A
ustrian professional football club LASK Linz has confirmed that 18-year-old Jakob Wanker has signed a long-term deal with the club.
In the UK, when fans shout Wanker from the stands, you can be sure that they aren’t happy with what someone has done on the pitch. But when fans of LASK Linz shout “Wanker” from the stands, they are cheering on their favourite player.
We shouldn’t make fun of foreigners and their sometimes weird or unpronounceable names, and I hope this post is taken with the good humour it’s intended. I’m sure some English names are hilarious to them and to us. I use some of those names in my Cockaigne Chronicles series. Have you ever known a Mr Growcock or a Mr Cockburn (pronounced Coburn)? Or was Wayne Kerr your best friend at school?
So, while we smile at his name, we should also congratulate him and wish him a full and successful career as a footballer.

I’d do a circle jerk in the changing rooms with him any time he likes…. lovely vignette, thanks, David. Paul x