FCZ coach Henriksen explains his war statements

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After the 0: 1 in Zurich, St. Gallen coach Peter Zeidler talks furiously. The reason for his anger is not only the bankruptcy, but also the war rhetoric that his opponent Bo Henriksen chose for the match. Before the meeting, the Dane spoke of an expected “struggle”, of “fighting” and “war”. After the official press conference, Zeidler told a handful of journalists who were still present: “I don’t want to come across as a teacher. But football is a game. This word choice doesn’t work at all. I don’t even want to put that word in my mouth.” As a trainer you have a role model function for children, Zeidler continues: “And that’s how we want to raise children!”

“Just want to underline that we want to give everything”

Henriksen can no longer respond to Zeidler’s criticism, the Dane has already left the press room in the Letzigrund together with his son. The next day, the FCZ coach comments on the accusations. “To clear up any misunderstandings, it is important for me to make it clear that the sole purpose of my speech was to underline that we want to give everything on the football field to win. I have not in any way taken these words linked to current events – that would be completely out of place and inappropriate,” Henriksen said at Blick’s request.

He does not want to comment directly on Zeidler’s “attack” after the official press conference. Henriksen’s choice of words before the match was certainly out of place. But he is certainly not the only one who uses war jargon when it comes to football.

The language of football is so warlike

Especially in football war expressions are commonplace: a bomber is a goalscorer. Such shoots and shoots from all positions or fires from all barrels. If a player has a loud bang, this is their most dangerous weapon. He becomes a sniper, his projectile a grenade that hits the enemy’s housing. In Germany, the top scorer receives the Torjäger gun as an award. Mercenaries or Legionnaires are Swiss who play abroad. Teams that focus primarily on defense become isolated. The troops attacked from the flank, one speaks of a defensive battle. When things go bad, you even let yourself be slaughtered.

“Football is a special language that can get by with few technical terms,” ​​German linguist Simon Meier-Vieracker, who runs a “football linguistics” blog, recently told SRF. But it is full of pictures and sentences, in whatever language, continues Meier-Vieracker. “There is a shared wealth of expressions in football across cultures. For example, the metaphors of war can be found in many languages.”

Football language also uses images from other areas. For example, from the world of music and theater (directing), from the world of machines and technology (ignite the turbo) or culinary (banana flank).

Source : Blick