Thread: Underdog

Como se dice "underdog"? Es un equipo que todo el mundo espera que va a perder...que tiene poco chansa de ganar.

Thanks guys. I can't believe that there is no word, especially in the world of fútbol or soccer, for the underdog!! It is widely used in English, at least in U.S. English. In sports, politics, in most any situation where one is considered to have the least chance of winning. Gotta be a Word for that!!!

Originally Posted by vicente

Thanks guys. I can't believe that there is no word, especially in the world of fútbol or soccer, for the underdog!! It is widely used in English, at least in U.S. English. In sports, politics, in most any situation where one is considered to have the least chance of winning. Gotta be a Word for that!!!

Ok. So if this is about soccer, then the underdog team is the "Cenicienta". So for example in the match between Uruguay and Costa Rica, the Costa Rican team is the underdog. Therefore Costa Rica is the "Cenicienta" of the game. Of course, this meaning is only applicable to soccer. I am not so sure it applies to other sports.


Mundial 2014: Uruguay saltar a la cancha y chocar con Costa Rica

La Celeste, que viene de terminar cuarta en la última Copa del Mundo (Sudáfrica 2010) no tendrá a su peligroso delantero Luis Suárez, quien se recupera de una lesión en una de sus rodillas sufrida en mayo pasado. El equipo de Oscar Tabárez intentará arrancar con un triunfo ante la Cenicienta de la zona, que participó tan solo en Italia 1990, donde llegó a octavos de final.

http://www.republica.com.uy/arevalo-...da-que-perder/
El volante uruguayo Egidio Arévalo Ríos consideró el pasado miércoles, hablando en conferencia de prensa, que el debut de su equipo el sábado en el Mundial de Brasil, ante Costa Rica en Fortaleza, es peligroso porque será ante un equipo “que no tiene nada que perder” ya que los ticos llegan como la “Cenicienta” del grupo D de la Copa del Mundo

Originally Posted by CaliforniaMan

Ok. So if this is about soccer, then the underdog team is the "Cenicienta". So for example in the match between Uruguay and Costa Rica, the Costa Rican team is the underdog. Therefore Costa Rica is the "Cenicienta" of the game. Of course, this meaning is only applicable to soccer. I am not so sure it applies to other sports.


Mundial 2014: Uruguay saltar a la cancha y chocar con Costa Rica

La Celeste, que viene de terminar cuarta en la última Copa del Mundo (Sudáfrica 2010) no tendrá a su peligroso delantero Luis Suárez, quien se recupera de una lesión en una de sus rodillas sufrida en mayo pasado. El equipo de Oscar Tabárez intentará arrancar con un triunfo ante la Cenicienta de la zona, que participó tan solo en Italia 1990, donde llegó a octavos de final.

Arévalo Ríos:
El volante uruguayo Egidio Arévalo Ríos consideró el pasado miércoles, hablando en conferencia de prensa, que el debut de su equipo el sábado en el Mundial de Brasil, ante Costa Rica en Fortaleza, es peligroso porque será ante un equipo “que no tiene nada que perder” ya que los ticos llegan como la “Cenicienta” del grupo D de la Copa del Mundo

In the U.S. we have the favorite and the underdog...so el favorito y el menos favorito sounds OK

But la cenicienta...the Cinderella team. I like that. Cinderella was certainly the underdog but everybody wanted her to become the princess. That's not always the case in a sports where the underdog could also be a team everybody despises but generally "everybody loves an underdog" so I think cenicienta might be the word. I'm going with it until I find a better one.


Edit: After thinking about it, I've changed my mind. A Cinderella team is one which say, starts the season at or near the bottom and is not expected to go far and certainly not win a championship but goes on to defeat opponents and win the championship against all expectations. In that regard a Cinderella team is an underdog.

However, an underdog is not always a Cinderella team. Every game has a favorite and an underdog, i.e., the team expected to lose. The underdog could well be a very good team but is matched against a better team in any given game.

So for now I guess I'll go with el menos favorito.