The Longest Name In European Football

Celtic's Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink has the longest name in European football. It derives from the 17th Century when two farming families in the Enschede area of Holland intermarried. Both the Vennegoor and Hesselink names carried equal social weight, and so - rather than choose between them - they chose to use both. 'Of' in Dutch actually translates to 'or'. I have to admit that it looks much better if the name were double-barrelled.

It must cost a small fortune to have his name put on the back of replica shirts, and he will probably escape a lot of bookings, as referees will not want to go to the bother of writing his name in their books!