Is there a Spanish equivalent to the English phrase "leave it all on the field"?

Question

In English, athletes who participate in competitions (especially important ones) discuss their effort as "leaving it all on the field". This gives the sense that there was (or will be) nothing held back or reserved for later.

Clearly, this could be translated as "poner el máximo esfuerzo", "darlo todo", or something similar, but I would like to know if there is some Spanish phrase that retains the idea of the event itself. For example, would (and I'm just making this up) "dejar el alma en la cancha/el campo" or "no quedar nada para después del juego" convey the idea?

Answer 1

As much as darlo todo, I also hear often dejar(se) la piel (en el campo):

dejar alguien la piel
1. loc. verb. coloq. dar la piel.
2. loc. verb. coloq. Esforzarse al máximo en algo. U. m. con el verbo c. prnl. Se deja la piel en su trabajo.

Literally, it translates as to leave the skin (somewhere), and it probably comes from the image of slaves working while being lashed.

So it is quite common to read things like:

El Barça cayó derrotado pese a dejarse la piel en el campo hasta el último momento.

_{(todos sabemos que eso es falso, porque el Barça gana siempre)}

I say this from my Spanish from Spain perspective and I am not quite sure of how common this meaning is in Central and North America. Some Googling showed some results in that region, but I would appreciate some confirmation from people from there.

Answer 2

The sentence darlo todo is a good option, as it carries the meaning of "leave it all". If you want, you can add en el campo, en la cancha, en el terreno de juego, or whatever expression the same way as you say "on the field".

I found one example in the CREA reference corpus of the expression used in a newspaper from Mexico (emphasis mine):

"Todo puede pasar. Hoy tuve una carrera perfecta y estoy agradecida con Dios por la oportunidad de correr una final olímpica. Ahora hay que salir a darlo todo, a morirme en la raya para completar una misión", dice luego de tomar una pausa.

PRENSA, "Excélsior, 25/09/2000 : Ana hizo realidad su sueño, estará en la final", 2000 (México).

In this case the expression is used by itself. In the next expression she adds en la raya, meaning the finish line, implying that she will die while crossing that line if needed to win the competition.

Answer 3

En México usamos el pintoresco

echar toda la carne al asador

1. loc. verb. coloq. Arriesgarlo todo de una vez, o llevar al extremo el empeño y esfuerzo en la ejecución de algo.

Es decir, invertir todos los recursos, sin reservas, a un proceso irreversible; esperando el resultado más favorable.

Answer 4

I think that the most exact translation could be "Dejarse la piel" or even "Dejarse el pellejo"

In Reverso dictionary:

dejarse la piel: hacer un esfuerzo agotador en la realización de una tarea.

dejarse el pellejo: acabar exhausto luego de esforzarse mucho en un trabajo o tarea.