SUMMARY
- Many elite clubs have changed their names over the course of time.
- These clubs belong to different nations such as Italy, England and Spain.
Rebranding is part and parcel of the business world. Businesses across the world have rebranded their products to give them a fresh look. It helps to create a new identity as well as make new beginnings. However, the rebranding of names is not just restricted to the business world.
Even in soccer, we have seen the clubs rebrand their logos as well as names from time to time. This may be due to their new titles, a collaboration, or the will to create a separate identity for themselves. The list of the famous clubs that have changed their names can be so shocking that we are sure most of the readers won’t be able to guess correctly.
Newton Heath YLR
Newton Heath YLR was founded in 1878 by workers from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. It was the department’s carriage and wagon department that took the initiative to form a soccer club. Frederick Attock, who was the carriage superintendent, was appointed the club’s first-ever president. The Englishman was ironically from Liverpool, UK.
The team won its first English Championship title in the year 1908, six years after it had acquired its current name. Ever since then, the club has been making steady progress, becoming a force in English soccer in the post-World War II era. Famed English manager Matt Busby had restructured the team after the club’s airplane crashed in Munich in 1958, killing eight of its players.
THESE SCENES >>>>#MUFC || #FACup pic.twitter.com/P5QXUxzeBl
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 18, 2024
The club has won two UEFA Champions League titles and is one of two clubs in England to have ever lifted the treble. Under the legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, the club reached new heights, becoming domestically the most decorated club in England.
By now, the readers must have guessed this famous club. But in case we are not here to help, it is none other than the 20-time Premier League Champions, Manchester United. The legendary club has produced players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes, Bobby Charlton, Roy Keane, etc.
Dial Square
The name Dial Square might surprise a lot of readers. The club was founded by ammunition workers from the town of Woolwich. It took 5 years for the club to turn professional in 1891 since its foundation. They placed their first game in the year 1893 in the Football League against Newcastle. A prominent club in North London, the name Dial Square was changed, and the current name was added to the title of ‘Royal.’
According to folklore, the team members added the title ‘Royal’ as a tribute to their favorite pub, ‘Royal Oak.’ The second, and current, name came from their working place, which was an ammunition factory. The club is one of the most decorated clubs in England, with 13 English titles. The club also has the rare distinction of being the only English club to win the league unbeaten.
The club did the unthinkable under its legendary manager, Arsene Wenger. The club has surprisingly yet to win the Champions League despite being the FA Cup’s most successful team, with 14 titles to its name. Some of its legendary players include Thierry Henry, Denis Bergkamp, Ian Wright, Tony Adams, David Seaman, etc.
The readers must have guessed the club the moment they read about the unbeaten record. It is indeed Arsenal who are resurging pretty well with a young team under coach Mikel Arteta. The club was formerly known as Royal Arsenal.
Madrid Football Club
Madrid Football Club was founded in 1902 in the Spanish capital of Madrid. It became one of the founding members of La Liga in 1929. This club has enjoyed such gigantic success in soccer that it is very difficult to find any parallels. The club got its present name in the year 1920 when the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco bestowed the ‘royal’ title on the club.
Madrid Football Club, as it was formerly known, is a global powerhouse of soccer. So long is its list of achievements that FIFA decided to award this club with the title of ‘Club of the Century’ in 2000. A European royalty, Madrid Football Club has won a record 14 UEFA Champions League titles, which puts it way ahead of its competitors.
✨🎂 March 6, 1902
💫 Today we celebrate our 120th anniversary! 💫#RealMadrid | #RealFootball— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) March 6, 2022
Even in Spain, the club’s impact is pretty well known. It is the most decorated club in La Liga, with 35 league titles. The club has an ingrained winning mentality, and even the fans have learned to always dream big. In this club, the trophy isn’t a necessity but an obligation.
Many iconic players, like Zinedine Zidane, Alfredo Di Stefano, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, etc., have worn their iconic white kits. ‘Los Blancos’, as they are fondly known, play their home games at the stadium named after their legendary President Santiago Bernabeu. We are talking about Real Madrid, a club that has always learned to win at any cost.
Milan Foot-ball and Cricket Club
This club is one of the premier clubs in Italy. However, during its early years, it nurtured both cricketing and soccer talents. Interestingly, though the club is Italian through and through, the club was actually founded by two Englishmen, Herbert Kilpin and Alfred Edwards. During its early years, Milan Foot-ball and Cricket Club was a bustling place for many Italian and English talents.
It soon changed its name to Milan FC in 1919 and then got its present name 20 years later. The club has since gone on to dominate Italian soccer. It had a strict all-Italian policy at the beginning, allowing only Italian players to be employees at the club. The club has even had to restructure after a faction of its board members broke away to form a club that would be open to talents from all over the world.
It shares the iconic San Siro stadium with the same rival that broke away from it. The two compete in a fierce derby named Derby della Madonnina. Madonnina is the statue of the Virgin Mary on the top of Milan’s Duomo Cathedral.
The club’s heydays were under former Silvio Berlusconi from 1986 to 2017 when the club had eight Serie A and five UEFA Champions League titles. However, during the later stages of his reign, the club started showing signs of cracking. Even when Berlusconi’s reign ended, Milan saw its ownership change twice in five years.
Some of its most elite players include Kaka, Andrea Pirlo, Andriy Shevchenko, Paulo Maldini, etc. The club is also known for producing some masterful tacticians like Arrigo Sacchi, Carlo Ancelotti, Massimiliano Allegri, etc. It is none other than AC Milan, which has a fierce rivalry with its breakaway faction, Inter Milan.
Club Sucursal de Madrid
This club was founded by a couple of Basque students residing in the Spanish capital. Originally founded as a youth branch of Athletic Bilbao, this club might have even surpassed its Basque sister in terms of fame and titles. The entity then again merged with a club from Zaragoza named Aviacion Nacional. The name that it got, i.e., Athletic Aviación de Madrid, sounds pretty similar to its present name.
The club got its present name in 1947, seven years after winning its first La Liga title. The entity has enjoyed decent success in Spain, winning 11 La Liga titles, which is the third-highest for any Spanish club. However, even after its brilliance and the sheer talent of its players, the club has yet to lift a UCL title. Its greatness has been overshadowed by the presence of two big giants of the game, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
The kit Atlético Madrid will wear to mark their 120-year anniversary. pic.twitter.com/yRkgSmsLer
— Get Spanish Football News (@GSpanishFN) April 24, 2023
After going through a struggling phase during the late 90s and 2000s, the club saw real growth after a certain former Argentine player took over the reins in 2011. This entity is none other than the Diego Simeone-led Atletico Madrid, known for producing players like Fernando Torres, Diego Godin, Paulo Futre, Luis Aragones, and more recently Antoine Griezmann.