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Nearly every Leicester City player past and present has a nickname.

Most of these monikers are based around the surname, like Madders, or Chilly, or Simmo. But some have less obvious origins.

Here's a look at a few of the more obscure City nicknames from over the years.

‘Sharky’ – Marc Albrighton

Rather harshly, the Leicester winger is known around the training ground as Sharky due to the similarities between a shark fin and his supposedly large and pointy nose.

When speaking to Tubes on Soccer AM back in 2015, Albrighton gave some insight into the name.

Tubes revealed to Albrighton that Jamie Vardy had told him to greet the winger with the name Sharky, although the Soccer AM presenter said: "I think you've got a nice nose."

Albrighton replied: "Yeah I do. I can’t see what’s wrong with it. I think the press is terrible about it.

"It came from Villa. I tried to lose the name when making the move to Leicester. But it’s a small world and people talk."

‘Spider’ - Zeljko Kalac

Standing at 6ft 8ins tall, the former Leicester shot-stopper’s nickname Spider stayed with the Australian throughout his career, stemming from his gangly arms and legs.

Kalac told FourFourTwo: “When they used to shoot and I'd make a save, they'd all say, ‘How did this Spider save that? There's nothing of him, he's just arms and legs.'"

In the 1995-96 play-off final against Crystal Palace, Kalac was brought on by Martin O’Neill, with the aim of using Spider in a possible penalty shootout, only for Steve Claridge to pop up with a last-minute winner.

‘Rooster’ – Kevin Russell

The former City striker’s nickname Rooster is said to derive from his hairstyle choices in his younger days.

"Rooster was my nickname since I was seven years of age. It stuck at Leicester because (former City player) Micky Kennedy was at Portsmouth when everyone called me Rooster. When I came to Stoke, Micky was there as well." Russell said in an interview with the club in 2018.

Russell was a popular player among fans during his time at the club, scoring in both of the Second Division play-off semi-finals against Cambridge United in the 1991-92 season.

(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

‘Bruno’ – Emile Heskey

Stemming from his Leicester days, Heskey’s apparent resemblance to boxer Frank Bruno resulted in such a nickname by fellow team-mates and fans.

“It is what it is – the fans gave it to me. I was a big lad at 17, 18 – maybe 13 or 14 stone, but fast. It kind of just fitted,” Heskey said when interviewed by FourFourTwo in 2018.

‘Radio W*****’ – Jamie Vardy

It’s rather unsurprising that a nickname involving expletive language refers to Leicester’s very own Jamie Vardy.

Former manager Claudio Ranieri chose the nickname due to the striker’s incessant talking.

‘Viktor Navorski’ - Riyad Mahrez

The 2015-16 PFA Player of the Year left the club after years of sumptuous performances but not without his former team-mates reportedly handing the Algerian winger the nickname Viktor Navorski.

Mahrez spent his final two years at the club surrounded by transfer speculation, with Leicester rejecting bids from the likes of Roma and his now current club Manchester City.

It’s said his Leicester team-mates decided upon the nickname due to Mahrez’s time spent in airports, much like the character Viktor Navorski, played by Tom Hanks in the 2004 film The Terminal.

In the film, Navorski spends time stuck inside JFK Airport, being denied entry into the United States and unable to return home due to a military coup.

Mahrez was supposedly readying himself for possible moves to any of the big European clubs interested in his transfer.

‘Teddy Bear’ - Wilfred Ndidi

Wilfred Ndidi has become one of the first names on the team sheet during his short time at the club, a midfield powerhouse that Brendan Rodgers can build around.

The nickname Teddy Bear is therefore slightly strange, considering the Nigerian's all-action displays since his move from Genk.

“They call me the Teddy Bear because people always try to get to me and try to have fun with me," Ndidi told the Leicester Mercury.

"The players have helped me on and off the pitch, but they make fun of me and play with me.”

‘Cuchu’ - Esteban Cambiasso

Although the Argentinian's days as one of Europe’s best midfielders were behind him, Esteban Cambiasso will always be remembered at Leicester; playing a pivotal role in the club's 2014-15 Premier League relegation escape under Nigel Pearson.

Cambiasso was handed the nickname Cuchu at a young age, due to his resemblance to a popular television character.

"It was a personality on Argentine television," said Cambiasso. "A nice guy famous for his jokes.

"When El Cuchu was hugely popular in my country I was a boy. I was five or six, so I can only just about remember him. Later on it was my team-mates that gave me this nickname.

"I like it because it's true that I'm a nice and warm person every day, but it's different on the pitch. You need to be useful to the team and... unpleasant to the opponents."

(Image: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

‘Slabhead’ - Harry Maguire

Created by Vardy, noticing the larger-than-average size of his team-mate's head, Harry Maguire’s nickname Slabhead is one of the most well-known around.

“Yeah, I blame my dad," said Maguire when asked of his nickname by Gabby Logan.

The centre-half’s nickname certainly hasn’t held him back, however.

It was off Maguire’s very own Slabhead that England opened the scoring in the World Cup quarter-final against Sweden last summer.