A miniature replica of the Christ the Redeemer statue is silhouetted against the sky as men play a popular local game known as ‘altinho’ on the Barra de Tijuca beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, June 2, 2014. Altinho is played with a soccer ball on the beach. The goal is not to let the ball drop, but passing to other players while keeping it airborne. AP FILE PHOTO
RIO DE JANEIRO — To impress friends with your knowledge of futebol, here’s a few words and phrases Brazilians use to discuss their jogo bonito, the beautiful game:
Fominha — player who selfishly keeps or hogs ball. Derived from verb for hunger.
Frango — embarrassingly easy ball goalkeeper shouldn’t have let in. Derived from word for chicken, idea being that ball was as elusive as a running chicken. A bad goalkeeper is a “frangueiro,” roughly meaning “chicken taker.”
Gol de placa — extraordinarily beautiful goal.
Fregues — meaning customer, applied to teams that keep coming back for another whooping. They’re good customers.
Drible da vaca — literally “cow’s dribble,” when player kicks ball past opponent, runs round him and collects ball on other side.
Bola quadrada — bad pass, literally “square ball.”