Beer, Mattresses and a Swedish Ship: The Strange Origins of Club Names and Colours

Dortmund: looking at the pub wall

'Borussia' sounds rather noble. In fact, the founders were meeting in a pub with a sign for the Borussia brewery on the wall, and they took the name from there.

In short, they needed a name and looked at the wall. Tens of thousands of people now sing it from the Yellow Wall.

Atletico: the mattress makers

Atletico's nickname, 'Los Colchoneros', means the mattress makers. The red and white stripes looked just like old mattress covers, and the name stuck.

Say 'Simeone's Atletico' and people think of something terrifying. The nickname, however, is quite cosy.

Boca Juniors: a ship in the harbour

Where did Boca's blue and yellow come from? According to the club, from the flag of a Swedish ship seen in the port. One of Argentina's great clubs owes its colours to a boat from the other side of the world.

Juventus: originally pink

It is hard to imagine Juventus without black and white stripes, but the club first wore pink shirts. The stripes arrived later by way of Notts County in England. Old photographs of Juventus are brighter than you might think.

Teams built by workmates

Plenty of famous clubs began at work. Arsenal were formed in 1886 by munitions workers at Woolwich, which explains the cannon on the crest and the nickname, the Gunners.

Manchester United began as Newton Heath, a railway workers' team. PSV's name comes straight from Philips Sport Vereniging, and the Bayer in Bayer Leverkusen is the pharmaceutical company. A fair number of the world's great clubs started out as the office team.

Chelsea: born from a rejection

Chelsea's origin story is slightly sad. In 1905, the owner of Stamford Bridge offered the ground to Fulham and was turned down, so he simply started his own team. That team was Chelsea. It may be football's greatest example of doing better after a rejection.

Names that mean more than you think

The 'Real' in Real Madrid means 'royal'. The title came from the king, and with it the right to put a crown on the crest. 'Internazionale' means 'international', a founding promise to welcome players from across borders.

And the figure on the Ajax crest is not the first chairman or a legendary captain. It is Ajax, the hero of Greek myth. If you always assumed he was a footballer, you are not alone.