By Renata Leite, FootballPredictions.NET, 14:40 13/11/2020
Updated at: 09:57 18/02/2021
Premier League outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers enhanced their reputation in European football in recent years by reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League in the elongated 2019/20 season.
Wolverhampton Wanderers are called ‘The Dingles’ by the fans of the other clubs that occupy the West Midlands, such as West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham City, Aston Villa and Walsall. The name is taken from a family that featured on British soap Emmerdale in the 1990s.
It has become a common occurrence for British football fans to refer to their rivals as The Dingles since the mid-1990s.
Wolverhampton Wanderers and The Dingles nickname
The Dingles are a fictional family that has featured in the popular British soap opera Emmerdale since 1994.
Whilst it is not known when and why the connection was made between Wolves and the family, the Molineux side has been referred to as such by their neighbours since the mid-1990s.
The most frequent users of the name are fans of West Bromwich Albion, Wolves’ main rivals and their opponents in the Black Country Derby.
REPLAY: Lydia and Vinny officially become Dingles when they drink from the welly #Emmerdale pic.twitter.com/APUUNYxnjs
The two clubs have traditionally competed at the same level of English football in their recent history. Additionally, fellow Midlands sides Aston Villa, Birmingham City and Walsall. ‘
The Dingles’ is also used outside of the Midlands, with fans of Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End, West Ham United and Swansea City all known to refer to their rivals as ‘The Dingles’.
The club’s traditional nicknames are more widely known
Originally founded in 1877 as St. Luke’s FC by pupils at St. Luke’s Church School, the club became Wolverhampton Wanderers two years later after merging with local cricket club Blakenhall Wanderers.
As a result, the club has since adopted ‘The Wanderers’ as a nickname. The use of Wanderers in the name of sports teams comes from those sides playing as a group of gentlemen who travelled around the country to compete for pleasure rather than to win during the late 19th century.
As well as Wolves, the Football League also currently features two other Wanderers, in the form of Championship side Wycombe and Bolton of League Two. In addition, the first winners of the FA Cup were a team called Wanderers.
The Wolves mantra was derived from the club’s name which comes from the city in which they originate. A wolf first appeared on a Wolves kit during the 1970s, before the animal was incorporated into the club badge during the 1980s.
Nowadays, an image of a wolf is the focal point of the club crest, and the side are known better as Wolves than they are Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Wolves nickname popular amongst clubs in Europe and Latin America
As well as being one of several Wanderers in the English Football League, Wolverhampton Wanderers are far from being the only club known as Wolves in European and world football.
Austrian Bundesliga sides Wolfsberger AC and SKN St. Polten both share the nickname, and a wolf also adorns their club crests.
Three-time and reigning Danish Superliga champions FC Midtjylland have been known as The Wolves since their formation in 1999. The club features in Liverpool’s Champions League group this season.
Italian giants AS Roma are arguably the biggest club to be referred to as Wolves or The Wolves. Whilst more commonly known as the Giallorossi due to their traditional colours of red and yellow, their crest does feature a she-wolf and her cubs.
Founded in 1927, they have won a total of 17 trophies during their 93-year history.
In South America, Argentinian Primera Division outfit Gimnasia have coined the nickname El Lobo, or The Wolf. Gimnasia has been managed by Diego Maradona since 2019 and was first founded in 1887.
Back in Europe, Russian Premier League side Akhmat Grozny are another who go by the mantra of The Wolves. The club is based in the capital of the wartorn federal republic of Chechnya.