Soccer Vocabulary: A German-English Dictionary

German Glossary of Common Soccer Terms

German national anthem
German soccer fans sing the national anthem at the 2014 World Cup.

Horacio Villalobos/Getty Images

By
Hyde Flippo
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.
Learn about our Editorial Process
Updated on 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
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 December 5, 2022).