47 essential Italian words and phrases to know when watching the Euros
With the Euros in full swing, knowing Italian football lingo has never been more useful. Let’s kick off your vocabulary with some well-used terms.
This year’s European championship is almost a week in. Teams from across the continent, including of course Euro 2020 champions Italy, are all playing for the cup in various stadiums around Germany.
Even if football is not your idea of fun or you don't support a European team, football is one of the most, if not the, most popular sport in Italy. Learning a few key words and phrases here and there to use with your Italian friends is one sure way to impress them.
Italians tend to take football very seriously, as shown by national team captain Gianluigi Donnarumma saying: “We are here to defend our title, we want to do the maximum to get into the finals again.”
The game
Football/soccer - il calcio
Match - la partita
First half - il primo tempo
Second half - il secondo tempo
Half time - l’intervallo
Overtime - il tempo supplementare
READ MORE: 12 signs you've cracked the Italian language
The team
The Italian national team - la nazionale italiana
Team - la squadra
Footballer/soccer player - il calciatore
Captain - il capitano
Defender - il difensore
Goalkeeper - il portiere
Striker - l’attaccante
Midfielder - il centrocampista
Left winger - l’ala sinistra
Right winger - l’ala destra
Substitute - il sostituto
Referee - l’arbitro
Coach - l’allenatore
The pitch and stadium
Pitch - il campo
Stadium - lo stadio
Football - il pallone
Flag - la bandierina
Penalty box - l’area di rigore
Goal - la porta
Fans - i tifosi
Yellow/red card - il cartellino giallo/rosso
READ MORE: Italian word of the day: 'Tifoso'
The plays and passes
Foul - il fallo
Free kick - il calcio di punizione
Tackle - il contrasto
Header - il colpo di testa
Corner kick - il calcio d'angolo
Penalty shoot out - i rigori
Goal - il gol
Own goal - l’autogol
The results
Win - vincere
Lose - perdere
Draw - pareggiare
The terms
“What a save!” - “Che parata!”
“Penalty!” - “Rigore!”
“Offside!” - “Fuorigioco!”
“Who do you support?” - “Per chi tifi?”
“Chi gioca?” - “Who is playing?”
“Stai scherzando arbitro?!” - “Are you joking ref?!”
“What a goal!” - “Che gol”
“Come on!” - “Dai!”
“Come on you blues!” - “Forza gli Azzurri!”
Find out where you can watch the matches here.
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This year’s European championship is almost a week in. Teams from across the continent, including of course Euro 2020 champions Italy, are all playing for the cup in various stadiums around Germany.
Even if football is not your idea of fun or you don't support a European team, football is one of the most, if not the, most popular sport in Italy. Learning a few key words and phrases here and there to use with your Italian friends is one sure way to impress them.
Italians tend to take football very seriously, as shown by national team captain Gianluigi Donnarumma saying: “We are here to defend our title, we want to do the maximum to get into the finals again.”
The game
Football/soccer - il calcio
Match - la partita
First half - il primo tempo
Second half - il secondo tempo
Half time - l’intervallo
Overtime - il tempo supplementare
READ MORE: 12 signs you've cracked the Italian language
The team
The Italian national team - la nazionale italiana
Team - la squadra
Footballer/soccer player - il calciatore
Captain - il capitano
Defender - il difensore
Goalkeeper - il portiere
Striker - l’attaccante
Midfielder - il centrocampista
Left winger - l’ala sinistra
Right winger - l’ala destra
Substitute - il sostituto
Referee - l’arbitro
Coach - l’allenatore
The pitch and stadium
Pitch - il campo
Stadium - lo stadio
Football - il pallone
Flag - la bandierina
Penalty box - l’area di rigore
Goal - la porta
Fans - i tifosi
Yellow/red card - il cartellino giallo/rosso
READ MORE: Italian word of the day: 'Tifoso'
The plays and passes
Foul - il fallo
Free kick - il calcio di punizione
Tackle - il contrasto
Header - il colpo di testa
Corner kick - il calcio d'angolo
Penalty shoot out - i rigori
Goal - il gol
Own goal - l’autogol
The results
Win - vincere
Lose - perdere
Draw - pareggiare
The terms
“What a save!” - “Che parata!”
“Penalty!” - “Rigore!”
“Offside!” - “Fuorigioco!”
“Who do you support?” - “Per chi tifi?”
“Chi gioca?” - “Who is playing?”
“Stai scherzando arbitro?!” - “Are you joking ref?!”
“What a goal!” - “Che gol”
“Come on!” - “Dai!”
“Come on you blues!” - “Forza gli Azzurri!”
Find out where you can watch the matches here.
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