within scoring range. A defensive measure
Control, cushion;Control of the ball by withdrawing the surface in contact with the ball on impact, e.g. the thigh.
Corner kick or Corner;A direct free kick taken by the attacking team from the one yard arc at the corner of field..
Dive header;Acrobatic skill used to score goals off low crosses in the goal area.
Header:The striking of a ball in the air by a player's head.Headers:22% of all goals are from headers.
Passing:When a player kicks the ball to his teammate.
Pass, chip;A pass made by a stabbing action of the kicking foot to the bottom part of the ball to achieve a steep trajectory and vicious back spin on the ball.
Pass, flick;A pass made by an outward rotation of the kicking foot, contact on the ball being made with the outside of the foot..
Pass, push;A pass made with the inside of the kicking foot.
Pass, swerve;
A pass made by imparting spin to the ball, thereby causing it to swerve from either right to left or left to right. Which way the ball swerves depends on whether contact with the ball is made with the outside or the inside of the kicking foot.
Pass, volley:A pass made before the ball touches the ground.
Strategies and Moves
Mark:Adopt a position, in relation to an opponent, which enables a player either to prevent the opponent from receiving the ball or, at least, to challenge for the ball.
Marking, man-to-man;Marking a particular opponent in all the important defensive areas of the field.
Dummy:Stepping over the ball and letting it roll past you to a teammate, or applied in dribbling to feinting to move in one direction, to unbalancing an opponent, before moving away in a different direction.
Save:The act of a goalkeeper in blocking or stopping a shot that would have gone into the goal without his intervention.
Score:To put the ball into the net for a goal; also, the tally of goals for each team playing in a game.
Dive : When a player pretends to be tripped up or pushed by another player
Taking players on;Applied to dribbling past opponents.
Tackle:A challenge using the feet, to win the ball from an opponent.
Shooting:When a player kicks the ball at the opponent's net in an attempt to score a goal.
Side tackle:An attempt by a defender to redirect the ball slightly with his foot away from a ball carrier running in the same direction.
Sliding tackle:An attempt by a defender to take the ball away from a ball carrier by sliding on the ground feet-first into the ball.
Space, creating;Increasing the distance between, to the side, in front of, or behind opponents.
Drop kick:When a goalie drops the ball from his hands and kicks it before it hits the ground.
Foot trap:A player's use of the bottom or sides of his/her shoe to control a rolling or low-bouncing ball.
Set piece:A planned strategy that a team uses when a game is restarted with a free kick, penalty kick, corner kick, goal kick, throw-in or kickoff.
Break:When a team quickly advances the ball down the field in an attempt to get its players near the opponent's goal before the defenders have a chance to retreat.
Cut down the angle:When the goalie comes out of the goal several feet to make himself closer and larger to an attacker, leaving the attacker less net to shoot at.
Dribbling:A way of moving the ball along the ground by using the feet while keeping the ball under player's control.
Run with the ball;Movement with the ball without dribbling past an opponent.
People
Defenders:The players on the team that does not have possession of the ball.
Goalkeeper:The goal keeper defends the goal using hands and feet
Goal scorers/forwards:Players who score goals.
Sweeper:The "free" player in defense who covers the marking defenders.
Substitute - replacement player (3 allowed)
Stopper:A central marking defender.
Striker:A front-running central attacker.
Wingers:The outside forwards who play to the sides of the strikers and whose primary task is to provide them with accurate crossing passes so they can shoot at the goal; often the fastest players and best dribblers on a team.
Wall:A line of 2 to 5 defending players pressed together shoulder-to-shoulder to protect their goal against a close free kick; creates a more difficult shot by reducing the amount of open goal area the kicker has to shoot at.
Midfielder:A player who links the defenders with the attackers and contributes to both attack and defense.
Officials:The referee and 2 assistant referees who work together to make sure the game is played according to the laws of game; responsible for stopping and restarting play, keeping track of the score and the time remaining and citing violations of the laws, called fouls; they wear uniforms that distinguish them from the players on both teams.
Referee:The chief official makes all final decisions, acts as timekeeper, calls all fouls and starts and stops play.
restart points of the game
Restarts (of the game);Are from , corner kicks, drop balls, free kicks, goal kicks, penalty kick, place kick, and throw-in.
Throw-in:A type of restart where a player throws the ball from behind his head with two hands while standing with both feet on the ground behind a sideline; taken by a player opposite the team that last touched the ball before it went out of bounds across a sideline.
Goal kick:A type of restart where the ball is kicked from inside the goal area; awarded to the defending team when a ball that crossed the goal line was last touched by a player on the attacking team.
Indirect free kick;A restart situation which will not score a goal unless touched or played by one other player before going into the goal.
Drop ball:A method of restarting a game where the referee drops the ball. The ball must hit the ground.
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Last updated March 2006
web design by Glen Croucher,2006