Languages › German Soccer Vocabulary: A German-English Dictionary German Glossary of Common Soccer Terms Share Flipboard Email Print German soccer fans sing the national anthem at the 2014 World Cup. Horacio Villalobos/Getty Images German Vocabulary History & Culture Pronunciation & Conversation Grammar By Hyde Flippo German Expert Hyde Flippo taught the German language for 28 years at high school and college levels and published several books on the German language and culture. our editorial process Hyde Flippo Updated February 18, 2020 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) 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 (Note: 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 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 r Konter counterattack, counteroffensive Note: 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. 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) 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 Note: 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"). Z zu Besuch, auswärts on the road zu Hause at home, home game e Zuschauer (pl.) s Publikum spectators fans, spectators Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Flippo, Hyde. "Soccer Vocabulary: A German-English Dictionary." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/german-english-fussball-lexikon-4071149. Flippo, Hyde. (2020, August 27). Soccer Vocabulary: A German-English Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/german-english-fussball-lexikon-4071149 Flippo, Hyde. "Soccer Vocabulary: A German-English Dictionary." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/german-english-fussball-lexikon-4071149 (accessed April 17, 2021). copy citation