Football words and expressions beginning with C

[Alex Case]

Please add any words and expressions you hear elsewhere and have troubles understanding, or any feedback on this list.

Cap- An appearance for a team, e.g. the NATIONAL SIDE. Often used to express the number of times that a player has played for one side, e.g. “David Beckham got his 100th cap for England last weekend”
Captain- A player who is given responsibility for organising the other players on the pitch
Card- YELLOW CARDs and RED CARDs given for breaking the rules of the game. Often used to show how badly one or both sides broke the rules during the match, e.g. “Last night’s match produced a record 12 cards, including 4 red ones, for the two sides”
Carrying (the ball)- A GOALKEEPING walking more than three steps while holding the ball
Caution- Being told by the REFEREE that you are doing something wrong. Usually followed by a YELLOW CARD or RED CARD if you do the same thing again
Central defenders- The one or (usually) two DEFENDERS who play near the middle of the PITCH rather than on the WINGS
Central midfield- MIDFIELDERS who play near the centre circle rather than on the WING
Centre circle- The circle in the centre of the PITCH, with a 10 yard radius centred on the CENTRE SPOT. The KICK OFF takes part at the centre of this, with players from the opposing side staying outside this circle until the whistle for kick off is blown.
Centre forward- The FORWARD who plays nearest to the goal and so is often the TARGET MAN
Centre half- Another way to say CENTRAL DEFENDER
Centre spot- The point right in the middle of the pitch where you KICK OFF from
Chairman- The businessman who organises the business side of a football club, often someone who owns the club or has invested a lot of money in it. Higher up the chain of command than the MANAGER, but much less involved in the day to day running of the club
Chant- Songs that SPECTATORS sing or shout during the match, often based on other songs and supporting or making fun of a particular player
Charity Shield- The normal and informal way of saying the FA Community Shield (from its old name), a one off match played between the previous SEASON’s winners of the LEAGUE and FA CUP in England and so therefore theoretically deciding on the best SIDE in the country
Chip- also “chip shot”. A shot that is hit high in order to bend over the GOALKEEPER’s head and go into the goal
clean sheet
clean sweep
Clean tackle- Taking the ball from someone without it being a FOUL
Closing minutes/ Closing seconds- The last few minutes or seconds of a match, often with one side desperately attacking to make up for a DEFICIT
Club side- The team that players usually play for, in contrast to the NATIONAL SIDE.
Coach- Often confused with MANAGER, as a modern football manager has a job similar to a coach in earlier times, and newspapers often use the terms as synonyms. A coach is often someone between a manager and a TRAINER, and deals with practical things connected to play, whereas a manager takes a more strategic role connected to picking a team, tactics etc.
Coaching staff- The non-playing parts of the team, such as the COACH and masseurs
Coin toss- see TOSS
Comfortable on the ball- Good at DRIBBLING
Commentator- Someone on radio or TV who explains the action to listeners or viewers
Competitive match- The opposite of a FRIENDLY, in which the points gained actually count towards QUALIFICATION, winning a CHAMPIONSHIP etc
Control- TRAPping and DRIBBLing
Corner- Also “Corner kick”- A DEAD BALL situation in which you kick the ball from the spot on the corner of the pitch near the OPPOSITION goal, usually as a CROSS
Corner flag- The piece of fabric on a pole that marks the CORNER
Cramp- A medical condition in which it becomes impossible to move a muscle and it becomes stiff and painful, often used by not drinking enough liquids or not doing STRETCHes before playing
Cross (n/v) - The ball being kicked from the WINGS towards a player, usually a STRIKER, near the OPPOSITION goal. Collocations- LOOPING CROSS, LOW CROSS
Cross the line
Crossbar- The piece of wood that goes horizontally across the top of the goal, supported by the two POSTs. “The ball hit the crossbar” usually means that it was nearly a goal.
Cup champion- The opposite of a LEAGUE CHAMPION, a team that has won a CUP COMPETITION
Cup competition- A competition that includes or entirely consists of a KNOCKOUT competition. The opposite of a LEAGUE
Cup tie- A match in a KNOCKOUT completion, often contrasted with more important LEAGUE matches
Cut (the)- When it is decided which of the players won’t be on the TEAM SHEET for the forthcoming match or championship, e.g. when a World Cup coach leaves out seven players of the original list of thirty in order to only take 23 to the championship
Cut infield- A WINGER coming away from the TOUCHLINE and towards the PENALTY BOX

Links to the other letters of the alphabet are here:

http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ge...ngenglish.html

[Tdol]

clean sheet- Not allowing the opposing team to score..

[Alex Case]

Thanks TDoL, didn't realise I'd left some out

Clean sweep of trophies- winning everything there is to win

[BobK]

...
Crossbar- The piece of wood that goes horizontally across the top of the goal, supported by the two POSTs. “The ball hit the crossbar” usually means that it was nearly a goal.
...

Not a C, but hitting the crossbar - or the posts - is often referred to as 'hitting the woodwork'. You could add to your list - for cases where the ball doesn't bounce back from the post, but goes off at a slight angle - with the phrase 'clipping the woodwork'.

Note, the term 'woodwork' is always used, regardless of the actual material.

b

[Alex Case]

Thanks BobK, have added that to W, which will go up in a week or two

[philadelphia]

Some words seem to derive from French - chant, masseur, cramp(e).

[bertietheblue]

close down - limit [the space available to an opponent]

[BobK]

Some words seem to derive from French - chant, masseur, cramp(e).

Many English words do. - but it's not restricted to footballing parlance

b

[BobK]

'Clean sheet' needs a definition. When a goalie (or team or manager or....) 'keeps a clean sheet' he doesn't let any goals in.

More about 'woodwork' - it's often the agent of a metaphorical intention: an attacker's shot is 'frustrated by the woodwork'. There are several other possible verbs - football commentators' English can be very flowery* - 'refused', 'denied'...

That floweriness is most apparent, to my mind, in their use of 'dispossessed' of someone losing the ball. This verb occurs in few other contexts - other than when the possessions are of some value. (I suppose in the minds of the fans the ball is a possession of some value - of paramount value.

b