All packed and ready for Russia but want to learn some handy football lingo before you get there? Or maybe you’re watching from home but want to get in the Russian football spirit? Whether you’re heading to there or not, learning some useful vocab will really enrich your overall experience. So I’ve spoken to my Russian colleagues in the office to find out some words and phrases for you!
Does one of your players have a ‘sweet left foot’? In Russia, to talk about the best players people say звезда (zvezda) which literally means ‘star’. So now you can sing your team’s praises in Russian!
It’s always fun trying to guess who is going to be the goalscorer at the next championship. In Russian, the word for the player who scores the most goals is бомбардир (bombardir), which literally means ‘scorer’. Can you guess who is going to be the бомбардир in your team this year?
It’s always great when one of your players runs from the halfway line towards the goal, dribbles past three defenders and then rifles the ball straight into the top corner! In English, we call this a ‘worldie’ (a world-class goal). In Russian, it’s called a голище (golicshe).
What an unbelievable game! One goal after another – it’s a game that will go down in history! In Russian, they call it a феерия (fejeria) which literally means ‘a spectacle’.
With all those superstars scoring worldies, it was an unbelievable game. And guess what… They’ve won the cup! In Russian, the word for the cup given to the winner of the championship is кубок (kubok). Which team do you think will take the кубок home this year?!
So now that you know some of the Russian football jargon, why not learn some other words and phrases to talk about the match in any of the 12 languages taught on busuu? Also, if you’re a Premium user or you’re learning Russian, why not learn some survival phrases to get by if you’re going to see the football live in action? Whatever it is, have fun and good luck to whichever team you’re supporting!
