Okuzeka
Football (Soccer) vocabulary · Formations & Tactics

Park the bus

Meaning in football (soccer), with examples

idiomCommon term

In football (soccer), park the bus means: To defend very deep with almost all players behind the ball, focusing on not conceding rather than on attacking.

In Turkish: otobüsü çekmek, kaleyi kapatmak

How it is used

Informal and usually critical. Fans and pundits say a team parked the bus to protect a lead or to get a draw against a stronger side. Coaches prefer neutral terms such as a low block or a compact defensive shape.

Example sentences

  1. After going 1-0 up, they parked the bus for the last half an hour.

  2. We can't just park the bus; we need a goal.

Common collocations

  • park the bus
  • accused of parking the bus
  • park the bus in front of goal
  • counter-attackA fast attack launched straight after winning the ball back, aiming to score before the opponents can reorganise their defence.
  • formationThe way a team arranges its outfield players on the pitch, written as numbers from defence to attack, such as 4-4-2 or 4-3-3.
  • possessionControl of the ball by a team; also the percentage of time each team has the ball during a match.
  • clean sheetA match in which a team, and especially its goalkeeper, does not concede a single goal.

More terms: Formations & Tactics

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