Der Ball ist Rund

... or, "The Ball is round", a famous quote by former German national coach Sepp Herberger, meaning that this is the only certainty in the game of football and anything else can happen.

178 days until the World Cup kicks off. Last Friday saw a decent draw to England, so far so good. While we wait for summer, check out this hilarious glossary of German football terminology translated into English by the British Embassy World Cup sight.

Lots of *interesting* translated phrases:

Eine seltsame Stimme hat Zidane in die französische Nationalelf zurückgelockt = A strange voice has enticed Zidane back into the French national side

He was as sick as a parrot = Ihm war kotzübel/speiübel; er war zu Tode betrübt
Antonym: over the moon = überglücklich

Stefan "Stinkefinger" Effenberg streckte bei der WM 1994 deutschen Fans den Mittelfinger entgegen und wurde deswegen nach Hause geschickt = Stefan "middle-finger-salute" Effenberg gave the finger to German fans at the 1994 World Cup and was sent home as a result

Here's hoping das Endspiel erreichen England.