10 Soccer Club’s Nickname & Meaning 2023

Every club’s nickname is pretty self-explanatory, often paying tribute to the club’s trademark, heritage, and history.

Nicknames or monikers evolved organically, historically, and in most cases through coinage means, but regardless of the rationale behind them, a club’s nickname can provide insights into where and how the team was named.

Every soccer club’s nickname is embedded in the tradition of the team, and more often than not those tradition has a long-standing connection to some of the team nickname while some didn’t.

The club’s nickname didn’t only give a sense of identity to football enthusiasts, it also motivates the protagonist which is the players.

While as a soccer fan,  you may or may not be familiar with some of the nicknames connected with your favorite football clubs, in that regard here we’ll discuss the nicknames, their meanings, and the heritage behind them.

This article was first published on January 22 2021, updated on May 24 2023

10 Soccer Club’s nicknames

Estudiantes de La Plata – (Los Pincharratas/The Rat Stabbers)

As a non-Argentine fan of Estudiantes, ever wondered why one of the most famous sides in the Argentine Primera Division bears the nickname “The Rat Stabbers“?

The club Estudiantes, in English simply means “Student” was brought to fame in England thanks to a comedy character named Frank Sidebottom whose penchant for wearing the club’s jersey, as it has the same colors as his beloved Altrincham.

The club’s nickname hails from the club’s origin, but it was cemented by a famous player in the 1920s. Estudiantes was formed in 1905, and during that time most of the founders were university students in the club’s home city of La Plata.

The nickname of the club was coined through the university’s medical laboratories where experiments were been carried out on captive rats.

According to a report, a couple of decades later, one of Estudiantes early prominent players, Felipe Montedonica usually had a whole day job of catching rats at the La Plata market where he was often found chasing and stabbing some of the rats he caught with a knife and hung them to a wooden pole.

In that regard, since then the nickname rat stabbers has stuck, and up till now, they’ve still been called by that nickname.

Al Ahly – (El Shayateen El Home/The Red Devils)

Considering the impact both in the CAF competitions and the ever-exciting Egyptian league, the Egyptian Red Devils is one of Africa’s most famous, successful, and perhaps best-supported football clubs on the continent reason why they’re awarded the title of “African Club Of the Century” by CAF in 2000.

Al Ahly was nicknamed the “Red Devils” basically for its red jersey since the club was formed in 1907 as a sports club, for Egyptian high school students.

During that time, Egypt was occupied by British forces, as such an Englishman Michel Ince, who was the club’s first President and the one who coined the nickname.

However, the Red Devils has close to four other nicknames, but the Red Devils are what many of their fans know them to be, and when it comes to playing good football the “El Shayateen” is known for its swashbuckling style, and always ready to spill blood.

While, on the other hand, they’re also very aggressive most especially in their derbies.

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Real Madrid – (Los Merengues /The Whites)

Not having the Spanish giant on this list would be nothing but discriminating.

Right from the first day the club was formed, the Real Madrid kit was white with a black line that passed through the jersey. Subsequently, the line was removed from the jersey while it remains all white which truly depicts the club’s nickname.

While there’s another nickname for the Spanish giant, which is the Los Merengues, a desert-like candy that is associated with the Spanish giant due to its white color.

The nickname was coined by a Spanish journalist Matias Prats, who was in charge of commentating on football matches on the radio then, was the first to use the nickname Los Merengues which simply means “Los” The, while “Merengues” means Sweet.

Los Blancos are also known as the “Vikings“, not all football enthusiast knows or refers to them as that, they’re often called Los Blancos or Merengues.

As the report has it, in the 1950s, Madrid dominated the whole of Europe, as such “The Times” a daily newspaper associated the Spanish giant with the Viking invasion.

Another report has it that, the nickname Vikings was given to Madrid due to their dominance and the quality of star players that joined them while they ruled European football.

SSC. Napoli – (Partenopei/Old City)

Every football aficionado who saw Maradona don the jersey of Napoli would have a lot of respect for the club even though they aren’t one of the dominant sides in the Seria A.

Napoli is a side from the Southern part of Italy, and they’re a club that is fiercely proud of their heritage in which they gained their odd nickname from.

The nickname Partenopei, it’s a Greek term that means “Old City”, the club owes its nickname to the ancient Greek legend of Odysseus, who according to history tied himself to the mast of his ship and made the crew cover their ears to avoid been lures into the treacherous rocks near Sorrento by the sirens, which was called Partenope.

The Old City simply refers to the Port area of Naples, which is a short distance from the club’s legendary San Paolo stadium, now renamed in honor of the late Diego Armando Maradona who died last year.

Barcelona – (Blaugrana/Los Culés)

In the early 20th century the Catalan giant was known as Los Cules, meaning those who show their backside. The nickname was manufactured when the club’s fans hardly get a seat to watch their darling team play while they sit on one side of the pitch, where there was a wall to spectate their team.

While the walls were on the opposite sides facing the street, people walking past were able to see the backside of the fans sitting to spectate their team, with that the nickname Los Cules was coined.

Thankfully when they moved to their current stadium Camp Nou in 1957, the nickname was abolished while they adopted Blaugrana which means “Blau” Blue while “Grana” is garnet or deep red, the color which depicts the club’s jersey and Catalan flag chose by Hans Hamper the founder of the Calatan club.

Olympique Lyonnaise – (Les Gones/The Kids)

As a football fan who saw Lyon dominate the Ligue 1 for six to seven-season, you should be familiar with the name Bonneau.

He was the head of youth recruitment at Lyon from 2003 to 2017, where he was partly responsible for launching the careers of a large chunk of talents at the club then which includes, players like Benzema, Umtiti, and Ben Arfa to name but a few.

With the nickname of the French side which is the Kids, investing in young talent simply suggested where the nickname came from.

Les Gones, when translated into English means the Kids, which is related to the children of the city of Lyon.

The city of Lyon has a university considered a very prestigious school in France, right from the time it is a common occurrence for youth players to come from the University and end up playing for the club.

Since then the nickname Les Gones has stuck firmly with the club and as a matter of fact, Lyon still boasts one of the best talent factories in France producing talented players.

Ajax Amsterdam – (De Godenzonen/Sons Of  The god)

When it comes to nicknames, some European football teams seem contented with deriving their nickname from the color of their jersey, however in the case of the Dutch giant it was a different phenomenon.

The name of the club is a tribute to Ajax the Great, a hero of the Trojan War in Greek mythology.

The club 1925 added a portrait of the hero who played an important role in the Trojan War on their shield, having been considered a god by the public.

During that time, whoever is a follower or a believer of Ajax the Great would get the name “Sons of god” which now became the nickname of the Eredivisie giant.

Since the fans inherited the club’s nickname, it’s no surprise that they’re been referred to as De Godenzonen, and not a nickname that was derived from the color of the jersey of the team.

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FC Porto – (Dragoes/Dragons)

The club’s nickname forms a big part of football culture all over the world and is evident with the nickname of one of the finest sides in Portugal.

Porto, one of the best clubs in Portugal goes by Dragoes, which means Dragons paying homage to the mythical creature that is assumed a protector of the City of Porto.

What is synonymous with the Dragon, which is the burning fire, protects the city of Porto from being invaded by enemies.

Looking at the flag and the badge of the Portuguese giant, it carries the fire of the Dragon on it.

Although the Portuguese side also has another nickname which is Blue and White. You could also address them with either of the two nicknames, however, Dragon is mostly synonymous with Porto due to the mythical heritage attached to the nickname.

River Plate – (Los Millionarios/The Millionaires)

River Plate’s nickname “The Millionaires” simply indicates that the Argentine side it’s one of the most financially buoyant teams in their league when it was established. When they intended to sign striker Bernabe Ferreyra of Atletico Tigre, the club offered to pay with gold.

Following the signing of Ferreyra, they continued to maintain an expensive style of signings, having just moved to a brand new stadium in a more lucrative area of Buenos Aires. In that sense having seen the new development in the team, the fans of the team decided to nickname the club “The Millionaires”.

For the banter part of football, Boca Junior been a rival club to River Plate, they often refer to them as “The Chickens”. The nickname goes back to 1966, during a match where the rival club placed chickens on the field as a way to mock River Plate after their Copa Libertadores defeat to Penarol in the final.

Manchester United – (Red Devils)

Some Premier League team nicknames are self-explanatory because they often time pay tribute to the club’s trademark kit colors or the mascot on the badge of the club.

While other nicknames of teams from mostly Latin-speaking countries tend to have more affectionate and unique etymology, for instance, Roma’s nickname “La Lupa” means “The She-Wolf”.

Wondering how or where they got their nickname from? During the constant conflict era between England and France, an English rugby club Salford traveled to France for a match.

Getting to France, been that the team wore a red jersey, they were been referred to as the Red Devils.

Matt Busby the United manager during that period, liked the tone of the nickname, as such he thought of using it for Manchester United believing it would be more intimidating to football opponents.

After that he declared United should also be known as “The Red Devils” and in their subsequent matches they began to include the devil logo into their match programs and scarves, since then the Old Trafford side refers to Red Devils according to Busby wish.

Honorable Mention

• FC Cologne – (Die Geisbocke/The Billy Goat)
• Arsenal -(The Gunners)
• Juventus -( La Vecchia Signora)
• Chelsea – (The Blues)
• Atletico Madrid – (Los Colchoneros/The Mattress Makers)
• AS Roma – (La Lupa/The She-Wolf)
• Bayern Munich – (Die Roten/The Red)