What’s in a nickname? That is a question The Athletic is answering, as we trace the origins of football clubs’ monikers in England , Germany , Italy , France and Spain . To complete this series of articles we’re going global, with the best from the rest of the world. Let’s begin in the Netherlands.
First cab off the rank are Ajax , who, like a number of Dutch clubs, have names inspired by Greek mythology. One of theirs is De Godenzonen, ‘The Sons of the Gods’, relating to the club name itself, which derives from Greek hero Ajax the Great. Feyenoord keep it geographical with their nickname of De Trots van Zuid, ‘The Pride of the South’, owing to home city Rotterdam’s slightly southern location but also because many workers who moved there at around the time the club formed came from the south of the country.
Advertisement Surely the best nickname from the big three Dutch clubs is De Lampen, aka ‘The Lamps’, for PSV , relating to the club’s formation from Eindhoven-based electronics behemoth Philips, which started out making light bulbs in the late 19th century. They are also called De Boeren (‘The Farmers’) because many agricultural workers emigrated to the city around this time. None of them can top AZ Alkmaar though; they are ‘The Cheese Heads’ (De Kaaskoppen), because there’s a big fat cheese market in that city.
Pungent. Portuguese football’s big three all go down the animal route. Benfica are intrinsically linked to eagles, with their b.