Tiempo de Fútbol (Time for Soccer)

Very few things in this life are as thrilling, exciting, joyous and beautiful as soccer is. Nothing has that power to produce extreme joy or gut wrenching pain. That is the beauty of this game, which is in my humble opinion the best contribution the British made to humanity. If you ever had the chance of meeting a Latin person you will find out that 99.99% of us share that passion for the game. In some countries like Argentina soccer is far more than just a game, it is a like a religion or creed. I'm no stranger to that feeling so I've decided to write this hub about soccer in Spanish. Even if you hate soccer, this hub will give you tips on bonding with Latinos.

In Spanish we refer to soccer as 'fútbol' (foot-boll) which comes from the English word 'football.' Let's take a look at some basics.

A match/game (un partido) (oon parr-tee-doh)

Player (jugador) (hoo-gah-dorr)

Team (equipo) (eh-kee-poh)

The crowd (la hinchada) (lah een-chah-dah)

The fan (el hincha) (ell een-chah)

The stadium (el estadio) (ell ezz-tah-dee-oh)

The field (la cancha) (lah can-chah)

The referee (el árbitro) (ell arr-bee-troh)

The goalkeeper (el arquero) (ell arr-keh-roh)

The defender (el defensa) (ell deh-fenn-sah)

The midfielder (el volante) (ell voh-lann-teh)

The forward (el delantero) (ell deh-lann-teh-roh)

The World Cup (la copa del mundo) (lah coh-pah dell moon-doh) / (el mundial) (ell moon-dee-ahl)

Victory (victoria) (veek-toh-ree-ah)

Draw (empate) (emm-pah-teh)

Defeat (derrota) (deh-rroh-tah)

Goal (gol) (goll)

Red card (tarjeta roja) (tarr-heh-tah roh-hah)

Yellow card (tarjeta amarilla) (tarr-heh-tah ah-mah-ree-jah)

Penalty kick (penal) (peh-nahl)

Offside (fuera de lugar) (foo-eh-ra deh loo-garr)

So, a good way to break the ice would be just to ask:

"Te (teh) gusta (goos-tah) el (ell) fútbol (foot-boll)?" (Do you like soccer?) If the person says no, move on to somebody more interesting. If they say yes, you can follow up with:

"A (ah) mí (mee) también (tamm-bee-ehn)." (Me too)

"Qué (keh) equipo (eh-kee-poh) te (teh) gusta (goos-tah)?" (What team do you like?)

Me (meh) gusta (goos-tah) (name of the team). I like (name of the team).

"Cuál (coo-ahl) es (ess) tu (too) jugador (hoo-gah-dorr) favorito (fah-voh-ree-toh)?" (Who's your favorite player?")

"Mi (mee) jugador (hoo-gah-dorr) favorito (fah-voh-ree-toh) es (ess) (player name)" (My favorite player is)

"Era (eh-rah) penal (peh-nahl)!!!!!!!!" (It was a penalty!!!!)

"El (ell) árbitro (arr-bee-troh) se (seh) robó (roh-boh) el (ell) partido (parr-tee-doh). " (The referee stole the game.)

"Suerte (soo-err-teh) para (pah-rah) la (lah) próxima (prox-ee-mah)!" (Better luck next time!)

These are all very easy to use, and are also great conversation starters if you are in the right place. I encourage you to see for yourself.