Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Football Clubs That Changed Their Names

Manchester United, Real Madrid, Manchester City: these are not the real names of these clubs. When they started, they were called something else, but with time; they changed their names

Manchester United, Real Madrid, Manchester City: these are not the real names of these clubs. When they started, they were called something else, but with time; they changed their names. These three clubs are not the only ones to change their names. Over the decades, several historic clubs have changed their names and, in this article, we inform you about them. 

Arsenal- The club from North London has changed its name not once, but several times. Founded in 1886, Arsenal started its journey with the moniker of Dial Square. A few years later, the club changed its name to Royal Arsenal; a combination of a local pub named Royal Oak and Woolwich Arsenal, the place where they used to work. Around 1913, the club became Woolwich Arsenal and later on; they turned into The Arsenal. Around 1915, The Arsenal spun into Arsenal. 

Real Madrid- The elite club from Spain was originally named Madrid Football Club in 1902. However, 18 years later, in 1920, the club changed its name from Madrid Football Club to Real Madrid. It was King Alfonso XIII, who bestowed with the title of “real” which translates to “royal” in the English language. Since then, the club has been identified as Real Madrid. 

PSV- Dutch club PSV Eindhoven is one of the best clubs in the Dutch league. In fact, it is one of the prominent clubs in Europe’s top five leagues. Much may not be aware that PSV Eindhoven did not begin their tale as PSV Eindhoven. Their original name was Philips Elftal; a team created by Philips (electronic goods manufacturing company) for its employees. However, the financial crisis, along with several strikes by workers, led to the demise of the team. In 1913, the company resurrected the team and named it Philips Sport Vereniging (PSV). 

Hamburger SV- German club Hamburger SV never changed its name. However, the club uses the colour and flag of Germania SC, a football club that existed till 1919 and belonged to the northern German metropolis of Hamburg. In 1919, Germania SC merged with Hamburger SV and Germania’s name was lost forever. On the other hand, Hamburger SV used the colour and flag of Germania.