In Nantes, the nickname of Canari is immediately associated with FC Nantes. Some 170 kilometers northwest of the City of the Dukes, “hake” and FC Lorient are inseparable. Like the Aiglons in Nice, the Sochaux Lionceaux or the LOSC Mastiffs. In the written press, on the radio or during discussions between friends or enthusiasts, animal nicknames are entered the lexicon of sport and in particular of football. And if for certain clubs like Lorient, which moves to the Beaujoire stadium this Sunday afternoon, the associations are obvious, for others like the Canaries, the origin of the nickname seems much fuzzier.Explanations.
Nicknames, a journalistic crutch to avoid repetition
We have to go back to the beginning of the last century to begin to see animal names flourish on the old continent. Off to 1930s Italy.”At that time, Carlin [surnom donné à Carlo Bergoglio, ndlr], is a designer, also director of Guerin Sportivo, explains Paul Dietschy, professor of history at the University of Franche-Comté and author of a “soccer history“. He particularly likes animal metaphors and associates, for example, the zebra with the Juventus Turin club which plays with a black and white striped jersey.. The Torino is associated with the image of the bull, symbol of the city, and it allows to synthetically represent a group through an animal metaphor.”
Over the years, the idea, which also germinated in England, crossed the Alps and the English Channel and in the interwar period, several clubs were already decked out with an animal nickname, like the Penguins of Racing Club of Paris. “It is very largely journalists who develop an imagination to embellish the chronicle of sport and give it a certain legendary side., continues Paul Dietschy. It’s also a way to associate a club with something other than just a city..”
In Morbihan, it will be hake, a historic specialty of the Port of Lorient and which has always appeared on the club’s logo. As for Nantes, it’s another matter. “The nickname ‘Canary’ is linked to the colors of the jersey, assures Didier Hemion, passionate about the history of the club he has supported since 1972 and known for his collection of more than 600 Nantes jerseys. The players were first nicknamed ‘Buttercups’ but it didn’t seem long before they were called the ‘Canaries’.”
A nickname imported from Norwich, England?
It is in the daily La Résistance de l’Ouest, ancestor of Presse Océan, dated September 11, 1956 and more precisely in an article signed by Pierre Lautrey, founding member of FC Nantes, that we find one of the first mentions of the nickname “Canaris“, in reference to the Nantes players. “In his text, he talks about the ‘Canaries’ in quotation marks, explaining that they must play better if they want to beat their next opponent, namely Toulon”, explains Philippe Laurent, now head of the archives and heritage department at the eight-time champion club of France. Before that, journalists most often wrote “FCN“, “Nantes” Where “FC Nantes” to designate the teams trained by Antoine Gorius, Émile Veinante or Anton Raab, then in the second division.
As for knowing why the Canaries and not another animal, the most probable hypothesis finds its source across the Channel. “You have to look near Norwich, England, tries Philippe Laurant. The club plays in the same colors as those of Nantes and, there, the players are called “the Canaries“. Is it Pierre Lautrey or another journalist who imported this name in France? I think we are close to the truth.” A nickname that the people of Nantes have gradually appropriated over the years and which is now an integral part of the great history of FC Nantes. Along with its colors.
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