In this football language post we explain the expression ‘towering header’ which is used to describe a powerful header from a player who has risen high above the defenders. Don’t forget we have hundreds more explanations of football language in our football glossary and we also have a page full of football cliches. If you have questions or comments about this or any other phrase then email us at: admin@languagecaster.com.
Football Language: Towering Header
There are many different words and phrases used to describe headers in football. For example, a glancing header is when an attacker uses their head to slightly change the direction of the ball towards the goal – this is different from a bullet header which is when the player meets the ball in the middle of their forehead and adds real power to it. A towering header is somewhat similar in that the header is a powerful one but the adjective towering also suggests that the attacker has jumped higher (or sometimes we say they have climbed higher) than anyone else in order to then powerfully head the ball home (into the goal).
To tower over someone describes a person who is much bigger/taller than other people, i.e. in a physical sense but this phrase can also be used metaphorically when talking about intellect for example. But in football, a towering header suggests that the player jumped or leapt higher than anyone else and then scored with a powerful header.
Example: ‘Cristiano Roanldoa€™s towering header against Sampdoria to help Juventus win 2-1′ (The Statesman, December 19 2019)
Example: ‘Renard delivers again with towering header for Lyon’ (BT Sport, 26 August 2020)
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