
If there’s something many expats and US soccer fans have come to agree on over the last few days – it’s how appalling the commentary for the World Cup matches has been on US TV.
In a country where kids grow up playing soccer, it’s surprising to hear the commentators still offering so much explanation about the sport. Also, the commentary doesn’t follow the action – maybe they are borrowing a style form American Football – it’s more background information (we were told throughout the Iran vs. Mexico match that this day wasn’t about politics – and plenty of talk about Iran’s president).
The commentary during England vs. Paraguay game also offered an interesting observation about US vs European sportsmanship:
- In the US it’s ok to get a yellow card with a professional foul as a last resort
- It’s a little odd, that one team gives the ball back to the other, if a player of the latter gets injured.
Which is why we are writing this with the Australia vs Japan on in the background in Spanish (oof – didn’t that Japanese striker just foul the keeper?).
Thank you Spanish language TV! You will save our world cup. David Ord on HT agrees. He says
I might not understand 90 percent of it, but I still get it. Most of the words during the Spanish-language soccer telecasts zoom past me like a Roberto Carlos free kick. But listening between the lines lifts me higher than a Kasey Keller punt up the field… By abstaining from the ABC/ ESPN telecasts, I’ll have to live without being talked down to as if I don’t know a banana kick from a bicycle kick. I’ll not have the chance to hear insipid comments from a touchline reporter who has less experience than a third-string goalkeeper.
We may not understand a word of it, but the commentary is full of passion, understanding, reflects what’s going on, correctly pronounced countries/players – and we get ‘GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL’.

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could you stick the commentary on from the BBC 5live website? I’m doing that at home. (Much better than ITV’s). Or aren’t they letting that happen overseas?
June 12th, 2006 at 10:42 am
BBC’’s streaming coverage is top. Failing that – get down the pub. You’ve been away too long.
June 12th, 2006 at 12:18 pm
I loved the fact that the ABC commentator called Beckham the most famous footballer in the world and then proceeded to get his name wrong twice. Nearly as bad as referring to the England team as Germany! And so far not found a proxy that lets the real media stream to listen to the commentary
June 12th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
yeah, sorry to disappoint ladies & gents with shitty american soccer commentators… this is the land of american football. just so you know what’s going through my head as the world cup unfolds: today, $500 gets you 18:1 odds on eagles winning the super bowl.
June 12th, 2006 at 11:45 pm
The BBC site said that due to contractual obligstions they can’t bring the event to listeners. Where else is it live?
June 13th, 2006 at 4:22 pm