Dame Bola: A Journey Through the Language of Argentinian Football

by Christopher Hylland

Every language has its sports-related in English one communicates through metaphors originating in boxing, horse-racing, cricket and even fencing. Why do Argentinians almost exclusively express themselves through football?

Dame Bola takes us on a journey through the many intriguing words, phrases and concepts used by Argentinians not only in their football but also in everyday society. The book explores identity and the inextricable link between football and life. Enjoy a deep dive into the cultural, historical and linguistic context of football terminology and the concepts unique to the Argentinian beautiful – and sometimes not so beautiful – game.

Genres: Football

378 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 7, 2025

About the author

Christopher Hylland is the author of the football-travelogue "Tears At La Bombonera: Stories from a SIx-Year Sojourn in South America", his first book. The follow-up, "Dame Bola: A Journey Through The Language Of Argentinian Football" will be released in 2024.

After six years in South America and 20 years in the UK, Hylland now lives in Oslo, Norway.

Reviews

[Vedran Dedic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hylland's "Dame Bola" is a "sequel" to his first book "Tears at La Bombonera." It is a deeper dive into Argentinian football culture & its language, and how that languages permeates society at large. As a follower and connoisseur of Argentinian football and its culture and having immensely enjoyed his first book, I could not wait to get my eyes on Dame Bola. And it delivered! I learned quite a bit about topics such as football metaphors that are used in daily conversations, footballers' nicknames and the origins of those nicknames, and historical football events that have been given titles due to the context in which they took place. The book moves at a steady pace, never leaving the reader lost in minute details. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to not just fans of the beautiful game limited to Argentina, but other football fans as well for the world it opens up.