A list of player's nicknames from around the footballing world...
Argentinian Footballers Nicknames
Player | Nickname(s) |
Lionel Messi | La Pulga (the Flea) |
Diego Simeone | El Cholo |
Brazilian Footballers Nicknames
Player | Nickname(s) |
Carlos Alberto | O Capitão do Tri |
Ronaldo | Il Fenomeno (the Phenomenon) |
Dutch Footballers Nicknames
Player | Nickname(s) |
Dennis Bergkamp. | The Non-Flying Dutchman. The elegant forward suffered from aviophobia. |
English Footballers Nicknames
Player | Nickname(s) |
Aidy Boothroyd | Hoofroyd |
Paul Gascoigne | Gazza |
Paul Ince | The Guv'nor |
Stanley Matthews | The Wizard of Dribble |
Stuart Pearce | Psycho |
David Unsworth | Rhino |
French Footballers Nicknames
Player | Nickname(s) |
Marcel Desailly | le Roq (the Rock) |
Michel Platini | le Roi (the King) |
Dominique Rocheteau | l'Ange Vert (the Green Angel). Classy winger with green-shirted St.Etienne in the 1970s. |
Zinedine Zidane | Zizou |
Hungarian Footballers Nicknames
Player | Nickname(s) |
Ferenc Puskás | The Galloping Major. Honvéd became the Hungarian Army team and players were given military ranks. Puskás became a major. |
Italian Footballers Nicknames
Player | Nickname(s) |
Andrea Belotti | Il Gallo (The Rooster) |
Peruvian Footballers Nicknames
Player | Nickname(s) |
Ramón Quiroga | El Loco (the Madman). Keeper who lived up to his nickname in the 1978 World Cup |
Spanish Footballers Nicknames
Player | Nickname(s) |
Andoni Goikoetxea. | The Butcher of Bilbao. The Spanish hardman became infamous in the 1980's for his crunching challenges on, amongst others, Maradona & Schuster. |
Miguel Ángel Nadal. | The Beast. As well as being The Beast, the former Barca defender is the uncle of tennis superstar Rafa Nadal. |