Spanish and Portuguese football terminology, and a look at its usage and origins
Each week, I will be adding a new term to this page as I look at some of the most commonly used football terms throughout the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world.
Spanish
A collection of football vocabulary used in Spain and Latin America
To kick things off on The Language of Football, we take a trip to España. Being often associated with famous Champions League games, the word ‘remontada’ generally translates as something along the lines of ‘recovery’ in English, but in a footballing sense it is the word used to describe a ‘comeback’. Think Barcelona vs PSG in 2017, a Champions League knock-out tie dubbed ‘La Remontada’ for Barça’s astonishing turnaround, managing to qualify for the next round by winning 6-1 at home after losing the first leg in Paris 4-0.
Portuguese
A collection of football vocabulary used in Portugal and Brazil
For our first look at Brazilian football terminology, we are looking at goalkeepers. The word “frango” in Portuguese translates literally as “chicken”, but in a footballing context it refers to what we might call a “howler” or a “clanger”. The term apparently originated from a goalkeeper scrambling back towards his goal after a ball that he had let through his hands, which was compared to the imagery of somebody attempting to catch a chicken with their bare hands. So, nowadays, the last thing a keeper wants is to “tomar um frango” (“take a chicken”)!
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