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Most Popular Teams' Nicknames

Ozren Podnar reports on soccer teams' nicknames

Chicken and Eagles, Hearts and Buttocks, Devils and Saints

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Player Nicknames

Soccer teams' nicknames occasionally may be more interesting than the official names. Some are funny, some banal, some pleasing, others offensive. The same club can have more than one nickname, one used by their own supporters, and others by rival fans.

The top Argentinian teams, Boca and River, have double nicks. Boca is called "Xeneizes" by their own fans, which is the way Genoans call themselves in their local dialect, the Boca neighborhood was traditionally Genoan (because of its immigrants from Italy). Boca's alternative nickname is "Bosteros", a generic insult meaning the lowest of the low: "bosta" means manure, and a bostero is anyone that has any dealing with it. The whole of the La Boca neighbourhood near the Bombonera stadium was associated with extreme poverty, garbage dumps and a lack of cleanliness. Originally used as an insult against them, Boca supporters have taken to using "Bosteros" with pride.

While Boca is a team of the working class, River Plate is supported by the middle classes and the wealthy. Players' incomes used to reflect that, earning the team the name of "Millonarios" (Millionaires).

Since 1966, the rest of the country has also called the red-and-whites "Gallinas" (Chicken). Why? After their loss in the Libertadores Cup finals to Penarol in Santiago, they played away at Banfield, whose fans released a red-and white clad chicken - a symbol of cowardice - on the turf. From that moment, River's Monumental stadion has been called "Gallinero" (Chicken shack).

Estudiantes de La Plata are the "Pincharratas" (rat-prickers) because of the doctors and natural science students of the La Plata University who, presumably, spent much of their time doing experiments with lab rats.

The prettiest nickname in Spain is owned by Barcelona's players and fans: "Culés", loosely 'Buttocks' or 'Arses'. The name dates back to the time when Barca used to play at Les Corts stadium. Looking from the street, butts of the spectators sitting in the top row were in clear view, so there was no doubt: Buttocks it had to be and the name stuck until present day.

Their Real Madrid rivals are known as "Merengues", which is the name of a delicious cake that only the wealthy can afford. "Fantasmas" (Phantoms or Ghosts) comes from their all white uniforms.

Real's nickname is not, as some may think, "Los Galácticos". This term only refers to the most famous players, as Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo, Beckham, Raul and Roberto Carlos. After their back-to-back losses in La Liga and the Champions League, the leading Spanish sports' newspaper Marca mercilessly called them "ex-galácticos".

Atletico Madrid bears a less fashionable moniker, "Colchoneros", which refers to the similarity of their red and white stripes to the stripes often found on mattrasses, or 'colchones' in Spanish.

The nickname of Real Racing Club also know as Racing Santander of the Spanish Primera División is "Montañeses" (translation: "highlanders").
Real Racing Club is based in the city of Santander in the North of Spain. Santander is the capital city of the autonomous region of Cantabria, familiarly know as "La Montaña". Cantabria is a Celtic origin word meaning "Highlands". The landscape of the Northern strip of Spain is very mountanious with an oceanic climate (Cantabria is on the shores of the "Mar Cantábrico" known as the "Bay of Biscay" to English speaking people). The countryside is green in Cantabria similar to that of Ireland or Scotland.

Juventus owe their "Vecchia Signora" (Old Lady) title to the simple reason they are the oldest of the great Italian clubs, founded in 1897. Why Lady, and not a Gentleman? Because "Juventus" (Youth) is a latin word of feminine gender. The rival tifosi prefer calling Juventus "Gobbi" (Hunchbacks), and occasionally "Zebre" (Zebras) is heard too.

German teams cannot pride themselves on terribly imaginative nicknames, among those that stand out are "FC Hollywood", dedicated to Bayern München in late nineties, when the club gathered a gallery of local and foreign stars filling the German press with intriguing stories and outspoken phrases (Matthaus, Klinsmann, Papin, Effenberg, Basler et al.) Their bitter rivals Schalke have a completely different profile, being a workers' club from a mining area. Their players are known as "Die Knappen", which indicates young mining apprentices just past their training.

Please Contact Us if you have information on other team's nicknames.

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*Now obsolete

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