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The 'Baby-Faced Assassin' and other memorable footballer nicknames

The 'Baby-Faced Assassin' and other memorable footballer nicknames
© Reuters
The Norwegian's super-sub status won him the nickname the 'Baby-Faced Assassin' due to his youthful looks and killer instincts in the box.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken over as Manchester United's caretaker manager  until the end of the season after the club dismissed Jose Mourinho.

Solskjaer had an uncanny knack of bailing United out of trouble as a player and Sir Alex Ferguson would regularly summon the striker from the bench if his side needed a goal.

The Norwegian's super-sub status won him the nickname the 'Baby-Faced Assassin' due to his youthful looks and killer instincts in the box.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at some other memorable footballer nicknames.

George Best – The Fifth Beatle

George Best
George Best outside his Bridge Street boutique, Edwardia in 1970 (PA Photos/PA Archive)

The Northern Ireland and United winger was dubbed the Fifth Beatle as he used his wealth and celebrity status to pursue a lifestyle that saw him open his own nightclubs, restaurants and clothes shops at the time to rival the fame of The Beatles.

Fitz Hall – One Size

(One size fits all) Former English defender – at 6ft 4in – who counted Crystal Palace and QPR amongst his former clubs before he ended his career at Watford in 2014.

Stuart Pearce – Psycho

Stuart Pearce
Nottingham Forest captain Stuart Pearce played with an aggressive style (David Jones/PA)

Former England and Nottingham Forest defender Pearce was given the name Psycho due to his aggressive style of play.

Javier Hernandez – Chicharito (Little Pea)

It could be thought that West Ham striker Hernandez is know as Chicharito due to his height of 5ft 7in – but you would be wrong. The Mexico international's father Javier Guttierez was nicknamed Chicharo (pea) because of his striking green eyes so his son inherited the name, being a mini-version of his father.

Eric Cantona – The King

Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona remains one of Manchester United's greatest players ever (PA Archive)

Manchester United fans gave Frenchman Cantona this nickname because of the way he bossed play and was the king on the pitch. He remains to this day one of the club's greatest players.

David James – Calamity James

Former Liverpool, Manchester City, Portsmouth and England goalkeeper James was given the unfortunate name of The Beano comic strip's Calamity James, who always seems to have disastrous luck, following a number of footballing blunders during his playing career.

Sergio Aguero – Kun

Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero was given the nickname by his grandparents (Nick Potts/PA)

Manchester City's Argentina international was given the nickname Kun – from a popular cartoon series – by his grandparents because they thought he looked like the main character.

Arjen Robben – Der Mann aus Glas (The Man of Glass)

Bayern Munich midfielder Robben was named the Man of Glass because of his susceptibility to injury in a playing career during which he has earned an impressive 96 caps for Holland.

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Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe applauds his side on December 4, 2018
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1815303973248
2Manchester CityMan City18142250133744
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs18140437181942
4Chelsea18114335152037
5Arsenal18114340241637
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd188553430429
7Watford188372525027
8Bournemouth188282728-126
9Leicester CityLeicester187472221125
10Wolverhampton WanderersWolves187471921-225
11Everton186662628-224
12West Ham UnitedWest Ham187382527-224
13Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton186392026-621
14Crystal Palace1853101725-818
15Newcastle UnitedNewcastle184591422-817
16Southampton183691933-1415
17Cardiff CityCardiff1842121838-2014
18Burnley1833121636-2012
19Huddersfield TownHuddersfield1824121131-2010
20Fulham1824121642-2610

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