A nutmeg, also known by dozens of national and regional variations, is a skill used mainly in association football, but also in field hockey, ice hockey, and basketball. The aim is to kick, roll, dribble, throw, or push the ball (or puck) between an opponent's legs (feet). This might be done to pass or when shooting the ball, but a nutmeg is more commonly associated with the skill of dribbling where it enables a player to get behind a defender.
Kicking the ball through an opponent's legs in order to get the ball past them and back to the original player is a dribbling skill that is commonly used among football players. Owing to its effectiveness and being visually impressive, it is very popular among players and can be frequently seen being attempted multiple times throughout a game, whether by a single player or many different players. Some of the most notable practitioners include Riquelme, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Robinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi, and Eden Hazard. [1] [2] Suárez in particular is known for having a penchant for executing it constantly, which led to the banner and saying "Suárez can nutmeg a Mermaid" during his time at Liverpool. [3]
There is also a street football game, originating in the Netherlands, which is called panna (Sranan Tongo for gate). This game depends on usage of this technique. [4] [5]
In France and other french-speaking regions, children, (mainly boys) sometimes play a game called petit pont massacreur or "petit pont-baston" ("small bridge massacre" and "small bridge fight" in French, but equivalent to nutmeg slaughter and nutmeg rumble in English or string-a-kick in Jamaica). During this game, any player that gets a nutmeg becomes the target of all other players, who are then allowed to kick the player, until he touches a predefinite object in the game area. The violence of this game got it to be highly mediatised during the 2000s, after children were hospitalized because of it. This is similar to a game played by children in the UK called "nutmeg rush".
An early use of the term is in the novel A bad lot by Brian Glanville (1977). [6] According to Alex Leith's book Over the Moon, Brian - The Language of Football, "nuts refers to the testicles of the player through whose legs the ball has been passed and nutmeg is just a development from this". [7] The use of the word nutmeg to mean leg, in Cockney rhyming slang, has also been put forward as an explanation. [8]
Another theory, supported by the OED, was postulated by Peter Seddon in his book, Football Talk - The Language And Folklore Of The World's Greatest Game. [9] The word, he suggests, arose because of a sharp practice used in nutmeg exports in the 19th century between North America and England. "Nutmegs were such a valuable commodity that unscrupulous exporters were to pull a fast one by mixing a helping of wooden replicas into the sacks being shipped to England," writes Seddon. "Being nutmegged soon came to imply stupidity on the part of the duped victim and cleverness on the part of the trickster." While such a ploy would surely not be able to be employed more than once, Seddon alleges it soon caught on in football, implying that the player whose legs the ball had been played through had been tricked, or, nutmegged. [8]
In the National Basketball Association, Manu Ginóbili and Jamaal Tinsley employ the pass between the legs variant.[ original research? ] Some commentators also use the term "five-hole" when this happens; the term arose in ice hockey for when the puck passes between the goalie's legs into the goal. [10] [11]
In cricket, England's Nat Sciver had the "Natmeg" shot named after her, [12] when she hit a cricket ball through her legs during a game. [13] [14]
In cricket, if ball goes through the legs of a fielder, in Kashmiri language it's said to be a taharat of the fielder. Taharat is the equivalent of Istinja.
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Nutmeg is the British English name for this technique. [8]
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the striking batter, to limit the number of runs that the striker scores and/or to get a batter out by either catching a hit ball before it bounces, or by running out either batter before they can complete their current run. There are a number of recognised fielding positions and they can be categorised into the offside and leg side of the field. Fielding also involves trying to prevent the ball from making a boundary where four "runs" are awarded for reaching the perimeter and six for crossing it without touching the grass.
In the sport of association football, a forward is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on being able to create space for attack. Their advanced position and limited defensive responsibilities mean forwards normally score more goals on behalf of their team than other players.
This is a general glossary of the terminology used in the sport of cricket. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics. Certain aspects of cricket terminology are explained in more detail in cricket statistics and the naming of fielding positions is explained at fielding (cricket).
Soccer AM was a British football-based comedy talk show, produced by Sky Sports. It aired from 20 August 1994 to 27 May 2023 on Sky Showcase, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football. From 2010, the programme was put on a short broadcast delay to allow censoring of profanity or other issues before it went to air.
In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score.
The Addams Family is a pinball machine released in March 1992. It was designed by Pat Lawlor and Larry DeMar and released by Midway. It was based on the 1991 film of the same name, and features custom speech by the stars of the film, Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia. It is the best-selling solid state pinball machine of all time with 20,270 units sold.
In association football, rugby league, rugby union and Australian rules football, a dummy or feint is a player deceiving the opposition into believing he is going to pass, shoot, move in a certain direction, or receive the ball and instead doing something different, thus gaining an advantage.
A lawn game is an outdoor game that can be played on a lawn. Many types and variations of lawn games exist, which includes games that use balls and the throwing of objects as their primary means of gameplay. Some lawn games are historical in nature, having been devised and played in different forms for centuries. Some lawn games are traditionally played on a pitch. Some companies produce and market lawn games for home use in a front or backyard.
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. Known for his goal scoring ability, movement, and clinical finishing, he is regarded as one of the best players of his generation as well as one of the greatest strikers of all time. Nicknamed "El Pistolero", individually, he has won two European Golden Shoes, an Eredivisie Golden Boot, a Premier League Golden Boot and a Pichichi Trophy. He has scored over 500 career goals for club and country.
The sport of association football has a long history in England.
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"The hand of God" was a goal scored by Argentine footballer Diego Maradona during the Argentina v England quarter finals match of the 1986 FIFA World Cup. The goal was illegal under association football rules because Maradona used his hand to score. The referees did not have a clear view of the play and allowed the goal to stand. The goal gave Argentina a 1–0 lead. Argentina went on to win 2–1, with Maradona scoring a second goal known as the "Goal of the Century", en route to claiming the World Cup.
Episkyros, or episcyrus was an Ancient Greek ball game. The game was typically played between two teams of 12 to 14 players each, being highly teamwork-oriented. The game allowed full contact and usage of the hands. While it was typically men who played, women also occasionally participated.
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The 2015 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. It was played at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, on 6 June 2015, between Italian side Juventus and Spanish side Barcelona.
Natalie Ruth Sciver-Brunt is an English cricketer who represents England in all formats. She was the first cricketer for England to take a hat-trick in a Women's Twenty20 International match. The "Natmeg" shot is named after Sciver-Brunt, from when she has hit a cricket ball through her legs during a game.
The 2014–15 season was Futbol Club Barcelona's 116th in existence and the club's 84th consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. This was the first of the three seasons under head coach Luis Enrique.
The 2015 Copa del Rey final was an association football match on 30 May 2015 to decide the winner of the 2014–15 Copa del Rey, the 113th edition of Spain's premier football cup since its establishment.
The 2017–18 season was Futbol Club Barcelona's 119th in existence and the club's 87th consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. This was also the first year under head coach Ernesto Valverde.
The 2017 Supercopa de España was the 34th edition of the Supercopa de España, an annual two-legged football tie contested by the winners of the previous season's La Liga and Copa del Rey competitions.
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