Soccer, “pallone” is the national sport and a national obsession every four years when the World Cup comes around. Ever since Silvio Berlusconi co-opted the hurtling cry “Go Italy” (Forza Italia) for his political party and peppered speeches with increasingly sporty metaphors (“scendere in campo” is another favorite) Italians have become a little more shy of using soccer terms in daily life. Here are some that continue to stick around.
More on everyday language? Try the Dictionary of Italian Slang and Colloquial Expressions
Term | Rough Translation/Use |
(salvarsi in) calcio d’angolo |
Saved with a corner kick. Used outside soccer to mean saved at the last minute, saving a situation with a less risky solution. "Ti perdono. Comunque ti sei salvato in calcio d’angolo con il complimento successivo.." I forgive you — you saved yourself with a corner kick thanks to that last compliment. |
autogol
|
Scoring for the other team. Fare autogoal = make a stupid mistake, bite one’s own tail. |
(nel) pallone |
Literally in the ball. Often mistaken as similar to "on the ball" in English, in Italian it means confused, muddled. Avere la testa nel pallone = have one’s head in the clouds, sick with a head cold, or generally out of it. "Suo marito aveva la testa nel pallone. Non riusciva a prendere una decisione." Her husband was in a muddle, he couldn’t make a decision. |
fischio d’inizio | Kick off. Used also for meetings conventions etc. "Il meeting questanno è stato fatto allombra del campanile di Paderno del Grappa; un centinaio di persone sono in attesa del fischio dinizio." This year’s meeting was held in the shadow of the belltower in Paderno del Grappa; hundreds were waiting for the official kick-off. |
scendere in campo
|
Literally take to the field, throw one’s hat in the ring, take action. Used by many, considered a Berlusconi trademark. |
serie B
|
B series, A series is the professional league. Used to mean second rate. "Cittadini di serie B" second-class citizens, another one used by Berlusca. |
(sbagliare un) calcio di rigore
|
Penalty kick. Missing the penalty kick is making a banal mistake, not being able to meet one’s objectives for silly reasons. |
palla lunga e pedalare
|
Keep the ball rolling and run. Keep going, |
cartellino giallo |
Literally yellow card — when a foul is committed it’s the first warning. Sometimes used to describe foul play or a warning in general. "Ha ricevuto il cartellino giallo dal giudice." The judge gave him a yellow flag. |
fare dribbling | To dribble — borrowed from the English basketball term but often used in soccer commentary (and everyday language) to mean fancy footwork. Antonella ha dribblato le domande dei giornalisti con un "no comment". Antonella dribbled the journalist’s questions with a "no comment." |
(prendere in) contropiede | Stealing the ball. When someone is caught unawares or unprepared. "Il premier israeliano ha posto una nuova condizione che ha, almeno apparentemente,preso in contropiede gli Stati Uniti e ha suscitato imbarazzo a Washington." The Premier of Israel made a new demand, which apparently caught the US unawares and embarassed Washington." |
1-0 palla al centro | 1-0 and the ball’s back in the center. Way of telling someone, succinctly, that you’ve just "scored" or are ahead of them, or that they owe you one. |
(in) panchina | On the bench. Someone who is out of action, standing on the sidelines. "E’ rimasta in panchina per tutta la riunione." She spent the whole meeting on the sidelines. |