Nicknames for United players in South America

[Nobby style]

Most of these are from Fox Sports or ESPN announcers, who are listened to by everyone here in Latin America, especially Argentinian ones who seem to put nicknames ("apodos") on every Argie footballer.

One in particular, Juan Manuel "el bambino" Pons is the geezer famous for his really crap singalongs to British hits when a goal is scored, using the scorer's name with shit lyrics. His "Hey Ruud" version to Hey Jude is probably the most famous. The guy is a total whackjob. I've got him definitely pegged as a pothead from references he subtly makes all the time, and he can be very funny with these weird tangents he goes off on during the play by play of the match. He's become a bit much for me though with his new found love for Citeh with their trio of Argies; Zabaleta, Aguero and Tevez.

Anyway, here are the nicknames I can come up with off the top of my head. Probably some others can add some more:


Rooney: El Rebelde, Baby Rooney, and El Jabalí (wild pig, wild boar)

Giggs: El soldado Ryan (the soldier Ryan), Private Ryan

Scholes: Winnie, Winnie the Pooh, Pooh bear

Vidic: El Raro (Weirdo), El Killer

Ferdinand: Ferdeenando, Cirilo which I think comes from a children's song about el negro cirilo

Van der Sar: Pinochio

O'Shea: La Jirafa (giraffe), Churrasco de víbora (snake meat, for someone who's skinny I think, in Argentina

Silvestre: El Dromedario (the camel) - used to call Andy Cole this as well

Valencia: El tren Valencia (the Valencia train) - copy of a Colombian player a few years ago, Adolfo "el tren" Valencia

Park: El obediente Park (the obediant Park, ha ha) Nido de Carancho - which is the Carancho nest, the nest of a kind of falcon in South America

Ronaldo: Bati pibe which I think he's calling him Robin, from Batman and Robin. Pibe is like "mate" in Argentina

Nani: el nene (little boy)

Jaap Stam: el hooligan Stam

Berbatov: Capitan Frio (Captain Cold as Ice)

Anderson: El Rasta

Ferguson: Cara Roja (red face)

Tevez: El Apache - Not for looking like an apache indian, rather he's from one of South America's most notorious neighborhoods, Fuerte (fort) Apache in Buenos Aires

Heinze: El Gringo

Veron: La Brujita (the little witch) His old man was El Brujo Veron.

 

[Tomuś]

Great post

How on earth can you nickname Paul Scholes as Winnie the Pooh

O'Shea - Le Jirafa

Ronaldo's ace, though.

 

[dcrompton]

How on earth can you nickname Paul Scholes as Winnie the Pooh

Eeyore ways gets called that

 

[Everest Red]

Totally serious here, does any player have nickname in the line of negro/negrito?

 

[MrK]

Totally serious here, does any player have nickname in the line of negro/negrito?

Yup, in Mexico Luis Sandoval is commonly called "El Negro" Sandoval

 

[Nobby style]

How on earth can you nickname Paul Scholes as Winnie the Pooh

Doh!

 

[Ringo 07]

Ive heard Rooney being called Shrek by a commentator during a Utd game on Brazilian TV. Also they pronounce his name as Hooney.

 

[ricky-romeo]

i don't think ronaldo will be very happy to be a robin.

 

[MUFC07]

Oh, how I miss el Bambino Pons, now I have to put up with the shitty, uncreative Mexican commentators.

Everest Red, I'm also pretty sure Pons nicknames Evra "el negro" from time to time.

I remember he started calling Ronaldo bati-pibe even from his first games because of his pace.

I'm pretty sure Scholes is "El colorado" Scholes, isn't he? One of the previous commentators of Fox Sports named John Laguna, probably the most underrated Mexican commentator, called him "El enano maldito" as a reference to Les Poètes maudits. He said Scholes was THE midget maudit, the other three were Bellamy, Dyer and I don't remember who the other was. I loved the reference, for the poets maudits were "The race which will always be cursed by the powerful ones of the earth", and he used that to say that even though, for example Scholes, was so talented, probably top 5 in the world, he wasn't as mediatic as Beckham, Ruud or even Henry (at the time) and so was overseen by people outside England.

Luis Omar Tapia's

Ruud Van Nisterror - Terror for defenders. Also Goofy

Beckham - Spice Boy

 

[antohan]

Scholes has always been "El Colorado" (Ginger), it was Danny Pugh that he called Winnie.

I'm sure we had this not long ago, but anyway...

Other United:

Macheda: Huevo de Pascua (Easter Egg)
Gibson: El Guitarrero (the guitarist)

Some good non-United ones:

Terry: El Sin Códigos (the one with no codes)
Ashley Cole: El Cartonero (basically, a homeless man who makes a living picking up cardboard)
Lee Bowyer: Pan Triste (sad bread)
Sagna: Cortina (courtain)
Rosicky: El hijo de Chucky (Chucky's son)
Kuyt: Sopita Quick (quick/instant soup)
Rafa Benitez: El papá de Harry Potter (Harry Potter's dad)

 

[antohan]

Oh, how I miss el Bambino Pons, now I have to put up with the shitty, uncreative Mexican commentators.

You are better off with the memories, he has turned to the dark side with so many Argies at City.

Everest Red, I'm also pretty sure Pons nicknames Evra "el negro" from time to time.

Sometimes, but usually calls him Pantera (panther) or Pantera Negra rather than just negro.

 

[SharkyMcShark]

the one with no codes

 

[MUFC07]

Scholes has always been "El Colorado" (Ginger), it was Danny Pugh that he called Winnie.

I'm sure we had this not long ago, but anyway...

Other United:

Macheda: Huevo de Pascua (Easter Egg)
Gibson: El Guitarrero (the guitarist)

Some good non-United ones:

Terry: El Sin Códigos (the one with no codes)
Ashley Cole: El Cartonero (basically, a homeless man who makes a living picking up cardboard)
Lee Bowyer: Pan Triste (sad bread)
Sagna: Cortina (courtain)
Rosicky: El hijo de Chucky (Chucky's son)
Kuyt: Sopita Quick (quick/instant soup)
Rafa Benitez: El papá de Harry Potter (Harry Potter's dad)

I also remember

Guus Hiddink - Gene Hackman
Hibbert - Osito Hibbert (Hibbert Bear)

You are better off with the memories, he has turned to the dark side with so many Argies at City.

Sometimes, but usually calls him Pantera (panther) or Pantera Negra rather than just negro.

He always does that. He supported the invincibles, then Mourinho's Chelsea, then United and now City. I thought he would, especially with all the Argies there, as you say.

Pantera, that's right.

 

[kouroux]

The commentators of Al-Jazeera in arabic always refers to Rooney as Golden boy

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

el hooligan

 

[KingMinger22]

Ahaha that's brilliant! They could write a cracking newspaper article on this.


Anyways, 'El Tren' and 'El Rasta' are sticking for me...

 

[RedLars]

I also remember

Guus Hiddink - Gene Hackman

My favourite!

 

[Nobby style]

It's actually big Phiw Scolari that is Hackman.

 

[Count Orduck]

Was gonna say, it's more like to be Scolari rather than Hiddink

 

[prateik]

Rosicky: El hijo de Chucky (Chucky's son)

 

[I_live_cement]

Instant soup? Wtf?

 

[Elliott]

With the exception of Lee Bowyer, these are really random.

 

[anver]

Rooney: Wild pig, wild boar!!!

 

[antohan]

I also remember

Hibbert - Osito Hibbert (Hibbert Bear)

Nah, Hibbert is "El Doctor". Osito is Pantsil (Pantsil Bear).

And as pointed out earlier, Scolari was Gene Hackman.

 

[antohan]

Instant soup? Wtf?

No one here pronounces it as KITE, but QUIT, which is not far from QUICK.

Quick Soup is an instant powder soup peddled by Unilever.

At some point he started calling him sopita quick and it stuck. Not sure if it has anything to do with him sweating profusely.

 

[Nobby style]

Rooney: Wild pig, wild boar!!!

 

[MUFC07]

Nah, Hibbert is "El Doctor". Osito is Pantsil (Pantsil Bear).

And as pointed out earlier, Scolari was Gene Hackman.

Really? El Doctor? I don't remember that one, I do remember he called him El Osito Hibbert and have no recolection whatsoever of Pantsil being the Bear but then again I haven't heard him since 2010.

Yeah, Scolari. I don't know why I wrote Guus Hiddink even if I was thinking about Scolari.

 

[antohan]

Really? El Doctor? I don't remember that one, I do remember he called him El Osito Hibbert and have no recolection whatsoever of Pantsil being the Bear but then again I haven't heard him since 2010.

Yeah, Scolari. I don't know why I wrote Guus Hiddink even if I was thinking about Scolari.

Osito Pantsil is a definite. Not surprised about Scolari-Hiddink mixup, so many managers they've had...

 

[Nobby style]

Lee Bowyer: Pan Triste (sad bread)

Pantriste is a cartoon character in Argentina, who in fact bears an astounding resemblance to that dufus Lee Bowyer.

 

[anver]

Breakaway bull causes havoc in Pamplona festival
AFP Updated July 9, 2012, 5:26 am




PAMPLONA, Spain (AFP) - A massive fighting bull broke away from the pack at Spain's Pamplona bull run Sunday, parting crowds of runners and landing two in hospital with bad cuts and bruises.

The 640-kilogram (1,430-pound) beast, Navajito, sped ahead of a pack of six bulls charging through the northern city, where daredevils dressed in white with red neck scarves fought for space to escape the horns.

Two Spanish men were injured in the run: one 29-year-old suffered cuts and bruises to his face and a 35-year-old badly bruised his back, the regional Navarra government said.

They were taken to hospital and discharged a few hours later.

The Red Cross said it also treated 80 others for minor injuries at the scene.

At the outset, the bulls burst out of the holding pen and thundered down Pamplona's narrow, cobbled streets.

Very quickly, Navajito broke ahead of the pack, a dangerous development, parting crowds of runners who cowered by the side or ran along with the bull, some even trying to touch its sides.

As the beast tried to swerve into one corner, it smashed against runners huddling along the side of the wall.

Moments later a runner fell over and was left sprawling on the ground in its path. The bull lowered its horns as it charged past, but the sharp tips just missed him.

At the entrance to the bullring, with the rest of the pack chasing behind, the bull charged over another half a dozen men who tumbled over each other in a scramble to escape.

The bulls took just two minutes and 27 seconds to cover the 850-metre (2,800-foot) course.

"It was incredible. You really feel alive. Time goes by really quickly, you are so concentrated in staying ahead of the bulls," said Carlos Saiz, 27, from Madrid who like many others carried a rolled-up newspaper used to tap the bulls.

People clung to street lights and sat on window ledges along the route to get a better view of the run, the centrepiece of the San Fermin festival, which wraps up on July 14.

Some wore colourful wigs or large plastic sunglasses as they swilled back sangria and beer from plastic cups.

"The bulls raced by much faster than I expected," said 23-year-old Spaniard Victor Batres, who watched the run behind a wooden barrier near the city's bullring where the course ends.

"I could never take part in a run, I would be too scared."

A 73-year-old retired architect, Victor Arrecivita Calvet, was gored in his left leg on Saturday during the first bull run of this year's festival.

He underwent surgery to treat a 25-centimetre (10 inch) long gash which missed major arteries and remains in hospital.

"These things happen and, this time, it happened to me," the Pamplona native told local newspaper Diario de Navarra.

"What bothers me the most is that it happened precisely on the opening day. Now I will have to watch the rest of the runs on television and I know I will miss being there."

Calvet has taken part in bull runs in Pamplona for the past 30 years. He was gored once before, in 1993.

Five others, including an Australian and a Japanese man, suffered cuts and bruises in slips along the route but were treated and released from the hospital on the same day.

Last year 20,500 people took part in the festival's eight bull runs, nearly half of them coming from abroad, mostly the United States, Australia and Britain.

Three years ago a bull gored a 27-year-old Spaniard to death, piercing his neck, heart and lungs with its horns in front of hordes of tourists.
Pamplona officials expect about half a million people will flock to the city of 200,000 residents during the festival, which dates back to medieval times.

------------------------------------------------------

Reminds you of someone? The wild pig, wild boar..............

 

[Tomuś]

I just read this post but i cant post myself to correct this...

i have never heard ever in TV, scholes been called Winnieh the pooh... what the feck.

in southamerica he is known as "colorado scholes" wich means, "ginger scholes"... hehe

the rest pf the nicknames are correct, but winnieh the pooh... what the feck? haha

George Owen of newbies sent me this, so I just pass it on

 

[antohan]

George Owen of newbies sent me this, so I just pass it on

Pointed it out earlier, not him but Danny Pugh, which they pronounce Danny Pooh, thus they cut it short and called him Winnie. At least the very very few times I've seen them comment a match involving him. Probably a couple of games for Stoke.

 

[Nobby style]

It's an announcer on ESPN who calls Scholes Winnie the Poo. It might be Quique Wolff or that other Argentine geezer who has a really annoying exaggerated voice. Pons definately calls him "el colorado." I'd forgotten about that. I always think of the Paraguayan Carlos Gamarra as "el colorado."

By the way, here's a clip of Juan "el Bambino" Pons singing one of his patented crap songs after a United goal.

 

[Nobby style]

As of late El Bambino Pons has taken to calling De Gea, Shaggy.

 

[Arruda]

Really enjoyed the thread.

Sometimes, but usually calls him Pantera (panther) or Pantera Negra rather than just negro.

I thought "Pantera Negra" was trademarked for Eusebio

 

[Revan]

Winnie the Pooh is very funny.

 

[Danillaco]

Really enjoyed the thread.

I thought "Pantera Negra" was trademarked for Eusebio

You can see how class Evra is then...

 

[Suedesi]

great thread

 

[Nobby style]

Had forgot about this one til today.

Romero is called "el chiquito" (the little one)

Due to the fact that Romero is the shortest of his three brothers, one of which was a famous basketball player in Argentina.

Also has a comical ring to it here in Colombia as "el chiquito" is usually referring to the bunghole, especially in sexual terms as in the woman taking it up the bum as opposed to the larger of the orifices. Have had some good chuckles with the punters in the bar about what el chiquito does with the ball.

 

[Bastian]

Van der Saar

Great thread.