Adel joins a football team but barely receives the ball. A conversation during the break reveals that the players have misunderstood his movements.
01Read the Arabic story
زَمِيلٌ جَدِيدٌ لَا يُمَرِّرُ لَهُ أَحَدٌ الْكُرَةَ
اِنْضَمَّ عَادِلٌ إِلَى فَرِيقِ كُرَةِ الْقَدَمِ فِي الْحَيِّ صَبَاحَ السَّبْتِ. رَحَّبَ بِهِ سَلِيمٌ، قَائِدُ الْفَرِيقِ، وَأَعْطَاهُ قَمِيصًا أَزْرَقَ. كَانَ اللَّاعِبُونَ الْآخَرُونَ يَتَدَرَّبُونَ مَعًا مُنْذُ أَشْهُرٍ، وَيَسْتَعْمِلُونَ إِشَارَاتٍ بِالْيَدِ لِتَنْظِيمِ حَرَكَتِهِمْ. بَدَأَتِ الْمُبَارَاةُ التَّدْرِيبِيَّةُ بَعْدَ دَقَائِقَ، وَلَمْ يَشْرَحْ أَحَدٌ لِعَادِلٍ مَعْنَى تِلْكَ الْإِشَارَاتِ.
وَقَفَ عَادِلٌ فِي مَكَانٍ مُنَاسِبٍ قُرْبَ الْمَرْمَى، لَكِنَّ الْكُرَةَ لَمْ تَصِلْ إِلَيْهِ. رَفَعَ يَدَهُ وَطَلَبَ مِنْ زُمَلَائِهِ أَنْ يُمَرِّرُوهَا لَهُ. وَفِي مُحَاوَلَتَيْنِ، جَرَى إِلَى جِهَةٍ غَيْرِ الَّتِي أَشَارُوا إِلَيْهَا، فَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُ لَا يَفْهَمُ اللَّعِبَ. أَخَذُوا يَتَبَادَلُونَ الْكُرَةَ بَيْنَهُمْ، بَيْنَمَا كَانَ يُحَاوِلُ اللَّحَاقَ بِهِمْ دُونَ نَجَاحٍ.
أَثْنَاءَ الِاسْتِرَاحَةِ، جَلَسَ سَلِيمٌ بِجَانِبِ عَادِلٍ وَسَأَلَهُ عَنِ الْمُشْكِلَةِ. قَالَ عَادِلٌ: «فِي فَرِيقِي الْقَدِيمِ، كَانَ رَفْعُ الْيَدِ يَعْنِي الِاقْتِرَابَ مِنْ صَاحِبِ الْكُرَةِ. هُنَا يَبْدُو أَنَّهُ يَعْنِي الِابْتِعَادَ عَنْهُ». نَادَى سَلِيمٌ بَقِيَّةَ اللَّاعِبِينَ وَشَرَحَ لَهُمُ الِاخْتِلَافَ. وَاقْتَرَحَ تَدْرِيبًا قَصِيرًا يَشْتَرِكُ فِيهِ الْجَمِيعُ قَبْلَ مُوَاصَلَةِ الْمُبَارَاةِ.
وَضَعُوا ثَلَاثَةَ أَقْمَاعٍ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ، وَاتَّفَقُوا عَلَى إِشَارَتَيْنِ وَاضِحَتَيْنِ. مَرَّرَ كُلُّ لَاعِبٍ الْكُرَةَ إِلَى زَمِيلٍ، ثُمَّ تَحَرَّكَ إِلَى مَكَانٍ جَدِيدٍ. أَخْطَأَ عَادِلٌ مَرَّةً، فَأَعَادَ زُمَلَاؤُهُ الشَّرْحَ بِهُدُوءٍ. عِنْدَمَا عَادُوا إِلَى اللَّعِبِ، وَصَلَتْهُ الْكُرَةُ، فَمَرَّرَهَا إِلَى سَلِيمٍ. وَبَعْدَ تَمْرِيرَةٍ ثَالِثَةٍ، سَجَّلَ الْفَرِيقُ هَدَفًا وَاحْتَفَلَ الْجَمِيعُ مَعًا.
فِي الْأُسْبُوعِ التَّالِي، وَصَلَ عَادِلٌ مُبَكِّرًا وَسَاعَدَ فِي تَرْتِيبِ الْأَقْمَاعِ. جَاءَ لَاعِبٌ آخَرُ يَحْمِلُ وَرَقَةً رَسَمَ عَلَيْهَا خُطَّةً لِلْمُبَارَاةِ. بَدَلًا مِنْ أَنْ يَذْهَبَ إِلَى سَلِيمٍ مُبَاشَرَةً، وَقَفَ أَمَامَ عَادِلٍ وَقَالَ: «مَا رَأْيُكَ فِي هَذِهِ الْحَرَكَةِ؟» وَضَعَ عَادِلٌ الْكُرَةَ جَانِبًا، وَأَخَذَا يُنَاقِشَانِ الْخُطَّةَ حَتَّى وَصَلَ قَائِدُ الْفَرِيقِ.
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Adel joined the neighbourhood football team on Saturday morning. Salim, the team captain, welcomed him and gave him a blue shirt. The other players had been practising together for months and used hand signals to organise their movements. The practice match began a few minutes later, and nobody explained those signals to Adel.
Adel stood in a good position near the goal, but the ball did not reach him. He raised his hand and asked his teammates to pass it to him. On two attempts, he ran in a different direction from the one they indicated, so they thought he did not understand the game. They began passing the ball among themselves while he tried unsuccessfully to keep up with them.
During the break, Salim sat beside Adel and asked about the problem. Adel said, “In my old team, raising a hand meant moving towards the player with the ball. Here, it seems to mean moving away from him.” Salim called the other players and explained the difference. He suggested a short exercise involving everyone before continuing the match.
They placed three cones on the ground and agreed on two clear signals. Each player passed the ball to a teammate, then moved to a new position. Adel made one mistake, so his teammates calmly explained again. When they returned to the game, the ball reached him, and he passed it to Salim. After a third pass, the team scored a goal and everyone celebrated together.
The following week, Adel arrived early and helped arrange the cones. Another player arrived carrying a sheet of paper with a match plan drawn on it. Instead of going straight to Salim, he stopped in front of Adel and said, “What do you think of this movement?” Adel put the ball aside, and the two of them discussed the plan until the captain arrived.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| اِنْضَمَّ | he joined |
| قَائِدُ الْفَرِيقِ | the team captain |
| إِشَارَاتٍ | signals |
| الْمَرْمَى | the goal |
| يَتَبَادَلُونَ | they exchange / pass among themselves |
| اللَّحَاقَ بِهِمْ | keeping up with them |
| الِاقْتِرَابَ | moving closer |
| مُوَاصَلَةِ الْمُبَارَاةِ | continuing the match |
| أَقْمَاعٍ | cones |
| خُطَّةً | a plan |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Look back at the Arabic story when you need a clue. Open the English support if you need help understanding a question.
What to remember
- Shared signals only help when every player understands them; notice how an explanation changes the match.
- Compare the early missed passes with the final invitation to discuss a plan.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Lam in Arabic: How to Say “Did Not”
وَلَمْ يَشْرَحْ أَحَدٌ
See how lam marks an action that did not happen before the match began.
Arabic Time and Place Adverbs: Before, After, In Front and Behind
أَمَامَ عَادِلٍ
Use a place expression to follow where the teammate stands when he asks Adel for advice.
