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Weekly Football Phrase: (to) Fizz the Ball
In this football phrase of the week we look at the verb phrase ‘to fizz the ballt’. This phrase ise used to talk about passing as well as shooting. You can read the transcript for this post below, while you can also check out our glossary of footballing phrases here and visit our site to access all our previous posts and podcasts. If you have any suggestions or questions then you can contact us here.
DB: Welcome to the Learn English Through Football’s weekly football phrase. Hi there, my name’s Damon, and I’m enjoying some lovely weather here in Tokyo. I hope you are having good weather where you are too. Did you enjoy the football last weekend? It was a better week for my team, Liverpool, who finally won a game! I’ll be talking about some football language I noticed in a match last weekend. Not the Liverpool v Fulham game, but the Chelsea versus Manchester City match, which ended in a comfortable 3-0 win for the vistors, Man City.
Stinger: You are listening to Languagecaster (Indonesian)
DB: Yes, you are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast, or as we were known before, Languagecaster, and that message was in Indonesian. Send us your message in your language to contact@learnenglishthroughfootball.com. Just record ‘You are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast’ in your language. Or add your name and your favourite team in an English message. We’d love to hear from you.
(to) Fizz the Ball
DB: OK, today’s phrase is ‘to fizz the ball‘. I was watching Mancehster City play Chelsea last Sunday, and saw the City playmaker, Cherki, fizz a pass to Guihi in the box. Guehi, controlled the ball beautifully, turned and slotted the ball home. To fizz a ball, or to fizz a pass, is to hit the ball hard, low, and directly. The ball is hit really hard. To fizz the ball suggests speed, dynamism, energy. The meaning probably comes from the fizz (or bubbles) that explodes when you open a bottle of champagne!
Stinger: You are listening to Languagecaster (from a Beşiktaş fan)
Examples
DB: Here are some examples from match reports. The first from the Bolton News:
“There was a heart in mouth moment when McAtee fizzed a pass across the penalty box…” In this example the verb phrase is followed by ‘across’ – across the penalty box. So, a quick, powerfully hit pass that goes into a dangerous area.
Here’s another example from the BBC
‘From a free-kick near the byeline, Jamie McGrath fizzed a cross to the back post where Rocky Bushiri rose to head Hibs in front.’ This time after the phrase is ‘to’ indicating a particular place the ball went. In this example, the back post. We can also add the player’s name, so, ‘fizzed the ball to Guehi‘ in the example from the Chelsea v Man City game.
You will also hear the phrase used to talk about a powerful, direct shot that narrowly misses. The shot was fizzed wide; She fizzed a shot narrowly over the bar, etc.
(to ) Ping the Ball
DB: A verb phrase that also talks about a good pass is to ping the ball / to ping a pass. While to fizz the ball, is usually along the ground and short and fast, to ping the ball means a long, accurate pass hit in the air. It’s used to describe a switch of play, from one flank to the other for example.
Both of these phrases suggest that the player who made the pass, has good vision and technique.
Stinger: You are listening to Languagecaster (in French)
Wrap Up & Good bye
DB: Right, that brings us to the ned of our weekly football language podcast. We looked at two verb phrases, to fizz the ball and to ping the ball. Both of these phrases can be used to talk about a kind of pass. To summarise:
- Fizz = fast and sharp (usually on the ground)
- Ping = long and precise (often in the air)
Thanks for listening. Enjoy all of the football, and we’ll be back at the weekend with our main football language podcast. Take care, and ta-ra!
Learn English Through Football Podcast: A show for football fans to improve their English language skills
