Interview with Marc Joss: Choosing football

as a translation specialism
With football fever set to sweep the
European continent over the next month
with the start of Euro 2016, we caught up
with Marc Joss, a football translator and
interpreter, to discuss why he chose
football as a specialism, his experiences as
a translator and setting translation rates
plus much more.
What attracted you to the world of
translation?
Ive always been fascinated by different
languages, particularly the way in which
equivalent idioms are expressed, reflecting
cultures and traditions. Being able to work
in the world of translation means Im lucky
enough that one of my main hobbies is a
huge part of my working life, which is a
notion I think most people would be
attracted to.
You have chosen football as your
translation specialism. Was it always the
plan to be a football translator and what led
you to this decision?
My father instilled in me a love of football
from a very early age and I knew from my
first inspirational Spanish lesson at 11
years old that languages would play an
important role in my life.

I cant say that Ive always planned to be a

football translator, but my love for
European football, particularly La Liga,
meant I received an influx of messages
from friends back in 2012 when Spanish
football expert and journalist Guillem
Balagu posted on his website that he was
looking for a native English speaker who
spoke Spanish and loved football to work
for him full-time. After reading that job
description, I realised there was definitely
scope to combine my languages and the
beautiful game as a profession and,
although my initial job application was
unsuccessful (more on that later), it was
the indirect beginning of what I would call
the dream job.
Do you think it is important to have a
specialism as a translator?

The world of translation is so broad and

there are so many complex subjects that I
think specialising makes sense for a range
of reasons. I can translate a football-related
text much faster, more accurately and
know Ill enjoy it more than would be the
case for a legal or medical document so I
try to stick to what I know best, provided
theres enough work coming through, of
course.
Is networking a vital part of finding work as
a football translator?
Networking can certainly help! You never
know when someone youve met might
think of you and get in touch for a possible
job. Networking with fellow translators and
interpreters is also very useful for sharing
experiences and contacts. For example, if
theres a job I cant do, I have a list of
excellent translators Id happily pass work
on to, and they do the same for me. In fact,
when I was interviewed by the sports
section of Redbrick, the student newspaper
at the University of Birmingham, in early
2015, a translator who read it put me in
touch with the languages man at Arsenal
which was a fantastic opening for me. You
just never know!
I also run a free language exchange event
called Babble every Sunday evening in
central London which can be a great place
to network and it means I get to practice
my languages with natives on a regular
basis.
What approach, if any, do you take for
marketing your services to find new work?

Putting yourself out there is crucial. I have

a website which I update regularly and
although its far from the worlds best, it
does come up on Google and (I believe)
portrays me as a professional in a positive
light. Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook all
have their uses too.

When I am lucky enough to work with highprofile people in the football world, I usually
ask for a photo and if they are kind enough
to oblige, I post it on Twitter using one of

my hashtags which can be effective,

particularly if they are kind enough to
retweet it!

I check LinkedIn regularly and have

occasionally been recommended for jobs on
there, so Id say its important to keep it
updated, although Im sure theres a lot
more to it that I havent fully explored yet..

people expected him to do as well as he

has done, but he settled in straight away
and I have done about ten interpreting jobs
with him throughout his inaugural
campaign, including the West Ham end of
season awards which was a rather special
evening in which I ended up doing FrenchEnglish interpreting on stage in front of
1,100 people that was also broadcast live
online!

Im also a member of a few Facebook

groups for translators, for example Things
Translators Never Say which I find quite
enjoyable for discussing life as a translator
with fellow professionals, especially as we
dont have that usual social workplace
environment.

Marc Joss. football translator and

interpreter, with Dimitri Payet

What experiences have given you the most

joy as a translator so far?

Id say the biggest area of football

translation that has proved challenging
since the beginning has been the
contrasting ways in which the English and
Spanish-speaking worlds approach injury
information.

Well it doesnt get much better than seeing

your name in print for the first time which
was for Guillem Balagus Messi book back
in 2013. I have to say, however, the fact
that the first chapter that I translated was
about Barcelona beating Arsenal in the
2006 Champions League final definitely
didnt give me any joy as a Gunner!

Marc Joss, football translator and

interpreter with Guillem Balague

Ive also been lucky enough to work with

some of my favourite Arsenal players, past
and present, from Santi Cazorla to Thierry
Henry. Interpreting for a footballer who
plays for my own football team is probably
when the dream job vibe comes through
the most!

Marc Joss, football translator and

interpreter, with Santi Cazorla

The third and final example Id cite would

have to be the work Ive done with Dimitri
Payet at West Ham. When he signed for the
club in summer 2015, I dont think many

Has there been anything you encountered

as a translator that has proved challenging
which you were not expecting?

The Spanish press and clubs tend to enjoy

specific descriptions mentioning muscles
and medical terminology that would
normally be reserved for our doctors and
surgeons. I remember feeling rather inept
when I discovered that many of the Spanish
terms I was looking up on the Messi book
project had very similar English
equivalents, but the issue was I hadnt
previously heard of them in my native
tongue. The decision in the end was to
adapt the level of detail for the target
readership which made my job somewhat
easier!

Another area that I find quite tricky and

interesting is translating questions from
English because the language is so well
geared towards the How _____ (insert
adjective here) are you about bla bla?
formula, that does not have obvious
equivalents in the romance languages, or
at least if it does, Im not all that familiar
with them! I feel that although part of the
nuance in the question may be lost in the
foreign language, it rarely affects the

answer so I consider it more of a structural

difference than anything else.

A big part of my work is translating

interviews that have been conducted in
French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish into
English which brings a whole host of
obstacles with it. You never know how
strong the speakers accent might be or
how often they will make cultural
references that require research and
adapting in English. The beauty of this is
you really do learn something new every
day!
You have translated football biographies
and transcribed documentaries. How do
you approach negotiating your rates? Any
techniques you have learnt over the years?

There are many aspects to consider when

you negotiate your rates. You dont want to
put the client off by going in too high and
you dont want to undervalue yourself and
not receive a suitable fee for your time and
expertise. Every job is different and should
be treated as such. If you think a particular
translation piece might be very enjoyable
and not too time-consuming, while also
potentially opening the door for future
work, maybe that would be a good time to
consider dropping your rate slightly. If you
are in the enviable position of being
overloaded and are offered something less
attractive, that could be a good time to
increase your rate slightly.

I also think its important to know that you

can say no to jobs and it isnt the end of the
world. If the money isnt good enough or a
short deadline would mean you wouldnt be
able to deliver the translation to the best of
your ability or it would ruin your work-life
balance, maybe saying no is the way
forward.

Im always interested to hear how other

translators and freelancers in general
approach this area so feel free to get in
touch!

What advice would you give any translator

or interpreter looking to break into the
world of football or sport?

A social media presence is very useful as

there have been many occasions when Ive
seen, posted or shared tweets about jobs in
the industry. You simply never know how it
might all begin. Often being in the right
place at the right time is crucial and it goes
without saying that the more common
football languages you speak, the better!

Looking ahead, any language of a country

hosting a major tournament (World Cup or
Euros, particularly) is likely to be in high
demand, so any Russian speakers should
be ready for a busy 2018!
The Euros are just about to kick-off, does a
big tournament like this offer Freelancers
the opportunity for more work?

Indeed it does. Of course the nature of

international tournaments means there are
plenty of languages involved on a highprofile stage with huge global interest
global.

One of the companies I freelance for, Clark

Football Languages, will be working closely
with UEFA throughout the tournament and
providing translations of press conferences
and interviews with players, coaches and
fans representing every participating
country.

When its tournament season, they take on

freelancers to cover the languages involved
and need to have a flexible team given the
unpredictable nature of timing and the
amount of content involved. It may not be
too late to check out the website if youre
interested. Good luck and we might even
get to work together someday!
Interview with Marc Joss: Choosing football
as a translation specialism Part 2

By Daniel Lifton / June 14, 2016

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marc-joss-football-translation-specialism

I hope you enjoyed part one of our

interview with Marc Joss, football translator
and interpreter. With Euro 2016 underway
we caught up with Marc for part two of our
blog, where he discusses how he ended up
working with Guillem Balague, what the life
of a football translator and interpreter
involves, maintaining a healthy work/life
balance plus who he thinks will win Euro
2016.
In part one, we mentioned you have
translated football biographies, how did you
end up working with Guillem Balague?

As I mentioned earlier, I was very

disappointed not to hear back about what I
thought was the dream job that Guillem
had posted about in late 2012, but I was
working as an English language assistant in
Paris at the time and it turned out to be a
blessing in disguise. By June 2013, I had
finished my teaching post in France and
returned to London in search of a full-time
job. On the way back from a weekend
away, on arriving at passport control, my
friend Dom said to me, Marc, Im pretty
sure thats Guillem Balagu! Indeed it was
and so we let a few people go past us in the
queue before striking up a conversation
with him.

While Dom was interested in Guillems

opinion on Aston Villas latest recruit at the
time, a full-back called Antonio Luna, I
swiftly mentioned the job opportunity that I
didnt hear back about the previous year
which finally put my mind at rest after
months of wondering why it never went any
further. Guillem also told me he was writing
an authorised biography of Lionel Messi at
the time and although he had a translator

working on it, there was a chance hed

need a second one to help out. Three
months later I could barely believe my ears
when I received a phone call on a Thursday
evening asking if I could translate 12,000
words by the Monday which was how it all
kicked off! Ill be sure never to complain
about a long queue at passport control for
the rest of my life!
You are an interpreter as well as a
translator, do we know any clubs or players
you have worked with?

Im lucky enough to say Im sure you do!

Ive done regular work at West Ham with
their French and Spanish-speaking players
since summer 2014 and have been
especially privileged to interpret for Dimitri
Payet on several occasions throughout the
2015-16 season. Other big names include
Brazilian legend Zico (Portuguese
English), Arsenals Petr Cech (English
Spanish) and Real Madrid great Fernando
Hierro (Spanish English).

Marc Joss, football translator and

interpreter with Petr Cech
What sort of work does interpreting for a
club or player involve?

The most standard scenario is consecutive

interpreting where an English-speaking
journalist or reporter is interviewing a
player who would rather speak in his native
language, or it may be a press conference.
The questions are asked in English, unless
Ive been given them beforehand and can
directly interview the player myself. If that
isnt the case, I translate the questions for
the player (unless his understanding of
English is good enough not to need me)
and he will then respond in his own
language. I make notes and once he has
finished speaking, I relay the answer in
English.

In terms of what happens with my answers,

my words may be used as a voiceover,
subtitles or quotes may be picked out for
an article, depending on the situation. Of

course you need excellent football

knowledge to be able to do a good job and I
make sure I prepare by thinking about likely
questions, reading up on the
player/manager, brushing up on relevant
vocabulary and watching footage of them
on YouTube! Its also a fabulous excuse to
tell my partner I need to watch as much
football as possible. Im sorry you cant
watch the Great British Bake Off because I
definitely need to watch Getafe v Eibar live
for work, didnt go down too well earlier
this season
In your experience as a football translator,
which footballing nation takes translation
and interpretation the most seriously?

Im afraid Ive only ever worked as a

translator and interpreter in the UK, but
have noticed how many clubs in Spain and
Italy have really stepped it up with the
English versions of their websites and social
media platforms in the last couple of years.
Twitter has had a huge role to play in
bringing players and clubs closer to fans all
over the world and English is probably the
single most important language for doing
so which is great for me and other native
English translators, in particular.
Your photos show that you have worked
with some big footballing names, if there
was one player or manager, past or
present, who would you like to work with
and why?

Friends have previously made the

comparison between Jos Mourinho and me
and I would definitely be interested to meet
the Portuguese coach who started making a

name for himself as Sir Bobby Robsons

interpreter at Barcelona in 1996. Although
Im not necessarily a fan of his playing style
and below-the-belt tactics, he is a
fascinating individual whose linguistic skills
have played a huge role in him becoming
one of the worlds most successful
managers!
Is it important to maintain a healthy
work/life balance as a translator?

It definitely is! The beauty of being a

freelance translator is that youre in charge
of your schedule, but at the same time you
have to work out what fits your lifestyle and
ensure you dont spend days on end locked
away at home without stepping outside or
socialising.

I keep my schedule quite busy by playing 5a-side football twice a week, following
Arsenal home and away and co-running a
Nandos fansite, which involves organising
Reviewer Dinners every two months or so.
Of course I need to ensure I get enough
jobs to be able to enjoy my other hobbies
and if it means working through the night
or on the weekend, so be it!
And finally who are you tipping for Euro
2016 glory?

With Spains domination in the last two

tournaments and the remarkable run
Spanish sides have had in the last three
seasons in Europe, Im backing La Roja to
retain their title and prove that the 2014
World Cup disaster was a mere blip.