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| clubs with funny names | |
| Author: eoinh
Date: 28-03-2004, 16:41 | Are there clubs in europe that have weird meanings in your native tongue? Where im from in Cork, the word agro means a fight or trouble. For that reason, the moldovan team FC Agro sound a bit dodgy! |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: JPV
Date: 28-03-2004, 22:13 | Grasshoppers Zurich sounds funny in a lot of languages... |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Michele
Date: 28-03-2004, 22:52 | A lot of Welsh teams have funny names: Aberystwyth, Caersws, Cwmbran, Cefn Druids. They don't mean anything funny in Danish, because they mean nothing at all, and we can't pronounce them either. It's just funny to see letters combined that way. Hungary also have some "tonguebreakers": Bekescsaba or Zalaegerszegi. By the way, I'm doing a school project on Wales at the moment, can someone give me an approximate pronounciation of Wales in Welsh: Cymru? Michele |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Michele
Date: 28-03-2004, 23:01 | FC København has a football academy in South Africa. The team, UPE-FCK plays against some clubs with quite funny names such as Happy Brothers and Black Brothers. Apart from that, I'm thinking of Young Boys Bern from Switzerland or Halleluja from South Korea. I also believe there is a Hong Kong team named Happy Valley. Funny names, I think. I'm sorry for drifting a bit away from your original topic, but I cant't think of any clubs with a name that can be misunderstood in Danish. Michele |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: hamilton1978
Date: 29-03-2004, 06:52 | michele someone told me it was "chim-roo" but my welsh girlfriend tells me its "kim-ray" so kim-ray for cymru thats what i am told anyway |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: vakho
Date: 29-03-2004, 07:39 | I am doubt I will learn anytime to pronounce 'Llansantffreid' from Wales. This is really funny name - how one supporse to pronounce 'LL'  |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Michele
Date: 29-03-2004, 08:54 | @Hamilton Thanks, I suppose your girlfriend knows the right pronounciation since she is Welsh, so from now on, I will stick with [kim-ray> @vakho Luckily, they were short of money a few years ago and chose to change their name to Total Network Solutions for a bargain price of £250,000. But of course, sometimes, they are still associated with their previous name who is also the name of the town they come from: Llansantfraidd. Michele |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: christoph2136
Date: 29-03-2004, 13:40 | The names of turkish squads are sometimes a bit of a tongue twister: Genclerbirligi, Petrolofisi, Eskisehir... and of course one funny name: Batman! (Yes, I know, it's an Anatolian city and river.) Chris |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: eoinh
Date: 29-03-2004, 16:40 | Its a pity they're not a big force in european football! What a great chant for fans to be singing - ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne BATMAN! I suppose they are always Robin people of victory. But then again Batman and Robin go together.  |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: ekd
Date: 29-03-2004, 17:05 | The name of the team Glika Nera (in Greek 4th division) means "Sweat Waters" |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: porto-1978
Date: 30-03-2004, 13:25 | Portuguese 1st division: Beira-Mar means "next to the sea". Gil Vicente is a dramaturg from XVth century. Boavista is a Porto?s zone meaning literaly "good sight". Benfica is the name of a Lisbon?s neigbourhood meaning "stay well". Marítimo it?s an adjective refering to the sea. Estrela da Amadora means "Amadora?s star", being Amadora a city whose name means "amateur" in its feminine form. In second division there?s Estoril Praia meaning "Estoril beach"... All this names are not funny by how they sound but they are funny because of their meanings/translations. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Ricardo
Date: 30-03-2004, 13:47 | Ajax is funny: It is a Greek god who slaughtered innocent sheeps and committed suicide! why call a club like that |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: mark
Date: 30-03-2004, 14:01 | RAMAT-GAN (a city near tel-aviv) means garden hieghts, but it can also mean kindergarden level. This makes the work of sports jurnalists much easier when the teams from that city loss. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Munja
Date: 30-03-2004, 17:44 | In former Yugoslavia, there is so many communist names. Crvena Zvezda - Red Star (communistic red star) Partizan - "Partizans" were paramilitary formation in WWII and Tito was their leader. And smaller clubs Radnicki - Workers' (so many clubs with this name) Napredak - Progress (also common) Jedinstvo - Unity ("Unity and fraternity" - so Tito was saying and Highway near Belgrade bore this name) Bratstvo - Fraternity Rad - Work Mladi Radnik - Young Worker Bezanija - Escaping Mladost - Youth Buducnost - Future Celik - Steel Mornar - Sailor Sloga - Harmony Rudar - Miner Borac - Fighter |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: putzeijs
Date: 31-03-2004, 11:06 | In the Netherlands you have sometimes teams with abbreviations. If you see RODA it isn't that funny. If you know it means "Recht op doel af" (in English Right to the goal), it becomes more 'funny'. In the long list of Belgian teams playing in Europe we had THOR Waterschei (eliminated f.i. Paris St Germain). THOR stood for Tot Heil Onzer Ribbenkast (Glory to our Rib Cage) |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Munja
Date: 31-03-2004, 22:51 | In Serbian language, Roda sounds funy. It is a name for a bird. I think that it is caled "stork" in english. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: ralfinho
Date: 01-04-2004, 19:31 | To putzeijs: Thanks for this information. Up to now, I always wondered when reading "Thor Waterschei" what this team has to do with the germanic godhead Thor. Here the meaning of the names of German Bundesliga teams that you might not know: - Werder Bremen: "Werder" is the name of islands in the Weser river where they played in former times. - Borussia Dortmund / Moenchengladbach: "Borussia" is an older synonym for Prussia ("Preußen"). - Hansa Rostock: "Hansa" is the name of a city league around the Baltic Sea founded in Middle Age. - Eintracht Frankfurt: "Eintracht" means the same as "United". - Hertha BSC Berlin: "Hertha" is the name of the ship on board of which the club was founded in 1892. If anybody wants to know the meaning of other German clubs, please tell me. I will try to answer. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: eoinh
Date: 01-04-2004, 21:49 | i always thought it was funny that Wolfgang Wolf managed Wolfsburg in germany |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: porto-1978
Date: 02-04-2004, 01:28 | i had no idea about RODA, for me it was Roda...that means wheel in portuguese from the german clubs i only knew about Hansa and Eintracht... i guess Fortuna (dusseldorf/koln) means fortune(?) and what about Shalke? is it german or polish word? and what about Rot-weiss? Energie (Cottbus)and Alemania (Aachen) are understandable... but i see no reason to Armenia (Bielefeld)! Isn?t Armenia (also) the (german)name of a caucasian country? And Uerdingen is the name of a place? Kickers Offenbach, is it also german word or just english? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: JeanBaguette
Date: 02-04-2004, 08:18 | Fortuna is named after the Greek god of fortune. Also her Roman name Viktoria (e.g. Viktoria Aschaffenburg, Viktoria Köln) is common for club names in Germany. Schalke is a quarter of Gelsenkirchen where the club was founded. The same with Uerdingen what is a part of Krefeld. Rot-Weiss (actually Weiß) means Red-White. It's a common way in Germany to name a club after its colours (e.g. Blau-Weiß [Blue-White> 90 Berlin). Arminia has nothing to do with Armenia. The club is called after Arminius who led the German tribes to victory over the Romans. Kickers is taken from the English language but it's their actual clubs name (as Kickers Offenbach and Stuttgarter Kickers). |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: vakho
Date: 02-04-2004, 15:12 | I heared that club from Luxemburg Grevenmacher means : Hairdresser! Someone with knowledge of German - is it true ? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Munja
Date: 02-04-2004, 16:57 | I remembered some more names: Tekstilac - "Weaver" (3rd division group Vojvodina) Trudbenik - "Worker" (4th division group Belgrade) Hajduk - Hajduks were outlaws that lived in forest or mountine under the Turkish goverment (16th, 17th, 18th cent.) (Hajduk Kula is in 1st div., Hajduk Belgrade in 2nd and there is many more teams bearing this name) Polet - Something like enhusiasm, elevation of mind (this is from dictionary)(3rd division - Belgrade) Elan - Same as Polet (2nd division group north) Graficar - Printing worker Jedinstvo - United (There is many teams with this name) Car Konstantin - Tsar Konstantin, Bizantium ruller (3rd division group east) |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: ralfinho
Date: 02-04-2004, 21:40 | to eoinh: Right. In Germany, also many jokes were made about Wolfgang Wolf and Wolfsburg (their nickname is "wolves"). Currently, Wolf is coach of Nuremberg, unfortunately they have no animal nickname. But imagine if Wolf will at any time be coach of 1860 Munich (nickname "lions") or, still better, of Moenchengladbach (nickname "foals" = young horses). to vakho: As far as I know Grevenmacher is no German word. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: JPV
Date: 04-04-2004, 11:46 | Maybe Grevenmacher is Luxemburgish (that language with mixed words from french & german) |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: blancjb15
Date: 04-04-2004, 12:46 | Munja, Your information about former-Yugoslavian clubs are very interesting. I have some more questions about that: FK Zeleznik Beograd: it is a club of railworkers, isn't it? What is the O in OFK Beograd? And what does Obilic mean? And is there an Ukrainian (or a Russian) who can tell me, what is Shakhtar? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Munja
Date: 04-04-2004, 15:11 | To blancjb15: Zeleznik was village near Belgrade and now is part of it. Zelezo means iron, but that word is now rare in use. And by the way, last year Zeleznik changed name in Lavovi Zeleznik (Lions Zeleznik). OFK Beograd - Omladinski fudbalski klub Beograd. Omladinski means that it is for young people, Football club for young people (i don't know how to translate it better) Obilic - Milos Obilic was Serbian hero that lived in 14th century. In battle on Kosovo field (1389), he killed Turkish tsar Murat, and was killed himself. BPI Pekar - Intresting name: Belgrade baking industry Baker(BBI Baker) |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: vakho
Date: 05-04-2004, 06:47 | to blancjb - I'm neither Ukrainian or Russian but Shakhtar means Miner. Donetsk is entirely miner's city as far as I know. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: eddie
Date: 05-04-2004, 08:42 | vakho - you're right, it's means "miner". |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Forza-AZ
Date: 05-04-2004, 15:03 | A few other Dutch teams: NEC (Nijmeegse Eendracht Combinatie) --> Eendracht means Unity Telstar (named after a sattelite) RKC (Rooms Katholieke Combinatie) --> Roman Catholic Combination TOP (Tot Ons Plezier) --> At our fun Go Ahead Eagles AGOVV (Alleen Gezamelijk Oefenen Voert Verder) --> Only training together takes (us) further |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: blancjb15
Date: 05-04-2004, 15:13 | And what about NAC Breda? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: blancjb15
Date: 05-04-2004, 15:14 | And what about NAC Breda? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Forza-AZ
Date: 05-04-2004, 15:59 | NAC Breda (Noad Advendo Combinatie), a merger of Noad (Nooit Opgeven Altijd Doorgaan; Never Give-up, Always Go-on) and Advendo (Aangenaam Door Vermaak en Nuttig Door Ontspanning; Pleasent By Entertainment And Useful By Relaxation). |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: anita
Date: 06-04-2004, 13:23 | Interesting topic. Learning something new. NAC Breda was a good one. In Norway theres a club called Odd (played in the UEFA cup couple of years ago). That may seem rather odd, but "odd" in Norwegian means the point of the spear. Very digressive, but when Rosenborg was founded (1917?), they called themselves Odd (in contribution to the other Odd)for some years, but had to change their name because the other Odd was older. But still they wear the same colours, white and black. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: molosztash
Date: 09-04-2004, 10:39 | hi! first message within 5 months... military service is going ok. I have 45 days left... here is the translation of all turkish teams in the league Fener-bahçe - Lighthouse-garden Beşik-taş - Cradle-stone Trabzon-spor - Trabzon-sport (Trabzon is a city name coming from the old greek state there) Denizli-spor - (adj)Having sea-sport Gazi-antep-spor - Wounded in war-antep-sport (Antep is coming from the old city of Ayıntap) Galata-saray - Galata-palace (Galata= a historical region in Istanbul) Diyar-bakır-spor - Region-copper-sport Samsun-spor - Samsun-sport (Samsun a city name taken from Samson) Gençler-birliği - Youngs-Union Konya-spor - Konya-sport (Konya a city name) Ankara-g�c� - Ankara-power (Ankara=capital city) Malatya-spor - Malatya-sport (Malatya=a city) Çaykur Rizespor - Çaykur Rize-sport (Çay-kur= TeaOrg. (abbreviation of tea organization; Rize a city with high production of tea) Istanbul-spor - Istanbul-sport (Istanbul city name transformed from Constantinople) Akçaabat Sebat-spor - Akçaabat Strength-sport (Akçaabat= a province of Trabzon meaning white city) Bursa-spor - Bursa-sport (Bursa= a city) Elazig-spor - Elazig-sport (Elazig a city name coming from El-Aziz (meaning "of the Saint")) Adana-spor - Adana-sport (Adana a city name) high regards |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: anita
Date: 09-04-2004, 18:50 | Hi molosztai Thanks for interesting information. I wonder, how do you pronounce Fenerbahce? Is it Fenerbatshe, or Fenerbake, is it a long a, and on which syllable do you put the stress?. The same with Genclerbirligi? Gendsjerbirligi or Gensjerbirligi or Genserbirlidsdshi? And is the press (stress) on bir or ligi? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: vakho
Date: 09-04-2004, 20:29 | To Anita Fenerbahce - Fener ba{kh>{tch>e Since it's complex the intention it's on both syll. F-e-nerb-a-hce |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: anita
Date: 10-04-2004, 11:39 | Thanks vakho. I am still not enlightened. Is there a k somewhere in there? Fenerbaktshe or Fenerbatshe? And what about our new friends, the giant killer Genclerbirligi. And since we are talking turkish football, what is happening with Gala? Istanbul is hosting the CL-final next year, and Gala is not even there competing (Yes, I know there are other teams in Istanbul.....)Well, maybe Galata is on the wrong side of the town? Regards |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: symptomless
Date: 12-04-2004, 01:27 | The origin of 'Arsenal' was that the players originally came from a munitions factory in the East of London, and were called Woolwich Arsenal. Most other London clubs are named after the district of London where they began. Except Leyton Orient, in the 3rd Division, they also began their history in the east end near the docks and in particular the docks that recieved ships from the East and the Orient and the team took that name. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: toniz
Date: 13-04-2004, 04:01 | israelian hapoel ber-sheva has by far funniest meaning on croatian. i guess you all know what "beer" means. besides that, "sheva" is on croatian... well, there's no other way to say it - "fucking". so whole name is pretty neat. also, maccabi petah-tikva and hapoel petah-tikva are kinda funny, "tikva" on croatian means "pumpkin". |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Sturmy
Date: 14-04-2004, 08:08 | The most funny name (for German-speaking people at least) in Austria's Bundesliga is "FC Superfund", formerly known as "SV Pasching" (a suburb of Linz). |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: peaterich
Date: 14-04-2004, 08:16 | In German it is also funny, when a club calls like "Exdremmadura" or "Elche". |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Sturmy
Date: 14-04-2004, 08:18 | And on the 2nd level there's a club named "SC interwetten.com" located in a small village called Untersiebenbrunn (the sponsor of the club is a betting office). |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: peaterich
Date: 14-04-2004, 08:22 | @ Sturmy I thought this club is "Unetrinterwettensiebenbrunndotcom" isn?t it?  |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Sturmy
Date: 14-04-2004, 09:16 | In the German Regional League South (3rd level) there are two clubs with funny names (for German speaking people): SC Feucht (wet, damp, humid, moist) and FC Wehen (contractions) And no, these are NOT Women football clubs!:D |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: peaterich
Date: 14-04-2004, 11:17 | And also in the 3rd German League there is a team calls Schweinefurt(pig) |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Flann
Date: 14-04-2004, 13:09 | As Feucht and Schweinfurt are the original names of German cities and Wehen is a district of the city of Taunusstein, it's the towns (and not the clubs) which have the funny names. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Wackerl
Date: 14-04-2004, 13:54 | In the Netherlands there is also a funny name of a club: FC Zwolle In Austria is a club called "Austria Wien"!! It's a funny name, cause there is the country and the capital in the name!! (Wien is the german word for Vienna) I haven`t heard a club called Spain Madrid, or England London, or France Paris!!! :D |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Sturmy
Date: 14-04-2004, 16:21 | @Flann Well, these are the names of both the cities and the clubs... I also found a funny name in the Netherland's amateur league (3rd level): "Quick Boys" Well, I think, they don't have many female supporters, do they? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: toniz
Date: 14-04-2004, 19:51 | @wackerl 'till few years ago, dynamo zagreb's name was croatia zagreb. pretty much the same as austria wien. to be honest, it's more stupid than funny to me. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: ralfinho
Date: 14-04-2004, 20:12 | Absolutely right, Flann. Same for Extremadura (Spanish region) and Elche (Spanish city). To Wackerl: But maybe you already have heard of club called Bayern Munich. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: JPV
Date: 14-04-2004, 21:43 | "Lokeren"(Belgian 1st division) used to be called: Sporting Lokeren Sint Niklaas Waasland that's 2 cities & 1 region in a name . Could someone do better?Now it's officially (though few people use the name): Sporting Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen (1 city, 1 region) |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: mark
Date: 15-04-2004, 06:15 | It is hard to do better then that, but one can try. In israeli basketball we have a team called Hapoel Ramat-Hasharon/Haifa which represents the cities of both Ramat-Hasharon and Haifa, which are located only 100km from each other. It has less names in it but I'm sure it covers much more geographical area |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: squeal
Date: 15-04-2004, 07:29 | @wackerl, toniz: Well, we've got the clubs called Polonia (latin for Poland) in half of the bigger cities here... You should have heard of Polonia Warsaw, at least... |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: JPV
Date: 15-04-2004, 08:02 | @mark: i can do way better (and i guess there are even more stunning examples): in Belgium: FC ISTANBUL GENT Gent = Ghent = city in Belgium. Distance = 2200 km's . |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: mark
Date: 15-04-2004, 09:11 | @JPV you win but why is it called this way? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: mark
Date: 15-04-2004, 09:14 | @JPV If they qualify to UEFA cups, do they qualify as a belgic or as a turkish team ? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Michele
Date: 15-04-2004, 09:23 | @mark If we are moving to basketball, I also have a little story of a club with a funny name. BMS means Ballerup Måløv Skovlunde, 3 neighbouring suburbs in Greater Copenhagen. Then, a few years ago they merged with another suburb named Herlev, making the name BMS/Herlev. In 2002, they decided to include another couple of suburbs, værløse/Farum while suddenly changing their name to BF Copenhagen. Last year the club went bankrupt and the merged teams split up. So now BMS is only BMS again, but they are playing in the lower leagues. Not a very great area, but a lot of mergers and changes of name. @JPV Until 1993, a Sydney team from Australia was called Sydney Croatia, because it was founded by Croatian immigrants. Now it has changed its name to the more neutral Sydney United. Actually, in Australia many clubs used to be named after the origin of those people who founded it, but they were forced to change their names because there were too much crowd trouble because of the ethnic allegiance. I don't know the number of miles, but Sydney to Croatia is a long way. Michele |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: JPV
Date: 15-04-2004, 10:25 | Michele: you win, i guess it's impossible to have a longer distance: 16000 km's. Distance between Zagreb, Croatia and Sydney, Australia, as the crow flies: 9963 miles (16035 km) (8658 nautical miles) Initial heading from Zagreb to Sydney: east (86.4 degrees) Initial heading from Sydney to Zagreb: west-northwest (303.0 degrees) See airfares between these two cities in Expedia or Travelocity. See hotels in these two cities in Expedia or Travelocity. See driving distance and directions (courtesy MapBlast). Zagreb, Croatia Location: 45:48:00N 15:58:00E Sydney, Australia Location: 33:55:00S 151:17:00E |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Wackerl
Date: 15-04-2004, 13:52 | @ralfinho But Bayern is not the country, but Austria is a country!! I think the country where Munich is called Germany!! Isn't it?? My favourite club was also called FC Tirol Innsbruck, but Tirol is also not a name of a country!! I think I find it so stupid, cause the vienna clubs are arch-enemies for my club Wacker and the games are very exiting and the stadium is very full!! |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: ralfinho
Date: 15-04-2004, 20:52 | To Wackerl: I can hardly remember that Munich is situated in Germany. But, as you live not so far away, you might know that we Bavarians consider Bavaria almost as an own country. Similar as you Tyroleans do. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: porto-1978
Date: 15-04-2004, 23:35 | About clubs sharing name with the region they belong: - some of them have been mentioned in this topic, like Bayern (Munchen), Tirol (Insbruck), Extremadura (i thought this club is from Merida(capital) but i?ve saw somewhere that they are based in Almendarejo?) and i believe many others, none of them are portuguese clubs - not a surprise knowing that there?s no real regions in Portugal! - i?d like to add Lazio (Rome) and Girondins (Bordeaux)... I only remember also Alavés (Vitoria) that it?s the name of one of the three districts of the Basque region. (not including clubs from cities with same name than the region) Is there some more clubs with its region on it? - i also would like to know about club?s names refering to a ancient region, or people. Like Numancia (Soria) or Lusitania Açores and Lusitania VRSA in Portugal. I include in this "kind" Betis Seville, Celta Vigo, Celtic Glasgow, Hansa Rostock or Slavia Praha. Then we have clubs with the country in it name. Not only Austria Wien or Polonia Warsaw but also (at least) Sporting Club de Portugal. In fact it?s not Sporting Lisbon (as usually is called outside Portugal) but SCP. In Portugal there?s other Sporting?s (as far as i remember Sporting Braga, S. Farense, S. Espinho and S. Covilhã, only the last dressing as SCP (or Celtic)) About clubs with a city that share the name with a city, region or country i?ve never had heard about yet, and i?m surprised! I guess the reason to Istanbul Gent is the same for Croatia Sidney, founded by imigrants... i wonder if there?s more clubs like that.. Finally, can someone tell me why there?s a club in Malta called Ajax Rabat? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: porto-1978
Date: 16-04-2004, 00:20 | "About clubs with a city that share the name with a city" should be replaced by "About clubs that share the name with a diferent city"; replace "founded" by "funded" thanks A couple of (more or less) funny portuguese club?s names: -Maria da Fonte (IV): name as is known a revolutionary woman from the XIX (kind of our Joana D?Arc?) -Águias (eagles) de Alpiarça (V) -Juventude (youth) de Évora (IV) -Fabril (factory) do Barreiro (IV) -Eléctrico (electric) de Ponte de Sôr (V) -Esperança (hope) de Lagos (IV) -Vasco da Gama (navigator that reached India)de Sines (IV); in Brasil there?s also a Vasco da Gama, as there?s also A Portuguesa dos Desportos. -Ideal (IV) (Azores) -Os Leões (V): "the lions" (Azores) -Operário (labour) de Ponta Delgada (IV) -Caçadores (hunters) das Taipas (III) -Dragões (dragons) Sandinenses (from Sandim, near Porto) (III) -Casa Pia (IV): means "mercy house" and it?s an educational institution to orfans in Lisbon; after alegations of pedophilia in this institution, Casa Pia started to mean a lot more (the most mediatic case in portuguese justice maybe)... so it?s some way funny that name in a football club. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Sturmy
Date: 16-04-2004, 10:43 | @Porto1978 " i also would like to know about club?s names refering to a ancient region" There is a club in the Vorarlberg League (4th level, Vorarlberg is one of the 9 Austrian federal states) called Rätia Bludenz. Rätia was a Roman province, which comprised the territory of today's Vorarlberg. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Munja
Date: 16-04-2004, 15:44 | To Porto Vojvodina Novi Sad (Vojvodina is a region in Yugoslavia and Novi Sad is it's capital) |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: porto-1978
Date: 17-04-2004, 18:28 | Thanks Strumy and Munja. Rätia Bludenz is a good example of a club name refering to an old region. Wonder if in Alemania Aachen "alemania" is refered to some roman name to designate that part of Germany... Vojvodina Novi Sad it?s a good example of a club sharing name with actual region. I guess that part of Serbia have a lot of hungarian influence. Is the club Vojvodina neutral, more hungarian related or more serbian related? I guess traditional Yugoslavian institutions are the more neutral about ethnicity you can have (as it was Tito?s policy). I can remember one mark of ethnicity in Yugoslavian clubs (i mean, there?s no such thing as "croatia zagreb", "serbia beograd" or "macedonia skopje"). So i guess Vojvodina Novi Sad it?s suported by serbians and hungarians living in Vojvodina or it?s not so mixed? Out topic: is rumor or true that AEK Athens was funded by turkish communities in Greece? What means AEK? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: porto-1978
Date: 17-04-2004, 19:05 | What is black in Schwarz-Weiss Bregenz? Bergenz is the city, and the rest? What means Admira (Wacker)? In Cambuur Leeuwarden, Cambuur is the name of the animal in the symbol? In FC Twente Enschede, Twente is the name of the region? Willem Tilburg: willem means something like "will" or don?t? From wich city in Italy is Pro Patria? What means "chievo"? What means amica (in Amica Wronky)? What means start in Start Kristiansand? (Viking Stavanger: there is it a club name that fit with Lusitania, Betis, Numancia or Celta/ic) |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: JPV
Date: 17-04-2004, 19:50 | "What is black in Schwarz-Weiss Bregenz? Bergenz is the city, and the rest? " Schwarz-Weiss = Black-White, probably their colours... "In Cambuur Leeuwarden, Cambuur is the name of the animal in the symbol? " i don't think Cambuur is a animal, i don't remember ever having heard this... "In FC Twente Enschede, Twente is the name of the region?" yep " Willem Tilburg: willem means something like "will" or don?t? " i guess not. Willem is a common name for boys in the Netherlands. It often refers to prince Willem from Oranje-Nassau, the royal family's "godfather". |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Munja
Date: 17-04-2004, 23:31 | To porto-1978 Althou in Vojvodina live a number of Hungarians (maybe 10% or so) it is neutral club. Here in Serbia we do not have clubs which only one nation or minority supports. Or at least, all big clubs are neutral (even Novi Pazar has Serbian supporters and players). |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Eurycantha
Date: 18-04-2004, 01:01 | Porto1978/Jeroen, Willem II Tilburg King Willem II reigned the Netherlands (1840-1849) Tilburg was his residence Willem II relagated several times from the Dutch Eredivisie and about 15 or 16 years ago they were near bottom-team of the Dutch first division and almost bankrupt. As a joke they were also mentioned as a brand of cigars (this Willem II factory was in Valkenswaard, not far from Tilburg) Since 1987 Willem II is playing in the Eredivisie without a break, most of the time a a sub-top team, between 6th and 13rd position, with the exception of 1998/1999 with a 3rd position and 1999/2000 with a 2nd position. This was celebrated as a "championship" Most famous players I have mentioned in another thread; most famous players from my youth-period: Chris Feyt (goalkeeper), Jan Brooymans (captain and rightback), Kurt Zaro (German, wonderful technician, sometimes a bit lazy, right behind center forward) and Coy Koopal (Dutch international, center forward), who died last year. Regards |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: squeal
Date: 18-04-2004, 07:38 | @Porto: Amica is a name of a company that founded the club and is its only sponsor. Sadly, it became common in Poland to rename the clubs after its sponsors. While it's okay with Amica, since they created the club from scratch, and more serious club owners seem to back off from that trend (In Groclin's case, the former name was preserved, the full name of the club is in fact Groclin/Dyskobolia; Petrochemia / Orlen P³ock finally changed its name back to the traditional one - Wis³a), they are still new companies trying to promote themselves by the name of the club rather than it's results... The most ridiculous examples of them are Dospel Katowice (GKS Katowice was and still is a legend of polish football. In fact, everyone still calls them GKS anyway.) and Stasiak Opoczno (The company's name Stasiak is the last name of it's founder...!!! I guess it sounds even more stupid in Polish than in any other language...) |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: squeal
Date: 18-04-2004, 08:04 | Oh, one more thing! Stasiak Opoczno is currently located and plays its matches in Ostrowiec ?wiêtokrzyski (about 100 kilometres to the east from Opoczno). I guess, in when it comes to the stupidity of the name, this club is unbeatable... |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: toniz
Date: 18-04-2004, 15:24 | porto, in ex-yugoslavia existed club bosna. actually, couple of them: bosna sarajevo, bosna visoko and maybe even some more. they were lower-division clubs, now both of them playing in bosnian second division. also, there was istra pula. istra is croatian region and pula it's capital. istra was also lower division club, but since croatia gained independence played couple of seasons in croatian first division. last year istra merged with local rivals uljanik into new club pula 1856. currently is playing in second division. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: eoinh
Date: 18-04-2004, 16:38 | tO Porto 1978 In the republic of Ireland there used to be a club called Cork Celtic but they went out of business. A lot of non-league teams in Ireland are called by their town names with Celtic added in. In Northern Ireland you have Belfast Celtic, Donegall Celtic and Lurgan Celtic. Having the name "Celtic" in a name in Northern Ireland implies that that youre support is mainly nationalist and not Unionist. Bohemians are from Dublin. It was set up by different factions but they all shared "a Bohemian Spirit". Finn Harps - Finn is the name of a river in donegal and the Harp is an Irish emblem. St. patricks Athletic are from Dublin and are named after the patron saint of Ireland. Shamrock rovers. A shamrock has three leaves and was used by St Patrick in a sermon to illustrate how God could consist of three "persons" in the one god - god the father, god the son and god the holy spirit. Limerick is the name of a city in Ireland. The club there is called Limerick FC but Limerick is also the name of a poem. Just a coincidence, i think. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: ralfinho
Date: 18-04-2004, 23:30 | To porto: If I remember right Chievo is a part of the city of Verona. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Sturmy
Date: 23-04-2004, 07:33 | @porto-1978 "What is black in Schwarz-Weiss Bregenz? Bergenz is the city, and the rest? What means Admira (Wacker)?" Schwarz-Weiß Bregenz means "Black-White" Bregenz and these are indeed the club colours. Admira and Wacker were originally two independent clubs which merged into Admira/Wacker in the early 1970s. Then, in 1997 Admira/Wacker merged with VfB Mödling into VfB Admira/Wacker Mödling. Usually they don't play in Mödling but in the Bundesstadion Südstadt in Maria Enzersdorf, a suburb in the south of Vienna. They don't have many fans, usually they play in the presence of approximately 1500 - 2000 fans - and these are mainly supporters of the guest's team... They only have a full house, when they host a very popular team like Rapid Vienna, which are accompanied by many supporters. meaning of the name "Admira": Well, I am not 100 percent sure, but there is an old-fashioned German Word "admirabel", similar to the english word "admirable". There are severals clubs in lower leagues in Austria being called like this (for example Admira Linz, Admira Wiener Neustadt). Perhaps they choosed this name in order to stress that they play football very well, so that it is a pleasure to watch their matches. Wacker: "Wacker" is also a nowadays rather seldom used German word with different meanings. The most plausible meaning is "brave". There are even more clubs in Austria named "Wacker", the most famous is probably "Wacker Tirol", in the 1970s known as "Wacker Innsbruck". |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: SBP
Date: 23-04-2004, 18:09 | I think porto asked what AEK stands for... It's Athletiki Enosis Konstantinopolou. Roughly translated its Athletic Union of Constantinopole (now Instanbul). it was founded by Greek refugees from Constantinopole, same as PAOK Thessaloniki. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: SBP
Date: 23-04-2004, 18:14 | And just to sort things out with Munja, Bezanija FC got its name by suburb in which its located in, which in turn got its name by the hill. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: Munja
Date: 23-04-2004, 19:53 | To SBP I know that. I think that i even wrote that on this forum some days ago. But still Bezanija sounds funny in Serbian. And in the first post on this thread. Eoinh wrote: "Are there clubs in europe that have weird meanings in your native tongue?" And Bezanija literally means running away, or fleeing. (Maybe you can translate it better if you know Serbian). |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: hamilton1978
Date: 24-04-2004, 06:35 | eoinh doesnt a shamrock have 4 leaves? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: kerrbhoy
Date: 24-04-2004, 07:39 | Celtic: named for the ancient people of Europe who survived longest in Scotland, Ireland & a few other places Rangers: don't know Hibernian: Hibernia: Latin word for Ireland, as they were formed by mainly Irish immigrants. Hearts: Short for "Heart of Midlothian" i.e. centre of Midlothian = a county Partick Thistle: Partick district of Glasgow (where Partick don't play), Thistle is the emblem of Scotland. Dunfermline Athletic: Dunfermline is a town and the players are athletic (allegedly) Dundee United: were once called Dundee Hibernian. Livingston: were once called Ferranti Thistle, where Ferranti is a (Belgian?) company, then Meadowbank before they moved to Livingston Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Dundee, Aberdeen : just towns In the 1st division Queen of the South (because they play in the south, the Queen part I don't know), St Mirren & St Johnstone (St Johns Town) named for saints. Clyde (river), Caledonian Thistle (Caledonia = Roman name for Scotland). Spartans played in the last 16 of the Scottish Cup this year. I would say its like Bohemians and they have a "Spartan Spirit" but thats a Saturday Night Live sketch.. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: JPV
Date: 24-04-2004, 08:31 | kerrboy, concerning Dunfermline Athletic. It's probably because they originated from an athletic team/club. it's the same as K.A.A. Gent (first division belgium): the full name is Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (Royal Athletics Association Ghent). In Gent, there's still a KAA Gent athletics club though (the greatest of Belgium). |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: kerrbhoy
Date: 24-04-2004, 08:41 | Yeah you're right. The official name of Celtic is actually "Celtic Football and Athletic Club". |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: The_Red_Fan
Date: 24-04-2004, 12:15 | What do you think about a club name "KooTeePee" of Finland ? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: eoinh
Date: 27-04-2004, 10:54 | To Hamilton Out of modesty i didnt tell you about God the eoinh err i dont know to be honest. Ive never seen a shamrock. |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: eoinh
Date: 27-04-2004, 10:56 | What does KooTeePee mean anyway? |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: porto-1978
Date: 27-04-2004, 16:25 | Thanks to all answers to my questions! Now i understand AEK! And PAOK, thanks SBP. About Scotland: is there some rivality between Dundee Utd and Dundee FC, in some way similar to Celtic Vs Rangers in Glasgow? From what city is the club Hibernian? About regions of ex-Yugoslavia: yes, istria is a part of croatia but just a small peninsula. It?s kind as vojvodina, i think Istria Pula have no ethnic meaning. About clubs from Bosnia with Bosna in its name maybe it?s diferent: or are that clubs ethnic mix, with serbian, croatian and muslim bosnians? Thanks also to eohin (great names!) and sturmy (nice to know that) as long as eurycantha (so it?s not Prince of Orange but the second Willem of the dutch royality), toniz, munja and squeal (surely Stasiak Opoczno it?s a non sense name). Cheers! |
| Re: clubs with funny names | |
| Author: kerrbhoy
Date: 27-04-2004, 17:07 | There is no religious rivalry between Dundee & Dundee Utd nowadays. Hibernian is from Edinburgh, or more accurately from Leith which used to be a town but got swallowed up by Edinburgh city. Hibs have a very mixed Catholic/Protestant support nowadays, as do Hearts surprisingly. |