Part I
Football fans find their passions aroused by a whole range of factors, from a team's history to its shirt or traditional home. Likewise, a simple nickname can capture the imagination, often long after the reasoning behind the name is forgotten.
In this new three-part series, FIFA.com takes a closer look at some of the weird and wonderful sobriquets at large in the world game, starting with club teams.
As the birthplace of the beautiful game, England is unsurprisingly the spiritual home of the nickname too. Whether basking in the upper reaches of the Premiership or toiling in the lower leagues, no side ever takes the field without boasting a popular epithet. Many of those sprung from the colour of the team's shirt, with a whole rainbow on offer from the Reds of Liverpool to Chelsea's Blues, and from the Whites of Leeds to the Sky Blues of Coventry.
More imaginatively, some clubs seem to have gone the extra mile, drawing links between the hue of their uniforms and the natural world. Thus, the black-and-white stripes of Newcastle inspired the nickname the Magpies, while fellow top-flight outfit Watford earned fame as the Hornets due to their yellow-and-black outfits. In fact, a whole array of English sides enjoy associations with the animal kingdom, which can make for some very odd zoological mismatches. The Foxes and the Owls come face to face every time Leicester City play Sheffield Wednesday, for example, while Norwich's Canaries hope not to lose their feathers against the Wolves of Wolverhampton. Fortunately, the smaller creatures often triumph on a football pitch.
Other pet names arose out of the history of a club, especially when the team in question enjoyed strong early links with a particular industry. The two most famous examples come from the capital, where the Hammers of West Ham first saw life as the company team for Thames Ironworks, and where Arsenal's Gunners were founded by employees of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich at the end of the 19th century. To this day, a cannon adorns the north London giant's emblem, rather appropriately for those who argue that free-scoring Thierry Henry ought to be classed as a dangerous weapon.
Away from the clanging of heavy machinery, fans of Everton affectionately refer to their idols with probably the sweetest nickname of all. Having borne their title since time immemorial, it turns out that the Toffees owe their sobriquet to not one, but two local toffee shops in days gone past. According to legend, spectators spent the moments before kick-off feasting on the rival products of Old Mother Nobletts and Old Ma Bushell, the latter having been granted permission to sell her Everton Toffees inside Goodison Park itself.
Lastly, the most recognised alias in the English game was the work not of fans, but of legendary manager Sir Matt Busby. It was he who christened his Manchester United side the Red Devils, having first heard that evocative phrasing used to describe the rugby league outfit in neighbouring Salford.
Scotland, meanwhile, though often in the shadow of its southerly neighbour, arguably boasts an even more impressive, and bizarre, collection of nicknames. Take coastal club Arbroath, for example, long known as The Red Lichties because of the red light (or 'lichtie' in that region of Scotland) used to guide fishing boats back to the town's harbour from the North Sea. Then you have Ayr United, The Honest Men.
In this case, the nickname refers to a verse in 'Tam O'Shanter' by the famous Scots poet Robert Burns, who wrote of: "Auld Ayr, wha'm ne'er a toon surpassess, for honest men and bonnie lasses."
Another complimentary nickname is Clyde's, The Bully Wee, thought to refer to their status as a good, small club with 'bully' a Victorian synonym for first-rate and 'wee', of course, Scottish slang for small. Dundee United, meanwhile, have been known for decades as The Arabs due to the club's traditional tendency to heavily sand the pitch at Tannadice
, while Celtic's nickname, The Bhoys, reflects the way the word was pronounced by the Irish immigrants who made up the bulk of the club's early support.
Spanish clubs prefer a more traditional approach when it comes to diminutives, with team colours pointing the way more often than not. As a result, supporters of Seville-based side Real Betis cheer on the Verdiblancos (Green and Whites), while Villarreal enthusiasts get behind El Submarino Amarillo (The Yellow Submarine).
A little more digging is required to make sense of Atletico Madrid's moniker, but even a name like Los Colchoneros (The Mattress Makers) has a reason behind it. As it happens, the capital side have always trotted out in red and white stripes, which invited fanciful comparisons with old-style Spanish mattresses (colchones).
Another feature of the Spanish scene is that teams sometimes pick up temporary nicknames that become associated with a particular era. So while Barcelona will forever be the Blaugrana (Blue and Scarlets), the side assembled by Johan Cruyff in the 1990s earned recognition as the Dream Team, in honour of the sheer talent in the dressing-room and the spectacular quality of their play. That tag has been dusted off and applied more recently too, following the achievements of Frank Rijkaard's crop since 2003.
Similarly, nine-time UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid have an eternal bond with the colour white (Casa Blanca, Merengues) but managed to add a new pseudonym to the list after ex-President Florentino Perez began assembling his galaxy of stars. With players such as Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Michael Owen, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Raul and Robinho all taking up at least temporary residence in the Spanish capital, the big-spending outfit suddenly found themselves labelled the Galácticos.
Interestingly, that turn of events echoed the experience of another Real - Real Zaragoza - who briefly swapped their billing as the Blanquillos with the more majestic title of the Magníficos in the 1960s, following success in the Copa del Rey (winners in 1964 and 1966, finalists in '63 and '65) and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (winners in 1964, finalists in '66).
Of course, there is another side to that equation, with on- and off-field activity sometimes saddling teams with denominations they would give anything to shake, as Bayern Munich discovered in the 1990s when they were re-baptised FC Hollywood . Similarly, the effective but uninspiring fare served up at Highbury in the 1980s earned the home side notoriety as Boring Boring Arsenal. In both cases, however, those great clubs later consigned the slurs to history.
The most original nicknames in the sport tend to emerge out of its fiercest rivalries, to the extent that several clubs have one alias beloved by their own fans and another cherished by the opposition. Nowhere is that truer than in Argentina, home of what many observers agree is the most highly-charged derby of all: the River Plate-Boca Juniors Superclásico.
At their end of the pitch, River fans see themselves as the Millonarios (Millionaires), in honour of team officials paying for striker Barnabe Ferreyra in gold back in the 1930s, while Boca supporters prefer to be called the Xeneizes (Genoans), an allusion to the Italian immigrants who founded the club.
Those are far from being the only epithets thrown around on match day, however, although they are probably among the more eloquent. After all, in the eyes of their rivals, the Millonarios and Xeneizes ought to be known as the Gallinas (Chickens) and Bosteros (Bumpkins)
, just as neutrals attending the Rosario derby between Rosario Central and Newell's Old Boys can expect to hear the protagonists referred to as the Canallas (Scoundrels) and Leprosos (Lepers).
Thankfully, things are a little friendlier in Brazil, where gentle mocking is the order of the day. In that spirit, players representing the Tricolor of Sao Paulo must put up with being called Bambis by fans of Corinthians (O Timão, The Great Team), while Juventude's finest have been christened Papos (Bigmouths) by opposing supporters, who feel the side talk a much better game than they play.
From the historic to the downright humorous, club nicknames clearly enjoy a vast divergence of origins, with many a fascinating story buried beneath the labels we now take for granted.
FIFA.com
Football fans find their passions aroused by a whole range of factors, from a team's history to its shirt or traditional home. Likewise, a simple nickname can capture the imagination, often long after the reasoning behind the name is forgotten.
In this new three-part series, FIFA.com takes a closer look at some of the weird and wonderful sobriquets at large in the world game, starting with club teams.
As the birthplace of the beautiful game, England is unsurprisingly the spiritual home of the nickname too. Whether basking in the upper reaches of the Premiership or toiling in the lower leagues, no side ever takes the field without boasting a popular epithet. Many of those sprung from the colour of the team's shirt, with a whole rainbow on offer from the Reds of Liverpool to Chelsea's Blues, and from the Whites of Leeds to the Sky Blues of Coventry.
More imaginatively, some clubs seem to have gone the extra mile, drawing links between the hue of their uniforms and the natural world. Thus, the black-and-white stripes of Newcastle inspired the nickname the Magpies, while fellow top-flight outfit Watford earned fame as the Hornets due to their yellow-and-black outfits. In fact, a whole array of English sides enjoy associations with the animal kingdom, which can make for some very odd zoological mismatches. The Foxes and the Owls come face to face every time Leicester City play Sheffield Wednesday, for example, while Norwich's Canaries hope not to lose their feathers against the Wolves of Wolverhampton. Fortunately, the smaller creatures often triumph on a football pitch.
Other pet names arose out of the history of a club, especially when the team in question enjoyed strong early links with a particular industry. The two most famous examples come from the capital, where the Hammers of West Ham first saw life as the company team for Thames Ironworks, and where Arsenal's Gunners were founded by employees of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich at the end of the 19th century. To this day, a cannon adorns the north London giant's emblem, rather appropriately for those who argue that free-scoring Thierry Henry ought to be classed as a dangerous weapon.
Away from the clanging of heavy machinery, fans of Everton affectionately refer to their idols with probably the sweetest nickname of all. Having borne their title since time immemorial, it turns out that the Toffees owe their sobriquet to not one, but two local toffee shops in days gone past. According to legend, spectators spent the moments before kick-off feasting on the rival products of Old Mother Nobletts and Old Ma Bushell, the latter having been granted permission to sell her Everton Toffees inside Goodison Park itself.
Lastly, the most recognised alias in the English game was the work not of fans, but of legendary manager Sir Matt Busby. It was he who christened his Manchester United side the Red Devils, having first heard that evocative phrasing used to describe the rugby league outfit in neighbouring Salford.
Scotland, meanwhile, though often in the shadow of its southerly neighbour, arguably boasts an even more impressive, and bizarre, collection of nicknames. Take coastal club Arbroath, for example, long known as The Red Lichties because of the red light (or 'lichtie' in that region of Scotland) used to guide fishing boats back to the town's harbour from the North Sea. Then you have Ayr United, The Honest Men.
In this case, the nickname refers to a verse in 'Tam O'Shanter' by the famous Scots poet Robert Burns, who wrote of: "Auld Ayr, wha'm ne'er a toon surpassess, for honest men and bonnie lasses." Another complimentary nickname is Clyde's, The Bully Wee, thought to refer to their status as a good, small club with 'bully' a Victorian synonym for first-rate and 'wee', of course, Scottish slang for small. Dundee United, meanwhile, have been known for decades as The Arabs due to the club's traditional tendency to heavily sand the pitch at Tannadice
, while Celtic's nickname, The Bhoys, reflects the way the word was pronounced by the Irish immigrants who made up the bulk of the club's early support. Spanish clubs prefer a more traditional approach when it comes to diminutives, with team colours pointing the way more often than not. As a result, supporters of Seville-based side Real Betis cheer on the Verdiblancos (Green and Whites), while Villarreal enthusiasts get behind El Submarino Amarillo (The Yellow Submarine).
A little more digging is required to make sense of Atletico Madrid's moniker, but even a name like Los Colchoneros (The Mattress Makers) has a reason behind it. As it happens, the capital side have always trotted out in red and white stripes, which invited fanciful comparisons with old-style Spanish mattresses (colchones).
Another feature of the Spanish scene is that teams sometimes pick up temporary nicknames that become associated with a particular era. So while Barcelona will forever be the Blaugrana (Blue and Scarlets), the side assembled by Johan Cruyff in the 1990s earned recognition as the Dream Team, in honour of the sheer talent in the dressing-room and the spectacular quality of their play. That tag has been dusted off and applied more recently too, following the achievements of Frank Rijkaard's crop since 2003.
Similarly, nine-time UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid have an eternal bond with the colour white (Casa Blanca, Merengues) but managed to add a new pseudonym to the list after ex-President Florentino Perez began assembling his galaxy of stars. With players such as Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Michael Owen, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Raul and Robinho all taking up at least temporary residence in the Spanish capital, the big-spending outfit suddenly found themselves labelled the Galácticos.
Interestingly, that turn of events echoed the experience of another Real - Real Zaragoza - who briefly swapped their billing as the Blanquillos with the more majestic title of the Magníficos in the 1960s, following success in the Copa del Rey (winners in 1964 and 1966, finalists in '63 and '65) and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (winners in 1964, finalists in '66).
Of course, there is another side to that equation, with on- and off-field activity sometimes saddling teams with denominations they would give anything to shake, as Bayern Munich discovered in the 1990s when they were re-baptised FC Hollywood
. Similarly, the effective but uninspiring fare served up at Highbury in the 1980s earned the home side notoriety as Boring Boring Arsenal. In both cases, however, those great clubs later consigned the slurs to history. The most original nicknames in the sport tend to emerge out of its fiercest rivalries, to the extent that several clubs have one alias beloved by their own fans and another cherished by the opposition. Nowhere is that truer than in Argentina, home of what many observers agree is the most highly-charged derby of all: the River Plate-Boca Juniors Superclásico.
At their end of the pitch, River fans see themselves as the Millonarios (Millionaires), in honour of team officials paying for striker Barnabe Ferreyra in gold back in the 1930s, while Boca supporters prefer to be called the Xeneizes (Genoans), an allusion to the Italian immigrants who founded the club.
Those are far from being the only epithets thrown around on match day, however, although they are probably among the more eloquent. After all, in the eyes of their rivals, the Millonarios and Xeneizes ought to be known as the Gallinas (Chickens) and Bosteros (Bumpkins)
, just as neutrals attending the Rosario derby between Rosario Central and Newell's Old Boys can expect to hear the protagonists referred to as the Canallas (Scoundrels) and Leprosos (Lepers). Thankfully, things are a little friendlier in Brazil, where gentle mocking is the order of the day. In that spirit, players representing the Tricolor of Sao Paulo must put up with being called Bambis by fans of Corinthians (O Timão, The Great Team), while Juventude's finest have been christened Papos (Bigmouths) by opposing supporters, who feel the side talk a much better game than they play.
From the historic to the downright humorous, club nicknames clearly enjoy a vast divergence of origins, with many a fascinating story buried beneath the labels we now take for granted.
FIFA.com
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