New Zealand football terminology

Hi everyone,

My name's Tom Williams and I'm a journalist from the AFP news agency.

I'm writing a book - a global football glossary - which is due for publication next year and I'm looking for words or phrases that are either unique to or particularly popular in New Zealand. Does anyone have any suggestions?

It's a difficult task, since so much of New Zealand's football vocabulary is shared with the UK and Australia, but I'd love to include some Kiwi terminology in the book if I can.

Any contributions will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Tom

This has got me thinking!

Rivalism 

Chant in huddles pre game? 3,2,1 "team name".

death strikes (in reference to game being decided on penalties) or did we pinch that from the USA?

"get stuck in" - coach telling players to give 100% effort

"20% more!"

She'll be right mate.

Way to go guys!

Dig a hole, dig a hole, dig a hole! (player injured)

Boot it forward!

Going into the sheds (half-time)

(don't) play for touch ((don't) kick it out of play)

Game for sissies eh

Boys

Shirts off!  At 80 minutes during Wellington Phoenix (NZ's only professional club) games if they are leading. 

Player is munted (injured). Pitch is munted (unplayable). Munted came into regular lingo in Christchurch after the 2010/11 earthquakes. 

travelling circus (home games that aren't)

crowd (or sometimes croud) - anything more than single figures

metrics

@usasoccerguy

Having 'Ferns' inserted in name of any national sporting team (not just football), eg Football Ferns national womens team.

welly it

Stand - a semi-permanent structure made of planks and scaffolding poles supporting a dozen plus adults 

Stadium - ditto but more or less permanent and built by professionals

Thanks very much guys. Death strikes does indeed appear to be a USA Soccer Guy coinage, but I like a lot of the other ones, particularly going into the sheds (which I suspect comes from rugby league) and munted.

Dyer-of very poor quality 

E.g. "The midfield was Dyer"

injured - a term used by senior pros to indicate an upcoming international fixt

we generally call screw in studs 'sprigs' or 'studs' as opposed to wearing 'mouldies'

Personal reasons - the standard reason for breaking contract and leaving a club

Not-a-striker - not a striker

Alignment - a term used to describe a fancy PowerPoint presentation

Toilet seat - something the Phoenix never lift up

on that, is "wooden spoon" (last place at the end of the season), one of ours?

Stick it in the mixer

Is particularly British. The Kiwi version would be "Gumboot it", which doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

'Goal Box' is one which I'd never heard in my life before moving to NZ. Means the 6 yard box, or goal area. I think.

Goal area

aka "bobsled"

I assume it's the ubiquity of rugby in NZ that has lead to the commonplace description of a shot flying over the bar being commonly jokingly referred to as a "conversion" or "three points"

All Whites

Unattached FC?

Egg ball, what non football people think is called football.

International window: The perfect time for a marriage proposal/wedding/honeymoon

North American colleagues has never heard of this when I brought it up, when working overseas during the "Avoid the Spoon" season

New Zealand's most prolific provider of international 'talent'

Have a read of this blog and the comments that follow it....

https://in-the-back-of-the.net/2016/01/03/guest-po...