Football Explained

Nicknames

Football nicknames were invented in Brazil to make it easier for managers to write teamsheets during the South American literacy crisis of 1954. The first player to be given a nickname was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, whose name was shortened to Edson Arantes do Nasciment in January of that year, Edson Arantes do Nascimen at Christmas time and finally Pelé a year later.

The phenomenon spread to Britain after an FA factfinding trip to Rio concluded that not having two names was “what made those darkies play so well”. The first British player to use a nickname was Blackpool right-half Nicholas Namebury, who was referred to as Lassie by teammates, due to the fact he had both an X and Y chromosome. Namebury was later convicted of stealing birth certificates, which explains the origins of the English phrase Nickname (to nick a name).

FA rules now stipulate that players must be assigned a nickname by their clubs when they sign trainee forms. Here are some of football’s best:

Jamie Redknapp (Liverpool and England)

Nickname: Redders – Redknapp gained this nickname in the Anfield dressing room due to his love for the town of Reading, and Berkshire in general.

Alan Smith (Arsenal and England/Newcastle and England)

Nickname: Smudger – Smith’s dedication to the fountain pen, and refusal to adapt to ballpoint in spite of being left-handed, means that he persistently smudges his teammate’s autographs when signing merchandise.

Rob Jones (Liverpool and England)

Nickname: Trigger – Stig Inge Bjørnebye gave Jones this nickname because of his unapologetic support of Liverpool’s gun culture.

Gary Pallister (Man Utd and England)

Nickname: Pally – Brian McClair dubbed Pallister this after noticing the big defender’s habit of behaving in an over-familiar fashion with people he had just met.

One that got away…

Deco (Barcelona and Portugal)

Contrary to popular belief, Deco is not a nickname. The Brazillian-born but-somehow-Portugese midfield libero was christened “Deco” by his parents as part of a sponsorship deal with an emerging art form known as “Art Deco” which was looking to raise its profile in Latin American markets.

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