Germany, Spain, England, hat-tricks and shouting

Email with your questions and answers

"Why is it that in British usage, apparently, a hat-trick refers to three goals scored by one player in one match, whereas in German usage, 'ein Hattrick' refers to three goals scored by one player in one half of a match, with nobody else (friend or foe) scoring in between?" asks a puzzled Peter Niesen.

"In the days when footballers got the bus to the match with fans (after working the morning shift), the hat trick (or passing round of a hat to collect money) was a way of rewarding a player for his on field pursuits," says Dominic Gould.

"So the answer is quite simple - the British are either more generous or more easily pleased than their German counterparts. Or perhaps both."

Either that or the Germans insist on higher standards. Which is something we used to do in Britain and then some: in the olden days, a "proper" hat-trick was the same as the German model BUT the player had to score with both left and right foot, and his head.

So now you know.


"Why do Spanish fans go 'Eeeeeeee!' when a shot goes wide instead of 'Ooooohhh!' like the rest of us?" asks Keith Stokes. "And when a goal is scored they all go 'Aaaaahhhh!' unlike the rest of Europe who opt for the more traditional 'Yeahhhhh!' Someone should tell them they sound ridiculous."

According to Antonio Gonzalez, a man whose word we're prepared to take as gospel for the simple reason that he has the most Spanish sounding name in the world, the reason is simple. It's because Spaniards speak Spanish, not English.

"What we say when a shot goes narrowly wide is normally 'Huy!' (pronounced 'Oo-ee!')" he explains. "It happens to be the Spanish equivalent of 'Ooh!' which you English exclaim in that mixture of surprise, relief or disappointment to see the shot go wide. The lingering 'y' produces that 'Eeeee!' sound that has confused you so. When a goal is scored, the roar that you hear as 'Aaaahhh!' is nothing other than 'Gol!', an anglicism used in Spanish for 'Goal!'. How inappropriate, eh?"

David Lea backs up Antonio's explanation and adds that many Spanish people have asked him the same question in reverse about English fans: "Why do you shout something that sounds nothing like 'Goal!' when you score?" they enquire. Now who sounds ridiculous, Keith?


We gave you Pilkington and Glass, Bishop and Archdeacon, and Rice and Currie. But still you weren't happy. You wanted more amusingly combined monikers, so up stepped Nick Lavelle in your last super, soar-away instalment of The Knowledge with the seemingly unbeatable coupling of Cox and Nobbs at Hartlepool United in the early 1990s. We didn't think it could get any better and by God we were right. Nevertheless, the following fine efforts are certainly worthy of inclusion. Now please stop.

"Picture the scene. It's August 1999 and Brentford are playing Oldham Athletic," writes Matt Kilcast. "The cash-strapped Latics are forced to field a makeshift front line. First up is ex-Sunderland trainee Paul Beavers, who has long since vanished into obscurity. The perfect foil for him? Why, on loan from Sheffield Wednesday it's Ghanaian striker Junior Agogo. The end result? Beavers Agogo."

It gets worse.

"Surely this takes the biscuit," writes James Rumball from Hamburg. "Shearer, Cort, Dyer, Given, Bellamy, Speed. Not only is it a squad list, but given the right circumstances it could also be a newspaper headline."

Along the same vein, Rich Gobez suggests the following Liverpool Breakfast: "Hamann Heggem Berger Babb", while Bill Pinder writes to say that just recently Deportivo La Coruna's central defenders were Ceser and Romero. That's one for old-time Hollywood fans," he adds by way of clarification. We'll take your word for it Bill, because it sure as heck means nowt to us.


"Do you know of any left-wing (politics, not position on the field) or vegetarian footballers," asks Robin Jouglah. "As a vegetarian football follower with left-wing / liberal sympathies, it would be good to know if there were players of similar persuasion."

How long have you got, Robin? There are loads of left-wing footballers out there, including Diego Maradona, Jorge Valdano, Fernando Redondo and Tony Galvin. For more details click here.

There are fewer vegetarian footballers out there, however - although Robbie Earle is one. For more details and for thousands of other answers go here.


"Who was the last person to score a hat-trick in consecutive games?" asks Mick O'Sullivan.

Ah come on Mick, ask us a hard one! Although Lee Hughes and Stuart Barlow have both pulled off this spectacular feat for West Brom and Tranmere Rovers respectively, the player to do it most recently was the man who would be the Republic of Ireland's first-choice striker, David Connolly.

On November 2 2002, the Wimbledon forward scored three in the Dons' 4-2 win against Norwich at Selhurst Park. Not content with keeping one match ball, however, he went one better by bagging four goals in his side's next encounter, a 5-3 win at Bradford on November 9.


"Which player has played in all of the following derby matches: AC Milan v Inter Milan, Arsenal v Chelsea, Liverpool v Everton, Real Madrid v Athletico Madrid, Borusia Dortmund v Borusia Munchengladbach," asks Andy Hill and countless others.

"Who is the oldest player to make his professional debut in any division and how old was he?" asks Dave Cryer.

"I recently heard, that in Argentinian League teams don´t switch the direction of play after half-time," says Christian Schuh. "That means they play towards the same end for 90 minutes. It is supposedly because of the Chilavert incident a couple years ago, that they consider it too risky having the away-team goalkeeper play in front of the home supporter´s end. Is this true? If so, surely it's not compliant with Fifa rules, is it?"

"Steve Kabba has scored for Crystal Palace, Grimsby Town and Sheffield United this season," says Andy Holt. "Not counting own goals, what is the largest number of teams any player has scored for in one season? I can't imagine it would be many more than Steve's achievement."

"How many professional footballers have had their sons become professional footballers?" asks Henry Read. "Has a father and son every played at a professional level together, either in the same team, against each other or neither."

"Was Danny Dichio's hat trick for West Brom against Bradford the quickest in FA Cup history? (the earliest time for the third goal?)" asks Richard Tart. "And if not, who holds the record?"

"I once saw a Danish footballing film late at night during the 70's," says TW Cheung. "It was very strange and involved the Danish legend Alan Simonsen being targeted by a sniper during a football game. Anyone know the name of this film?"

"Hi - can you help with this?" asks Peyter Corner. "My dad has a medal that he found among my late grandfather's possessions after he died. The medal says Byron Cup winners 1911-12 on the back and on the front Derbyshire & Chesterfield FA - he'd love to know more about."

Email if you know.