Are you a La Liga football fan? Then know these 10 Spanish words

Consider yourself a big La Liga fan Check out this list of expressions that no true La Liga lover should be unfamiliar with1 ldquoCroquetardquo A lsquocroquetarsquo is a way of quickly shifting the ball between a playerrsquos feet especially when tempting a defender into making a challenge by first slowing down and then sprinting away The signature move of former Barcelona captain and ninetime LaLiga winner Andres Iniesta the word literally means lsquocroquettersquo that famous staple of Spanish tapa bars and grannyrsquos cooking2 ldquoSombrerordquo In Spanish Sombrero is a hat but in Spanish football it is where a player lifts the ball over his opponentrsquos head and controls it as it drops to the floor leaving his rival confused and out of the play A famous example would be Neymarrsquos goal for Barcelona against Villarreal in LaLiga in 2016 which was nominated for that yearrsquos FIFA Puskas award3 ldquoChilenardquo When a player pushes himself into the air with one foot then acrobatically volleys it with the other often lifting his boot well over head height Similar to a lsquobicycle kickrsquo in English Although a lsquoChilenarsquo literally refers to someone from Chile its most famous exponent was Mexico international Hugo Sanchez Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have more recently scored screamers like this4 ldquoColgarse del larguerordquo Literally meaning lsquohang from the goalpostsrsquo the expression is used when a team brings all their players back to defend inside their own penalty area Similar to the English phrase lsquoPark the busrsquo the tactic is often used by a team defending a narrow lead or facing a much more powerful opponent and used to criticise them by managers whose team cannot find a way through5 ldquoHacer la camardquo A team thought to not be making 100 effort in games can be said to be lsquomaking the bedrsquo for their coach which means trying ndash consciously or not ndash to get their boss fired6 ldquoZamoranardquo The patented signature move of legendary 1920s and 30s Spanish goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora was to fake catch a ball then double his arm flex his elbow and propel the ball far up the pitch with surprising power Besides clearing danger from his own box the lsquoZamoranarsquo often helped start counterattacks and had a highly demoralising effect on shocked opposition strikers too7 ldquoTirarse en la piscinardquo To lsquothrow yourself into the swimming poolrsquo is a nicely poetic Spanish way of saying a player dived or threw himself to the ground without any contact from a defender to deceive the referee into whistling for a foul Sometimes also described as lsquosimulacioacutenrsquo which is closer to the English lsquosimulationrsquo 8 ldquoTener florrdquo A player or more often a coach who lsquohas a flowerrsquo is thought to have good fortune similar to being charmedrsquo in English The expression is also often used by defeated opposition fans or pundits as a way to avoid praising tactical or technical excellence in an opposition team9 ldquoRabonardquo When a player plants one foot in front of the ball and then sweeps his other leg around behind to spectacularly strike the ball you have a lsquoRabonarsquo Onetime Barcelona winger Ricardo Quaresma is an expert while former Villarreal midfielder Pablo Fornals scored a superb rabona against Huesca in 201910 ldquoPase de la Muerterdquo The lsquopass of deathrsquo has a specific meaning in Spanish football It refers to a through ball which breaks an offside trap to leave a teammate clear in front of goal Quite a few of Barccedila captain Lionel Messirsquos 12 LaLiga assists this season have met this description Deadly and very hard to defend againstCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereAlso download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news