Top 20 nicknames of footballers - Part 1 of 2

Over the years, having seen countless Brazilians have names that in no way relate to their original birth-names, I would think that it is safe to establish that nicknames have their unique place in football. Be it Pele, arguably one of the greatest footballers ever or more recently, Kaka, these players have adopted the supposed one word as their name in the footballing world.However, there are players who have nicknames from their teammates, or familial tradition or their style of play that are popular in the footballing community. Let’s take a look at ten such unique nicknames in football and the origin behind them.

#1 Sergio Aguero - Kun

Aguero is one of the most feared strikers in world football

The man who constantly terrorizes Premier League defences, and is one of the most potent strikers in the Premier League has a humble background to his nickname. It wasn’t given to him by anyone but a product of his own creation.

Having been a fan of the Kum-Kum, Sergio Aguero decided to nickname himself after it, and was duly encouraged by his grandparents. His grandparents even thought he resembled a character from that show and that legend continued as he realized that ‘Kun’ did actually sound cool. He has also tattooed the same in his arm, in the script of Tengwar, from the Lord of the Rings Universe.

#2 Fernando Torres - El Nino

Torres flourished at Premier League side Liverpool before his fall from grace

One of a kind and extraordinarily talented, Torres broke into the Atletico Madrid first team at the tender age of 16. And without much surprise, he was called El Nino, which essentially means ‘the kid’. Although the senior players didn’t exactly know his name and called him that, he would go on to captain the team just three years later, and famously, ahead of his current manager, Diego Simeone.

While Aguero on one hand liked his nickname, Torres wasn’t quite the same. He has stated more than once that he hated the fact that he was stuck with that nickname. He thought that the players should have taken the little effort to remember his own name rather than resorting to El Nino, but one could guess that over time, he has gotten used to it. Especially, as it does sound good to call him that.

#3 Javier \'Chicharito\' Hernandez

The former Manchester United striker now plies his trade in the Bundesliga

With 10 goals in his last seven games, he has set a record by becoming the first Mexican player to score in seven consecutive matches, in Europe. Being comparatively short at 1.75m, it does seem apt that he should be called ‘Chicharito’, which means ‘little pea’. However, there is a deeper story behind his nickname than what might seem.

Hernandez’s father, Javier Guttierez, a football player of his own, was fondly called ‘Chicharo’, which meant ‘pea’ for his vividly green eyes. And as Gutierrez’s son, the name transferred to Javier Hernandez, who came to be known as little pea.

#4 Cristian \'El Cebolla\' Rodriguez

Rodriguez is a regular in the Uruguay national side

Despite not having a stellar career in Europe like his international compatriot Luis Suarez, Cristian Rodriguez is quite popular back in his homeland and in Portugal and Madrid, where he played for Porto and Atletico Madrid respectively. And his amusing nickname translates to ‘The Onion’ and for two reasons, one of which is quite weird.

The tale goes that back in his younger days, in Uruguay, he made defenders cry with the constant twisting and turning, and was thus named ‘The Onion’. The other is that his father thought that he smelled nice after sweating and started calling him as Cebolla, which seems totally weird, but then, it might probably be true.

#5 David Villa - El Guaje

Villa is Spain’s all time top scorer with 59 goals

Much like Javier Hernandez, David Villa is also a 5 foot 8 inch, albeit much more prolific and successful than the Mexican. But then, he got the ‘El Guaje’ nickname for a different reason and one that compares more to his Spanish teammate, Fernando Torres. Hailing from Asturias, in Spain, the region had its own Asturian language.

And in that, ‘El Guaje’ again meant ‘the kid’. In his childhood days, Villa was talented even then and two-footed as well, which would often lead to him playing with players much above his age. Thus, he came to be known as ‘Guaje’ which would carry on throughout his career.

#6 Jay Jay Okocha

Okocha was renowned for his trickery and skills with the ball at his feet

One of the greatest Nigerian players of all time and possessing extraordinary ball skills, Jay-Jay Okocha was a kind of player you wouldn’t often come across. Renowned for his step-overs and feints, Okocha’s time at Bolton is still fondly remembered by the English fans. However, unlike the others so far in the list, Okocha doesn’t have a long history behind his nickname and it was rather given by the fans.

The legend goes that he was ‘so good that they named him twice’. This line is rather famous and was used by Bolton fans as a chant in their home matches and remains as one of the long-standing memories of Okocha playing in the Premier League. He was apparently called so for his exciting style of play that often left viewers amazed. While the name was initially given to his older brother, it stuck with him later and he would be known as Jay-Jay ever after.

#7 Christian \'Bobo\' Vieri

Vieri was one of the greatest strikers produced by Italy

Italy’s highest goalscorer in the World Cup, named in the FIFA 100 list, winner of the Pichichi award and a host of other achievements rank Christian Vieri as one of the greatest strikers produced by Italy. Back in the 1990s, despite being known for his nomadic transfer of clubs, he troubled defences everywhere. And apart from all of this, he was called ‘Bobo’.

His father’s name was Bob and in his younger days, back when he was living in Australia, it led to him being called ‘Bobo’. That stuck through with him and as he became a recognized footballer, he still used it.

#8 Christian Bermudez - \'The Hobbit\'

Bermudez is one of the shortest footballers in the world

Although he may seem a relatively obscure name in footballing circles, he features on the list just for his unique nickname. While there are certainly competitors in Valbuena, Cazorla and some others, no one got this nickname.

Playing in the Mexican league, Christian Bermudez, at 1.59 m, is one of the shortest footballers in the world. And this led to him being called ‘The Hobbit’, from JRR Tolkien’s work. The significance of Hobbits and Lord of the Rings in popular culture is huge and there is no doubt he would be immediately well-known, should he ever arrive in Europe one day.

#9 Cesar Azpilicueta - Dave

Aspilicueta is one of the first names on Jose Mourinho’s team sheet at the Stamford Bridge

This is a classic case of too hard to pronounce and I will change your name. While Klopp struggled for years with players at Borussia Dortmund, the Chelsea players sought a short way out and changed Azpilicueta’s name. Even though Cesar seems quite easy to pronounce, we will never know why they chose to ignore that.

The story is that, the Chelsea bus-driver ironically, was known as Dave. Azpilicueta wrongly responded when his teammates called the bus driver and that stuck ever since. He was called Dave by his teammates and the local fans as well, which is now extended to a lot of people around the world and he doesn’t mind it, while hoping that they all know his real spelling.

#10 Franz Beckenbauer - Der Kaiser

Saving the greatest for last, it is indeed the legendary German who will finish our list. The only person in history to win the FIFA World Cup as a player and a manager, Franz Beckenbauer is one of the greatest players to have played the game and perhaps, the best sweeper in history. And aptly, he is nicknamed ‘Der Kaiser’ which means ‘The Emperor’.

Although it is believed that he was called so for his elegant style of play and leadership skills as ‘Kaiser’, it is in fact because he closely resembled a former Austrian Emperor. Following a match at Vienna, he was pictured next to the former Emperor and was bore a decent amount of resemblance, thus cementing his nickname that was one to be celebrated for years to come.