Monthly Archives: June 2014

Is Football Like Language?

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As you all know, or at least should know, the World Cup is underway in Brazil, and also, rather predictably, England got off to a losing start. After posting about fashion’s similarities to language (fashion being something I know little about), I thought I’d write something about football’s similarities to language (football being something I like to think I know a lot about).

The connection between football and language, like that between fashion and language, may seem like something that requires a painful mental stretch to reach, but, after thinking about it for a while, I think I’ve found quite a few similarities.

The first comparison to make is that, much like in language, change is not a particularly well received thing in football. The introduction of the ever so logical and much needed goal-line technology was resisted by many people within the game. They said that the human error of referees was something that made the game unique and pure, paying little to no attention to the fact that goals being given/not being given due to referee or linesman error is wholly unfair, as England found out at the World Cup four years ago (we would have won if Lampard’s goal stood…). We see such resistance towards change in language. The meaning of literally changing is a perfect example of this, as is, like, people, like, using like in their sentences a lot. Changes in language may be less considered and deliberate than changes in football, but in both, changes are resisted by those pesky prescriptivists.

That comparison is less romantic than the ones I really want to make though.

Like language, football has a rhythm. This is (or was) especially evident when watching Spain play football, their tiki-taka style of quick short passing seems to have a beat. To me, admittedly not to all, it’s captivating and enthralling to watch, and when they do it to the best of their ability it is poetic in nature and it can be something quite beautiful.

If football can appear poetic, then surely, there must be players that write more elegantly than others. Watching England play Italy yesterday, and watching Andrea Pirlo glide around casting footballing spells,  it is clear to me that he is one of the players that proves this hypothesis. He makes the game look much easier than everyone else, and makes it look like they are trying ever so hard to do what he can do with one eye closed and a glass of merlot in his hand. Similar to a great piece of writing, Pirlo’s football makes that of others look significantly less skilled than his.

Along with it’s poetic nature, football also has narratives and storylines. In single matches, like Holland against Spain on Friday, it can be one of a successful underdog coming out on top; a David and Goliath contest, I suppose (I am fed up of hearing that though). The prevailing narrative of the current World Cup is probably one of redemption for Brazil. In 1950, Brazil got to the final of the World Cup, the last time it was in Brazil, and came up against Uruguay. Their fans were certain that they’d win, and were almost celebrating winning the tournament before they had. A mistake. Uruguay came up with a surprise (David and Goliath again), and won 2-1. Brazil was a nation in mourning, football means a lot to the people there.

This year, the first time the tournament has been held in Brazil since then, the pressure is massive an Brazil to make up for the shock and disappointment of 64 years ago, and the narrative this brings will unfold over the next few weeks; Brazil will be desperately hoping, praying for a happy ending.

For England, we always hope, and this year we have a good team, last nights loss against another good team isn’t the end of the world. Two wins in the next two games and we’ll go through, and who knows, maybe we’ll do what Uruguay did to Brazil all those years ago.

Then again, we might have the same old story for England: Tragedy.