NERVENKOSTÜM & ANGSTGEGNER 

die Nerven liegen blank/sind hinüber/sind im Eimer  = team is on edge/is jittery/has a mental breakdown; when a player chokes, things usually go wrong; team is a bundle of nerves; his nerves are jangling/shot 

die Nerven versagen/einige Spieler kneifen  = some players choke up/wimp out/chicken out/fold when the game is on the line; even reliable players may get cold feet/stage fright; player shrinks under pressure/strain; team is beginning to crumble/crumple/cave in; team/ player does an “el foldo”; team folds up/packs it in; he is not a big-occasion player; player shrinks in the crunch; player buckles under pressure/great expectations; player fizzles in the waning moments of the game; team is doughy-soft/soft as a pillow; squad/side choked the game away (i.e. lost); team cracks down/melts down at the end; player buckles at the knees; it’s choke time for players who usually seem to get the playoff/finals jitters; player has crunch time shortcomings; player couldn’t break the spell on/over him; player’s nerves/arm/ shoulder gave out and he could no longer score   

einem Spieler haftet noch ein Stigma weil er vor einigen Jahren in einem entscheidenden Spiel versagt hat = player carries/has a chip on one’s shoulder because some years ago he failed to deliver in a decisive moment; player was trying to prove a point 

plötzlich machen die Nerven nicht mehr mit = suddenly a composed team/player becomes riddled with nerves

wenn es ans Eingemachte geht, kneifen Spieler/liefert Team nicht  = when push comes to shove player/team chokes up/sooks up (AUS) 

einige Bezeichnungen für Spieler bzw. Weicheier/Warmduscher, deren Nerven vor oder während des Spiels versagen = choker, choke artist, wimp, crybaby, softie, sob sister, weak sister, wuss, wussie, whiner, sissie, choking dog, underachiever, sook (AUS)

Spieler hat Bauchkribbeln/Lampenfieber = player is gripped by anticipation/is racked with butterflies/gets butterflies in his guts/stomach; some players experience eager/nervous anticipation before kick-off; players must know how to eliminate/get rid of pre-game jitters

Spieler fiebert einem wichtigen Spiel entgegen = anticipation is running high/continues to build; he is antsy to play

man merkte, dass anfänglich beide Mannschaften Lampenfieber hatten  = both teams started out shaky as they had butterflies

einige/unsere Spieler können ihre Nerven kontrollieren = some players have no jitters at all; there is no reason for nerves; player didn’t fold/wilt; a few players have the ability of shaking off the fear of losing; player gets rid of first-game/early/pre- game jitters/jitterbugs; player shakes off some early “butterflies”; in tonight’s game player didn’t flinch; players didn’t appear to have first-time jitters; nothing can set our players’ nerves on edge 

Spieler ist wankelmütig/labil = player is psychologically brittle/fickle/mercurial

Spieler versucht/strebt an, das ewige Verlierer-Etikett loszuwerden = player tries to get rid of his bad rep (loser’s tag)/to bury his perennial underachievers’ tag

Spieler wird seinen Ruf als Weichei los = his “choker” tag was gone and so were the ghosts of last year’s lost grand final; player is no longer a bust/wallflower/failure/dud; player sheds “bust/soft” label; player has refurbished his image

wir verlieren noch immer durch unsere Nervenschwäche = we are still losing as the choke tour continues

bei Spielbeginn war dann das Bauchkribbeln/Lampenfieber weg = it wasn’t’until the ball kicked/tipped that the butterflies went away/the jitters got out 

unsere Leistung war ein Armutszeugnis = our performance/showing was an absolute choke job/shameful loss/a turkey/a dud/a flop; it was a big choke job/a total embarassment

die größten Blamagen in der Sportgeschichte sind unbeschreiblich = no way you can describe the greatest chokes/greatest screw-ups/ greatest goats in the history of sports

diese Mannschaft ist (noch immer) unser Angstgegner, sie kann sich nach wie vor damit brüsten = that team seems to have a spell on us; team still owns (other team); squad continues mastery over (other squad); side still remains as (other team’s) bogey team; getting owned is unfamiliar territory for the national team; team maintains choke/dominance against (same opponent); squad earns/continues to have  bragging rights over (name team, which they beat all the time); this team keeps piling/heaping misery on our squad 

wir haben eine horrende Bilanz gegen unseren Angstgegner = side/squad has a dismal record against (name bogey team)  

sie haben uns offensichtlich durchschaut  = they (our nemesis) obviously have our number/figured us out;  they second-guessed us

gegen uns startet Spieler immer durch/liefert er immer eine Topleistung = player is our bogeyman/boogeyman/nemesis/killer as he always scores well against us

wir haben unseren Angstgegner endlich besiegt  = we are not hexed any longer; team managed to break/shrug off/shake the spell/ hoodoo/hex/jinx; our bogey team/nemesis doesn’t own us any longer; at last we got over the hump against our bogey/nemesis; we managed to put those long-simmering demons to rest; team managed to bury the ghosts of the 2012 debacle  

diese Mannschaft ist unser Lieblingsgegner = our opponent is a welcome sight/just what the doctor ordered; we still own them (i.e. we always beat them)

in diesem Stadion haben wir noch nie gewinnen können = we have never been able to come away with a win in this arena/graveyard (“graveyards” are arenas where visiting teams always lose); this arena is a house of misery/horrors for certain teams; the national side/ squad must overcome/end a 10-year stadium/arena hoodoo

nach längerer Zeit haben wir in diesem Stadion endlich wieder siegen können = with a dramatic win we finally broke/ended/removed/ lifted/snapped the drought/curse on this arena; it wasn’t easy to overcome the road hex, but we finally succeeded