Core Rules
The fundamentals — offside, fouls, penalties, and the rules your uncle still gets wrong
The minutes added at the end of each half to compensate for stoppages (injuries, substitutions, time-wasting, VAR checks).
The combined score over two legs (home and away) in a cup tie.
When a team concedes zero goals in a match.
Two additional 15-minute halves played when a knockout match is tied after 90 minutes.
Goals scored minus goals conceded.
A now-abolished rule where the first goal scored in extra time immediately ended the match.
Three goals scored by one player in a single match.
When an attacking player is closer to the opponent's goal line than both the ball and the second-to-last defender at the moment the ball is played to them.
A direct free kick from twelve yards out, awarded for a foul inside the penalty area.
When a knockout match is tied after extra time, each team takes five penalties alternately.
Immediate dismissal.
Video Assistant Referee.
A caution.
Tactics
Formations, pressing, and the things pundits argue about on Match of the Day
Absorbing pressure then attacking quickly when you win the ball, exploiting the space left by the opposition's advanced players.
A centre-forward who drops deep into midfield instead of staying on the shoulder of the last defender.
German for counter-pressing.
A defensive line pushed high up the pitch, squeezing the space the opposition can play in.
A full-back who tucks inside into midfield when their team has the ball instead of overlapping wide.
Defending deep in your own half with a compact shape, conceding territory but protecting the goal.
When a full-back or wing-back runs past their own winger on the outside to provide width and a crossing option.
Defending with almost every player behind the ball, prioritizing not conceding over scoring.
Actively closing down the player on the ball instead of sitting back and waiting.
Launching the ball long from defense to attack, bypassing the midfield entirely.
Any restart: corners, free kicks, throw-ins, goal kicks.
A style of play based on short passing, movement, and retaining possession.
Positions
From the number nine to the holding midfielder — every role on the pitch
A midfielder who covers the full length of the pitch, defending in their own penalty area and attacking in the opposition's.
The central defenders.
A midfielder who drops deep to collect the ball and dictates play from in front of the defense with passing range and vision.
The defenders on the left and right sides of the back four.
The deepest-lying midfielder, sitting in front of the back four and breaking up opposition attacks before they develop.
The traditional centre-forward or striker.
The classic playmaker position.
A goalkeeper who plays high off their line, acting as an extra defender to sweep up balls played behind the defense.
A big, physical striker used as a focal point for long balls and crosses.
A player who operates as both a defender and a winger, usually in a back-five system.
Fan Culture
Terraces, chants, derbies, and the rituals that make matchday matchday
The collective noise, energy, and emotion inside a stadium.
Traveling to watch your team play at the opposition's ground.
Failing to win from a position where you really should have won.
What you earn by beating your rivals.
A match between local rivals.
The manager.
Someone who supports a team because they're successful, not because of any geographical or family connection.
Arsenal's 2003-04 squad that went the entire Premier League season unbeaten: 26 wins, 12 draws, 0 defeats.
The physical chaos that erupts in a stand when a big goal goes in.
A fake fan.
Moving up to a higher division.
Being demoted to a lower division.
A long-standing competitive relationship between two clubs, fueled by geography, history, or both.
An adjective meaning 'prone to collapsing at the crucial moment,' derived from Tottenham Hotspur's perceived tendency to lose leads, miss out on trophies, and find creative ways to disappoint.
Winning the league title and the FA Cup in the same season.
Choreographed visual displays by fans, usually involving large banners, flags, or card displays in the stands.
A club that keeps bouncing between divisions.
Transfers
Transfer windows, loan deals, release clauses, and deadline day drama
Named after Jean-Marc Bosman, whose 1995 European Court of Justice case established that players could move freely at the end of their contracts.
The last day of the transfer window.
A player whose contract has expired and can sign for any club without a transfer fee.
When a club is about to complete a transfer and another club swoops in with a better offer at the last minute.
A temporary transfer where a player joins another club for a set period (usually six months or a season) before returning to their parent club.
A contractual provision that allows a player to leave if another club meets a specified fee.
A percentage of a future transfer fee owed to a player's former club.
Illegally approaching a player who is under contract at another club without that club's permission.
The designated periods when clubs can buy and sell players.
Slang
Worldies, bangers, nutmegs, and the language of the beautiful game
A spectacular goal.
An overhead kick where the player throws themselves backwards into the air and strikes the ball with a scissoring leg motion.
The cynical, borderline tactics that experienced players use to gain an advantage.
Going to ground without being fouled to try to win a free kick or penalty.
Playing the ball between an opponent's legs.
A penalty taken by gently chipping the ball down the center of the goal as the goalkeeper dives to one side.
A deliberate foul committed to prevent a dangerous attack, usually when a player has been beaten and the alternative is letting the opponent run through on goal.
A technique where the kicking leg wraps behind the standing leg to strike the ball.
A player or team that wins through gamesmanship, time-wasting, niggling fouls, and general annoyance rather than beautiful football.
Technical skill.
A goal of such ferocious power that the ball practically tears a hole in the net.
Deliberately slowing the game down when your team is ahead.
The top corners of the goal.
Striking the ball with the outside of the foot, curving it in the opposite direction to a normal shot or pass.
A world-class goal.