Football is full of terms that are specific to the game. Many teams, or players might have their own interpretation of the words used and so it is important to define these terms clearly. If, for example, you asked a play to “play wide”, it could mean play within ten yards of the side line, or it could mean play right up to the line. It is important for the whole team to understand these interpretations, so that the correct judgement can be made to achieve the teams plan.

Here are some on-line dictionaries of football terms:

• A thinkquest library of football terms.
• Soccer dictionary with tips and terms
• The first base soccer glossary
• Soccer terms made easy for parents
• Wikipedia’s guide to football terms

If you have a lot of players that speak different languages it will become harder to make sure everyone understands. Which is (again) another reason to make sure the team is familiar with the plan, before you step foot on the field of play.

Often you will see players and coaches reaffirm their spoken words with hand signals to explain themselves across distances.

It is also worth remembering that having football Insight, is key to understanding the communication.

The video below is comical look at the problems facing international managers today.