Some football club nicknames have become as synonymous with their official team names, with the likes of Chelsea known as 'the Blues' and Southampton commonly referred to as 'the Saints'.
Premier League team nicknames are pretty self-explanatory, often paying tribute to the club's trademark kit colours or the mascot on their crest and badge.
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Other nicknames, however, have a more affectionate and unique etymology, such as Juventus being called 'the Old Lady' and Koln known as 'the Billy Goats'. So what are some other examples? Goal takes a look.
England's Premier League
| Team | Nickname(s) |
|---|---|
| Arsenal | The Gunners |
| Aston Villa | The Villans |
| Bournemouth | The Cherries |
| Brighton | The Seagulls |
| Burnley | The Clarets |
| Chelsea | The Blues |
| Crystal Palace | The Eagles |
| Everton | The Toffees |
| Leicester City | The Foxes |
| Liverpool | The Reds |
| Man City | The Citizens, The Sky Blues |
| Man Utd | The Red Devils |
| Newcastle Utd | The Magpies |
| Norwich City | The Canaries |
| Sheffield Utd | The Blades |
| Southampton | The Saints |
| Tottenham | Spurs, The Lilywhites |
| Watford | The Hornets |
| West Ham | The Hammers, The Irons |
| Wolves | Wolves |
Everton are known as 'the Toffees' due to the toffee shops located in Everton village around the time the club was formed. Ye Anciente Everton Toffee House was popular with fans as it was near to the stadium, while Old Mother Nobletts Toffee Shop sold sweets called 'Everton mints', which were equally popular.
Southampton are referred to as 'the Saints', as the club was founded in 1885 by the young men of St Mary's Church, the mother church of Southampton. During the club's early days, it was known as Southampton St Mary's. This was then shortened to Southampton, but 'the Saints' remained as the nickname.
Spain's La Liga
| Team | Nickname(s) | Explanation/ Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Athletic Club | Los Leones, Los Rojiblancos | The Lions, The Red and Whites |
| Atletico Madrid | Los Colchoneros, Los Rojiblancos | The Mattress Makers, The Red and Whites |
| Barcelona | Blaugrana | In Catalan, 'blau' means blue and 'grana' translates to deep red |
| Celta Vigo | Os Celestes | The Sky Blues |
| Deportivo Alaves | Los Babazorros, El Glorioso | 'Baba' refers to 'fava' beans, and 'zorro' means 'sack', The Glorious One |
| Eibar | Los Armeros | The Gunsmiths |
| Espanyol | Los Periquitos, Los Blanquiazules | The Budgerigars, The White and Blues |
| Getafe | Los Azulones | The Deep Blues |
| Granada | Los Nazaries | Nasrids (referencing the Nazrid Dynasty) |
| Leganes | Los Pepineros | The Cucumber Growers |
| Levante | Los Granotas | The Frogs |
| Mallorca | Los Bermellones | The Vermilions |
| Osasuna | Los Rojillos | The Reds |
| Real Betis | Betis, Los Verderones, Los Heliopolitans | Lilywhites, The Big Greens, The Heliopolitans |
| Real Madrid | Los Blancos, Meringues | The Whites, The Meringues |
| Real Sociedad | Txuri-urdinak | The Whites and Blues |
| Real Valladolid | Los Albivioletas | The White and Violets |
| Sevilla | Los Rojiblancos, Los Hispalenses | The White and Reds, The Ones from Hispalis |
| Valencia | Los Che | In Valencian, 'che' is the same as saying 'hey' |
| Villarreal | El Submarino Amarillo | The Yellow Submarine |
Deportivo Alaves' nickname comes from the Basque language. 'Baba' references fava beans, and zorro means 'sack'. So, in an allusion to the large amounts of favas that were produced in the Alava province, Alaves are literally called 'the beanbags'.
In the Valencian style of speaking, saying 'che' is the same as saying 'hey'. ‘Levantinos’, who hail from the east coast of Spain, are easily identifiable throughout the rest of the country by their usage of this slang term.
In 1967, Villarreal (who play in yellow) were promoted to Spain’s third division. Around that time, a band called Los Mustangs covered 'Yellow Submarine', originally by the Beatles. The cover became popular in Spain, and so, Villarreal became known as 'the Yellow Submarine'!
Italy's Serie A
| Team | Nickname(s) | Explanation/ Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Atalanta | I Nerazzurri | The Black and Blues |
| Bologna | I Rossoblu, I Veltri | The Red and Blues, The Greyhounds |
| Brescia | Le Rondinelle, I Biancazzurri | The Little Swallows, The White and Blues |
| Cagliari | Gli Isolani | The Islanders |
| Fiorentina | La Viola | The Purple One |
| Genoa | I Rossoblu, l Grifone | The Red and Blues, The Griffin |
| Hellas Verona | I Gialloblu | The Yellow and Blues |
| Inter | I Nerazzurri | The Black and Blues |
| Juventus | I Bianconeri, La Vecchia Signora | The Black and Whites, The Old Lady |
| Lazio | I Biancocelesti | The White and Sky Blues |
| Lecce | I Giallorossi | The Yellow and Reds |
| Milan | I Rossoneri | The Red and Blacks |
| Napoli | Gli Azzurri | The Blues |
| Parma | I Gialloblu, I Crociati | The Yellow and Blues, The Crusaders |
| Roma | I Giallorossi | The Yellow and Reds |
| Sampdoria | I Blucerchiati | The Blue-circled (team colours are blue with white, red and black hoops) |
| Sassuolo | I Neroverdi | The Black and Greens |
| SPAL | I Biancazzurri | The White and Blues |
| Torino | Il Toro, i Granata | The Bull, The Maroons |
| Udinese | I Bianconeri | The White and Blacks |
In Latin, 'Juventus' means youth, so calling the club the 'Old Lady' is an ironic joke as Juventus is one of the oldest clubs in Italian football. For the 'Lady' part, it's understood that this related to fans showing love for their club as they would show love for their other halves.
Germany's Bundesliga
| Team | Nickname(s) | Explanation/ Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Augsburg | Die Fuggerstadter | Residents of the Fugger City |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Die Werkself | The Company XI |
| Bayern | Die Roten | The Reds |
| Borussia Dortmund | Die Schwarzgelben | The Black and Yellow |
| Borussia Monchengladbach | Die Fohlen | The Foals |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Die Adler | The Eagles |
| Fortuna Dusseldorf | Die Flingeraner | From the district of Flingern |
| Freiburg | Breisgau-Brasilianer | Brazilians of Breisgau |
| Hertha Berlin | Die Alte Dame | The Old Lady |
| Hoffenheim | Die Kraichgauer | From the Kraichgau region |
| Koln | Die Geissbocke | The Billy Goats |
| Leipzig | Die Roten Bullen | The Red Bulls |
| Mainz | Die Nullfunfer | The O-Fives |
| Paderborn | N/A | |
| Schalke | Die Konigsblauen | The Royal Blue |
| Union Berlin | Die Eisernen | The Iron Ones |
| Werder Bremen | Die Grun-Weissen | The Green-Whites |
| Wolfsburg | Die Wolfe | The Wolves |
Bayer Leverkusen was founded by employees of the pharmaceutical company Bayer AG, which which is alluded to in their nickname (which translates to 'The Company XI').
Koln's nickname is a reference to the club's mascot, a male goat named Hennes who, in turn, was named after former Koln player and manager Hennes Weisweiler.
Augsburg is known as the Fuggerstadt (the Fugger city). It acknowledges the Fugger family, who were a notable business and banking entity during the Renaissance period.
Paderborn don't really have a nickname, though the club still have an interesting backstory. For many years, Paderborn had two football clubs – TuS Schloss Neuhaus and Paderborn. They eventually merged into TuS Paderborn/Neuhaus in 1985, and officially changed their name to SC Paderborn 07 in 1997. The 07 refers to 1907, the year TuS Schloss Neuhaus was founded.
North America's MLS
| Team | Nickname(s) |
|---|---|
| Atlanta United | The Five Stripes |
| Chicago Fire | Men in Red |
| FC Cincinnati | The Orange and Blue |
| Colorado Rapids | The Rapids |
| Columbus Crew | The Crew |
| FC Dallas | The Hoops |
| D.C. United | The Black and Red |
| Houston Dynamo | Orange Crush, La Naranja (The Orange) |
| LA Galaxy | The Galaxy |
| Los Angeles FC | N/A |
| Minnesota United FC | The Loons |
| Montreal Impact | N/A |
| New England Revolution | The Midnight Riders |
| New York City FC | The Pigeons, The Bronx Blues, The Boys in Blue |
| New York Red Bulls | The Metros |
| Orlando City SC | The Lions |
| Philadelphia Union | The U |
| Portland Timbers | The Timbers |
| Real Salt Lake | The Claret and Cobalt |
| San Jose Earthquakes | The Quakes, The Goonies |
| Seattle Sounders FC | The Sounders |
| Sporting Kansas City | The Wizards |
| Toronto FC | The Reds |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | The Blue and Whites, The Caps |
