football – iScribo

Rituals, chants and superstitions for the Euro Cup and Copa América

What is a superstition? What is the hustle and bustle of the fans? What if not everything at the football festival! We are four days away from the final of the Copa América Euro Cup, and although it did not start from the strongest, Spain will be playing in the Euro Cup final alongside the Netherlands or England. On the other hand, the final of the Copa América will be fought by Argentina or Canada v/s Uruguay or Colombia. We are in the finals, and our nerves are on edge.

In Latin America, the drums sound, and the Argentine fans sing animatedly, almost hysterically:

No importa donde juegue Argentina, voy a estar a tu lado

dejando cualquier cosa de lado por la Selección

[No matter where Argentina plays, I will be by your side

leaving anything aside for the National Team]

Meanwhile, in the European summer, the capes, flags and red scarves are felt under the classic “qué viva España”. The whistles are heard, and every time Spain scores a goal, the fans immediately shout “olé, olé”.

Superstitions and rituals are the order of the day. If, in the 2010 World Cup, Paul the octopus guessed the results of the countries that would win the match hours later, this year, the Eurocup seems to have a new mascot that has captured interest with knowledge of it. The dog, Steph Furry, makes his prediction by hitting the ball with his snout. So far, Furry has not been wrong and has already predicted that the final will be between the Netherlands and Spain. We’ll have to see how well-calibrated Furry this time is.

Some players have unique pre-match rituals that add a touch of intrigue to the game. Take Cristiano Ronaldo, for instance. He prefers to be the last one out of the tunnel, entering the field with his right foot before leaping into the air. Then there’s English defender Kyle Walker, who, in a nod to former wrestler Triple H, fills his mouth with water and spits it out like a fire thrower in a circus.

Argentines follow their team wherever they play; they don’t care how far they travel. The albiceleste does not rest, nor does it falter. And cheer loudly:

Ganar otra copa con Leo es lo que imagino

para traer la gloria a Argentina desde Estado Unidos

[Winning another cup with Leo is what I imagine

to bring glory to Argentina from the United States]

Argentina is the favourite team to win the Copa América, and even with all their strength as a team, they do not put aside superstitions. The team has a superstition born in the 2021 World Cup in Brazil: to travel with the Chucky doll, the team’s mascot. Yes, just like that, Chucky, like the one in the movie. “Not even Chuky missed the mate,” says a post by the president of the Argentine Football Association, who, through Instagram, published a photo of some selected players along with part of the team’s staff. Some Argentine member teams have tattooed Chucky, and others have promised to do the same if they return to Argentina with the Cup. Chucky is not a saint of my devotion, but I will do whatever ritual is necessary to support this team 🥰.

Did you know that superstitions can influence players’ confidence and mental strength? Sociologists say that’s part of the charm surrounding the game outside the football field.

I’m going to Argentina, and you? Which team are you going for? Do you have any rituals or superstitions to support your team?

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Sports language. The linguistic game off the field

Language is like a mouldable dough; it expands, or contracts depending on the context and grows or extinguishes according to different circumstances. It is a living being and, therefore, changing. With the emergence of different professions or areas of work development, technicalities arise, a language to convey ideas regarding a specific activity. It happens in medicine, journalism, and other areas. Within journalism, there is a subbranch: sports journalism.

Sports in general and each branch of sports have linguistic references, and sports journalism refers to those that attract the most followers. Sports journalism from countries whose official language is Spanish is often criticised for the use of foreign words, but it must also be recognised that in addition to the use of Anglicisms, the language of sports journalism stands out for the originality of some of its expressions, which have transcended the vocabulary used by journalists and have been transferred to the daily lives of the population of an entire country.

When discussing sporting events, war terminology comes to the fore naturally. The military lexicon is an essential ingredient when creating metaphors for sports. There is talk of real battles, of duel or strife. It is a life-or-death encounter in which the teams dig in, rearm, and test all their artillery.

The language of football

Football, the cultural cornerstone of Spanish-speaking countries, has given rise to a linguistic vocabulary that is incredibly diverse, mirroring the vast array of cultures it represents. This lexicon, deeply embedded in the language, is a testament to the rich cultural tapestry of these nations, inviting all to explore and appreciate their unique expressions of soccer.

Football has its dictionary. Un tiro, disparo o remate al arco is a shot at goal. El tablón is the tribune where the fans of each team are located. Depending on the team they support, they are known as Culés or Colchoneros in Spain, Bosteros or Gallinas in Argentina and Uruguay, or Las Madres, Las Zorras, or Las Monjas in Chile.

The ball is known as la pelota, el cuero (the leather) or el esférico. A player lacking passion is called pecho frío (cold chest). Dar un baile (giving a dance) is winning by a wide margin. Amasar la pelota (kneading the ball) refers to whoever can dominate it. Morfón, comilón or chupón (glutton), is the one who does not pass the ball to his teammates. The fans who aguanta los trapos (put up with the rags) are those who always support their team, and gambetear or hacer una gambeta (dribbling) is the ability of a player to elude the opposing team and continue advancing with the ball. The player with these skills is a gambeteador (dribbler).

Gato (a cat) is an outstanding goalkeeper; there is also talk of an arquerazo. And a cabezazo (a headbutt) can also be testarazo. Tuercebotas (a boot twister) is how you know a terrible player.

It is said that sports language is excessively opinionated, but at the same time, this freedom has allowed him to be one of the most creative and innovative with the use of language. Poetic resources such as metaphors, comparisons and metonyms are used in sports language. In sports journalism, emotions and feelings are appealed to, which is why using exclamation points is expected. Goal, goal, goal! It could be an acceptable headline on the front page.

Is Barcelona that good? The headline seeks to challenge the reader, establish contact, and maintain a conversation.

As we have already seen, linguistic creativity is characteristic of sports language. We see it in the brief extract that we have shared here of the usual vocabulary around football and the stylistic resources that are used to create new words or expressions; in addition to these, we can mention a couple more, such as the case of the verbalisation of the noun in cases of campeonar (ganar el Campeonato: win the championship) –El atlético de Madrid logró campeonar en España– or the resource of parasynthesis, which is none other than forming words using a suffix or prefix, for example, in the case of cerocerismo. El cerocerismo vuelve a imponerse en la liga.

Sports language has been relevant in enriching other languages, even everyday languages. Do you know everyday expressions whose origin is in the sports field? Share them with us.

I have wanted to discuss the language of equestrianism, but due to a lack of space, that will have to be part of another article. You can also suggest topics that interest you.

Keep learning curiosities about the language and the Spanish language, visiting and reading the articles we publish weekly on the iScribo blog. If you are looking to improve your Spanish writing and correct a specific variant of this language, remember to subscribe to our wonderful grammar checker. We are waiting for you!

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