Talk:park the bus

Meaning of the phrase

The image behind the phrase is of the away team arriving on the team bus and parking it in front of the goals and playing a completely negative game in the hope of getting a point from the fixture. It is a tactic most employed by visiting sides. Wordiesmith (talk) 11:52, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

Origin of the expression

I just came across this page that explains the origins of the expression — thought I'd leave the relevant quotation in case someone deems the information worthy of being incorporated into the entry:

To park the bus is a football (soccer) term, which means to play an ultra-defensive style of play with the objective of denying the opposing team any opportunities of scoring goals. It is attributed to José Mourinho in 2004 when he was manager of Chelsea Football Club during his first tenure at the Club. Mourinho did not actually use the exact words. When interviewed after a goal-less draw against Tottenham Hotspur Football Club at Stamford Bridge in September 2004, Mourinho actually said, “As we say in Portugal, they brought the bus and they left the bus in front of the goal.” After this, the expression parking the bus was soon adopted by football pundits to describe such defensive tactics. Since 2004, Mourinho himself has often used both the expression and the tactics.

--Waldyrious (talk) 09:46, 24 November 2021 (UTC)

Update: the etymology has been added in this edit. Thanks, Gabbe! --Waldyrious (talk) 15:00, 1 August 2023 (UTC)