Football Knowledge from the 12th Man


Nicknames given to Famous Groups of Players/Teams

During successful periods some football clubs or national teams gave groups of players or teams nicknames for their heroes. Here are some of the best known from over the years...

  • The Busby Babes (Manchester United)
  • The Dream Team (Barcelona)
  • The Class of 92 (Manchester United)
  • The Holy Trinity (Real Madrid)
  • Le Carré Magique / The Magic Square (France 1984-86)


The Real Names behind the Brazilian Legends

The Brazilians love their nicknames, and we all know them.

But their real names ? The 12th Man know these too...

  • Arthur Antunes Coimbra (Zico)
  • Carlos Roberto de Oliveira (Roberto Dinamite)
  • Éder Aleixo de Assis (Eder)
  • Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pelé)
  • Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade (Tostão)
  • Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa (Dida)
  • Edvaldo Jizídio Neto (Vavá)
  • Gérson de Oliveira Nunes (Gérson)
  • Jair Ventura Filho (Jairzinho)
  • José Ely de Miranda (Zito)
  • José Roberto Gama de Oliveira (Bebeto)
  • Leovegildo Lins da Gama Júnior (Júnior)
  • Manuel Francisco dos Santos (Garrincha)
  • Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (Neymar)
  • Roberto Rivellino (Rivellino)
  • Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (Kaká)
  • Romário de Souza Faria (Romário)
  • Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (Ronaldo)
  • Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (Rivaldo)
  • Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (Ronaldinho)
  • Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira (Sócrates)
  • Waldyr Pereira (Didi)


World in Motion

It's not just one of the best football songs ever. It's one of the best songs ever. And the 12th man has all the words to it...

Some of the crowd are on the pitch, they think it's all over... ...it is now!

Express yourself, create the space. You know you can win, don't give up the chase. Beat the man, take him on. You never give up, it's one on one.

Express yourself... It's one on one. Express yourself... It's one on one. Express yourself... You can't be wrong. Express yourself... When something's good its never gone.

Loves got the world in motion and I know what we can do. Loves got the world in motion and I can't believe its true.

Now is the time, let everyone see. You never give up, that's how it should be. Don't get caught, make your own play. Express yourself, don't give it away.

Express yourself... It's one on one. Express yourself... It's one on one. Express yourself... You can't be wrong. Express yourself... When something's good its never gone.

Loves got the world in motion and I know what we can do. Loves got the world in motion and I can't believe its true. Loves got the world in motion and I know what we can do. Loves got the world in motion and I can't believe its true.

You've got to hold and give but do it at the right time. You can be slow or fast but you must get to the line. They'll always hit you and hurt you, defend and attack. There's only one way to beat them, get round the back. Catch me if you can cos I'm the England man. And what you're looking at is the master plan. We Ain't no hooligans. This Ain't no football song. Three lions on my chest, I know we can't go wrong.

We're playing for England. "En-Ger-Land!" We're playing the song. We're singing for England. "En-Ger-Land!" Arrivederci it's one on one.

We're playing for England. "En-Ger-Land!" We're playing the song. We're singing for England. "En-Ger-Land!" Arrivederci it's one on one.

We're playing for England. "En-Ger-Land!" We're playing the song. We're singing for England. "En-Ger-Land!" Arrivederci it's one on one.

We're playing for England. "En-Ger-Land!" We're playing the song. We're singing for England. "En-Ger-Land!" Arrivederci it's one on one



The Positives from Derby County's terrible 2007-08 season.

Derby County's record-breaking 2007-08 season is obviously one that Rams fans will want to forget, but which clubs did they take their total of 11 points from ?

Date Home Team Score Away Team Points Total
11 Aug 2007 Derby County 2:2 Portsmouth 1
17 Sep 2007 Derby County 1:0 Newcastle United 4
29 Sep 2007 Derby County 1:1 Bolton Wanderers 5
20 Oct 2007 Fulham 0:0 Derby County 6
23 Dec 2007 Newcastle United 2:2 Derby CountyA 7
30 Jan 2008 Derby County 1:1 Manchester City 8
2 Feb 2008 Birmingham City 1:1 Derby County 9
1 Mar 2008 Derby County 0:0 Sunderland 10
29 Mar 2008 Derby County 2:2 Fulham 11

So, whilst the rest of the country can mock them for this measly points total, the Toon Army and Fulham should be careful - Derby fans can gloat over both teams for actually being unbeaten against them during the league season.



Displaying Extra Symbols on Shirts

Displaying additional symbols on club shirts to show signs of success is becoming increasingly popular. The inspiration for is the Italian Scudetto (meaning "little shield"). This is worn by the club who have most recently won the Serie A. They also allow clubs to display the round target symbol (the "Tricolore Coccarda") for one season after they've won the Coppa Italia. Germany introduced it's own star system - Verdiente Meistervereine (meaning "distinguished champion clubs"), whilst internationally, winners of the World Cup will now adorn their shirts with a star for each trophy they've won.



Top 5 Football Fanzine Names

  • 1. Boddle - Taking the Wednesday into Insanity (Sheffield Wednesday)
  • 2. Brian Moore's Head Looks Uncannily Like London Planetarium (Gillingham)
  • 3. A Kick Up The Rs (QPR)
  • 4. Grorty Dick (West Bromwich Albion)
  • 5. Garibaldi (Nottingham Forest)


Five Alternative Great Moments in Football

It doesn't have to be an actual goal that makes for a great moment in football...

  • 1. The dummy before Eder's goal for Brazil against USSR in the 1982 World Cup.
  • 2. Eder's free kick hits the bar against Argentina in the 1982 World Cup.
  • 3. Pele's runaround dummy against Uruguay in the 1970 World Cup. Pele fools Ladislao Mazurkiewicz by not touching the ball, runs around him, but then misses with his shot. Still a fantastic moment of football though.
  • 4. The skill from Clodoaldo in the lead up to that goal in 1970 World Cup final. Clodoaldo drops his shoulder, dribbles, dummies and throws in a stepover to completely bamboozle the Italians Rivera, Domenghini, De Sisti and Juliano before casually passing it off to Rivelino.
  • 5. Pele's casual lay-off to Carlos Alberto before he lashes it home in the 1970 World Cup final.


World Cup 1982 Top Scorers

Rank Player Country Goals
1 Paolo Rossi Flag Italy 6
2 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Flag West Germany 5
3 Zbigniew Boniek Flag Poland 4
Zico Flag Brazil 4
5 Gerry Armstrong Flag Northern Ireland 3
Falcão Flag Brazil 3
Alain Giresse Flag France 3
László Kiss Flag Hungary 3