Soccer Vocabulary: A German-English Dictionary

The sport known as soccer in the U.S. is called football (fussball) in German-speaking countries and in most of the world. Europeans are passionate about the professional sport and it's also played in school and as a recreational sport. This means that if you're in a German-speaking country, you'll want to know how to talk about fussball.

To help you learn the German words for the most common fussball terms, here is a German-English glossary for you to study.

Football Vocabulary (Fussball-Lexikon)

In order to use this soccer glossary, you'll need to know a few abbreviations. You'll also find helpful annotations scattered throughout that are useful for understanding aspects particular to the sport and Germany.

Noun genders indicated by: r (der, masc.), e (die, fem.), s (das, neu.)
Abbreviations: adj. (adjective), n. (noun), pl. (plural), sing. (singular), sl. (slang), v. (verb)

A

r Abstieg	relegation, moving down
abseits (adj.)	offside
e Abwehr	defense
e Ampelkarte	"traffic light" card (yellow/red)
r Angreifer	attacker, forward
r Angriff	attack, offensive move
r Anhänger	fan(s), follower(s), devotee(s)
r Anstoß Welche Mannschaft hat Anstoß?	kickoff Which team/side will kick off?
e Aufstellung	lineup, roster
r Aufstieg	promotion, moving up
r Ausgleich unentschieden (adj.)	tie, draw tied, a draw (undecided)
auswärts, zu Besuch zu Hause	away, on the road at home, home game
s Auswärtsspiel s Heimspiel zu Hause	away game home game at home, home game
s Auswärtstor	goal scored in an away game
auswechseln (v.)	substitute, switch (players)

B

r Ball (Bälle)	ball
e Bank auf der Bank sitzen	bench sit on the bench
s Bein	leg
bolzen (v.)	to kick the ball (around)
r Bolzplatz (-plätze)	amateur football/soccer field
r Bombenschuss	a difficult shot, usually from a long distance
e Bundesliga	German professional soccer league

D

r DFB (Deutscher Fußballbund)	German Football (Soccer) Federation
r Doppelpass	one-two pass, give and go pass
s Dribbling	dribbling
e Drittkette/Dreierkette e Viertkette/Viererkette	straight three-man backfield (free-kick defense) four-man backfield defense

E

r Eckball	corner ball (kick)
e Ecke	corner (kick)
r Eckstoß	corner kick
r Einwurf	throw-in, toss
e Elf	the eleven (players), soccer team
r Elfmeter	penalty kick (from eleven meters)
The Peter Handke novel "Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter" (1970) was filmed by director Wim Wenders in 1972. The English title is "The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick."
e Endlinie endline	goal line
r Europameister	European champion
e Europameisterschaft	European championship

F

e Fahne (-n)	flag, banner
r Fallrückzieher	bicycle kick, scissors kick
A Fallrückzieher is an acrobatic goal shot in which a player flips and kicks the ball backward over his own head.
fäusten	to punch (the ball)
fechten	to parry (the ball)
s Feld	field, pitch
FIFA	International Football (Soccer) Federation
FIFA was founded in 1904 in Paris. It is headquartered today are in Zurich, Switzerland.
e Flanke	cross, center (e.g., into the penalty area)
r Flugkopfball r Kopfball, r Kopfstoß	diving header header shot
r Freistoß	free kick
r Fußball	football, soccer; soccer ball
e Fußballmannschaft	football/soccer team
r Fußballschuh (-e)	soccer shoe
s Fußballstadion (-stadien)	soccer stadium

G

e Gäste (pl.) s Heim	visiting team home team
r Gegner (-)	opponent, opposing team
gelbe Karte	caution, yellow card (for foul)
gewinnen (v.) verlieren	to win to lose
e Grätsche	sliding trip, straddle vault
grätschen (v.)	to straddle, tackle, trip (often a foul)

H

e Halbzeit	halftime
e Halbzeitpause	halftime break (15 minutes)
e Hälfte erste Hälfte zweite Hälfte	half first half second half
halten gut halten	to save (keeper) to make a good save
s Heim e Gäste (pl.)	home (team) visiting team
e Heimmannschaft	home team
r Hexenkessel	an unfriendly stadium ("witch's cauldron"), usually the opponent's home stadium
e Hinrunde/s Hinspiel e Rückrunde/s Rückspiel	first round/leg second round/leg
r Hooligan (-s)	hooligan, rowdy

J

r Joker (sl.)

sub who comes in and scores goals

K

r Kaiser	"the emperor" (nickname for Franz Beckenbauer, Kaiser Franz)
r Kick	kick (soccer/football)
r Kicker	soccer player
The noun der Kicker/die Kickerin in German refers to a soccer/football player, not just someone playing the position of "kicker." The verb "to kick" can take several forms in German (bolzen, treten, schlagen). The verb kicken is usually limited to sports.
r Konter	counterattack, counteroffensive

L

r Leitwolf	"lead wolf," a player who inspires the team
r Libero	sweeper
r Linienrichter	linesman

M

e Manndeckung	one-on-one coverage, man coverage
e Mannschaft	team
e Mauer	defensive wall (of players) during a free kick
mauern (v.)	to form a defensive wall; to defend aggressively
e Meisterschaft	championship
s Mittelfeld	midfield
r Mittelfeldspieler	midfielder

N

e Nationalmannschaft	national team
e Nationalelf	national team (of eleven)

P

r Pass	pass
r Platzverweis	ejection, expulsion
r Pokal (-e)	cup (trophy)

Q

e Qualifikation	qualification (round), qualifying
r Querpass	lateral/crossfield pass

R

e Rangliste	the rankings
r Rauswurf	ejection
s Remis unentschieden	tie game, draw tied, a draw (undecided)
e Reserven (pl.)	reserve players
rote Karte	red card (for foul)
e Rückgabe	return pass
e Rückrunde/s Rückspiel e Hinrunde/s Hinspiel	second round/leg first round/leg

S

r Schiedsrichter r Schiri (sl.)	referee "ref," referee
r Schienbeinschutz	shinguard, shinpad
schießen (v.) ein Tor schießen	to shoot (ball) to score a goal
r Schiri (sl.)	"ref," referee
r Schlussmann (sl.)	goalkeeper
r Schuss	shot (at goal)
e Schwalbe (sl., lit. "swallow")	a deliberate dive to draw a penalty (automatic red card in the Bundesliga)
e Seitenlinie	sideline, touchline
siegen (v.) verlieren	to win, be victorious to lose
r Sonntagsschuss	a difficult shot, usually made from a long distance
s Spiel	game
r Spieler	player (m.)
e Spielerin	player (f.)
r Spike (-s)	spike (on a shoe)
e Spitze	forward (usually a striker out front)
s Stadion (Stadien)	stadium
r Stand	score, standings
r Stollen (-)	stud, cleat (on a shoe)
r Strafpunkt	penalty point
r Strafraum	penalty area, penalty box
r Strafstoß r Elfmeter	penalty kick
r Stürmer	forward, striker ("stormer")

T

e Taktik	tactics
r Techniker (sl.)	technician, i.e., a player who is very talented with the ball
s Tor goal e Latte s Netz r Pfosten	(net); a scored goal crossbar net post
r Torhüter	goalkeeper, goalie
r Torjäger	goal scorer (who scores often)
Gerd Müller, who played with Bayern München, long held the German record as Torjäger. In the 1972 season, he scored 40 goals, setting a new record and earning him the nickname der Bomber der Nation ("the nation's bomber"). He was finally surpassed in the 2000s by Miroslav Klose. Müller had 68 career goals and Klose 71.
r Torschuss	goalkick
r Torschützenkönig	leading goalscorer ("goal king")
r Torwart	goalkeeper, goalie
r Trainer	coach, trainer
trainieren (v.)	practice, train, work out
r Treffer	goal, hit
treten (v.) eine Ecke treten Er hat ihm an das Schienbein getreten. jemanden treten	to kick to make a corner kick He kicked him in the shin. to kick someone

U

UEFA	European Football (Soccer) Association (founded 1954)
unbesiegt	undefeated
unentschieden (adj.)	tied, a draw (undecided)

V

r Verein	club (soccer, football)
verletzt (adj.)	injured
e Verletzung	injury
verlieren (verlor, verloren) Wir haben (das Spiel) verloren.	to lose We lost (the game).
r Verteidiger	defender
e Verteidigung	defense
verweisen (v.) den Spieler vom Platz verweisen	eject, throw out (of game) throw a player off the field
s Viertelfinale	quarter finals
e Viertkette/Viererkette	straight four-man backfield (free-kick defense)
r Vorstand	board, directorship (of club/team)
vorwärts/rückwärts	forwards/backwards

W

wechseln (v.) auswechseln einwechseln	substitute substitute out substitute in
r Weltmeister	world champion
e Weltmeisterschaft	world championship, world cup
r Weltpokal	world cup
e Wertung	point awards, scoring
e WM (e Weltmeisterschaft)	world championship, world cup
das Wunder von Bern	the miracle of Berne
The story of Germany’s “miracle” win in the 1954 WM (World Cup) played in Bern, Switzerland was made into a German movie in 2003. The title is "Das Wunder von Bern" ("The Miracle of Bern").