Sergio Aguero

Football is full of characters, and many people connected with the beautiful game develop big reputations, including developing nicknames, which can be good, bad or ugly. Here are some of the more high-profile nicknames in the beautiful game:

Roberto Baggio (The Divine Ponytail)

The legend of Italian football had the nickname ‘Il Divin Codino’, translated into English as ‘The Divine Ponytail’. His nickname came because Baggio wore his hair in a ponytail style for much of his playing career.

Baggio produced sensational displays for the likes of Fiorentina, Juventus and Milan, as well as the national team during his long and illustrious career.

Lionel Messi (The Flea)

Arguably the best player to ever grace a football pitch, the diminutive Argentinian international superstar earned his nickname ‘La Pulga’ or the ‘The Flea’ in English because of his small stature.

The nickname may not seem much of a compliment, but it indicates that he has the ability to annoy opposition teams and escape from them with ease.

The only thing that was small about Messi was his stature, as his talent with a football has seen him win every possible trophy on offer at both club and international levels, including winning the World Cup in 2022 with his national team.

Messi holds the record for the most Ballon d’Or awards, having won the prize on eight occasions.

Gerd Muller (Der Bomber)

The great Germany and Bayern Munich forward is recognised as one of the best forwards of his generation. His nickname of ‘Der Bomber’ needs little translation but is a bit misleading, as most of his goals were goal poachers’ strikes rather than flashy big impact efforts.

Muller scored 487 league goals in 555 appearances for 1861 Nordlingen, Bayern Munich and Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

The ace goal poacher won the Bundesliga on four occasions and the European Cup three times, among many other trophies with Bayern. He also helped Germany become world champions in 1974, scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 win over the Netherlands in the final of the competition.

Pele (The King)

The forward is regarded as one of the best players ever to grace a football pitch, and some claim he is the best-ever player. After the 1958 World Cup, which saw a 17-year-old Pele star, the prodigy earned the nickname O Rei, or the King in English.

The nickname was well deserved as Pele was prolific in front of goal for his club side, Santos, finding the net on 636 occasions in 618 appearances.

At international level, Pele scored 77 goals in 92 appearances for the Selecao, helping his country to win the World Cup on three occasions.

Franz Beckenbauer (Der Kaiser)

A long-term Muller teammate at both the club and international levels, Beckenbauer was nicknamed ‘Der Kaiser’, which translates to ‘The Emperor’.

Like Pele’s nickname, the title speaks for itself. The former German star is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time.

He won the Bundesliga four times with Bayern Munich while also winning the European Cup on three occasions. Beckenbauer is one of the few people in football to have won the World Cup as both a player and a coach.

William Ralph Dean (Dixie Dean)

The legendary Everton forward’s real full name is William Ralph Dean. However, he is better known as ‘Dixie’ Dean. There are many theories as to how Dean got the nickname, but the most popular one is that the name comes because of his dark hair and complexion, which was similar to some natives of Texas, USA.

Dean is the third most prolific forward in the history of English league football, having scored 310 goals in 362 league top-flight games.

The Birkenhead-born forward holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season in the English top flight, having scored 60 goals in the 1927/28 season.

Dean was one of the inaugural players to be inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Fitz Hall (One Size)

One of the more amusing football nicknames is that of former Crystal Palace, QPR and Watford defender Fitz Hall. One size is a reference to clothing brands that use the phrase ‘One size fits all’.

Hall enjoyed a long football career, as he made nearly 291 appearances throughout his career at various levels of the English football pyramid.

The defender won the Championship title in back-to-back campaigns for Newcastle and QPR in seasons 2009/10 and 2010/11.

Sergio Aguero (Kun)

The former Manchester City icon took his nickname ‘Kun’ from his love of a Japanese anime season called ‘Kum-Kum’. His grandparents believed he looked like a character from the series, so the nickname stuck into his adult life and playing career. Aguero has the word ‘Kun’ tattooed on his arm.

The Argentinian forward became a hero at Manchester City for his prolific goalscoring feats in front of goals. Aguero scored 260 goals in 390 appearances for the Citizens. His goals helped the men from Manchester win the Premier League title on five occasions, among numerous other trophies.

Aguero scored 41 goals for Argentina over 104 appearances in a 15-year international career. He also helped his country to the 2014 World Cup final.