I realize that for many soccer fans starting out the lingo they encounter during a live broadcast or while reading an article about the beautiful game online can be the hardest thing to overcome on the way to actually appreciating and enjoying soccer.
In fact, I generally hear the same thing from my friends right before we start watching a match.
“It doesn’t seem complicated at all, Evan. This team wants to kick the ball into the goal and the other team is trying to do the same thing.”
Now, when I hear statements like this, I generally want to get into a much deeper discussion about the intricacies of the sport, but instead I normally let is slide and we just start watching the match. Yet, even before the match begins, confusion and culture shock begins to set in thanks to the lingo of the sport that some Americans have never even heard.
Thank you, England.
So without further ado, I present to you five nuggets of confusion-inducing lingo that can be heard regularly while watching or reading about soccer.
The Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park has not only a nice view, but a beautiful pitch. (photo courtesy Minghong)
Pitch
Before a match even starts, the word pitch gets thrown around quite about. First of all, this has nothing to do with baseball. You might hear something to the effects of “the pitch is holding up nicely after that quick afternoon shower.” Basically, pitchis what soccer calls its field, or playing surface. Fret no more. You’re on your way.
Cross
During a match, you might hear the announcer talk about how one team is trying to cross the ball into the box (which I’ll explain below). Basically, a cross is a type of pass in which a team kicks the ball from (most commonly) the side of the field into the middle of the opposing team’s box. This type of pass usually results in a player attempting to use his head to hit the ball into the goal.
The Box
Quite simply, the box is anywhere inside the large painted square that designates where the goalie can touch the ball. If a team has the ball in the opposing team’s box that’s a good thing. If a defensive team is spending all their time in their own box. It’s a bad sign.
Card
In American football we have penalty flags. In soccer, we have cards. There are two types of cards. The yellow card is for aggressive slide tackles or rough play that is deemed excessive by the referee. If a player gets two yellow cards in one game, he’s gone. The red card, on the other hand, is awarded for particularly malicious play that is deemed to be dangerous and reckless and causes the offending player to be ejected from the match.
Finish
Basically, a finish is when a player is attempting to score the ball. There are bad finishes and good finishes. This one is pretty straightforward.
Other Football Fan 
As a soccer player, I can really appreciate this blog post. When people think of Jargon, they usually associate it with places rather than activities. The use of Jargon is in everything we do. Having a background in soccer helped me relate to the post, but for the person coming in fresh would really give them helpful information about what they may hear while watching, listening, or even playing a soccer game. Another popular soccer term I often used was ‘follow through’ which means you make sure to run with the ball, even if you don’t have it in your possession, to ensure that it goes in; and if the goalie catches then drops the ball, you have the chance to score.
Between the different countries I’ve noticed that there is a lot of different slang used that sometimes confuses and misleads people who are not accustomed to using those terms. For instance people in Britain use the word jumper to reference what we in America would call a sweater or long sleeve shirt. It would only make sense that these differences would continue into the sports world. I’m sure many Americans would simply refer to the grass plane that one plays football on as a “field” instead of “pitch.” It’s always good to know the lingo to understand the game and, even more so, to be able to actively discuss it. I’m glad that you provided this beginners guide to the terms of football so that anyone interested in breaking into the sport can now have a bit more understanding.