Euro 2012: 25 Hardest Names to Pronounce in the Tournament

For about two weeks now, Euro 2012 has been underway.

The 16 finest footballing nations in Europe have been squaring off with each other, creating national and international heroes along the way.

But can you say these players' names?

With so many of Europe's representatives having different alphabets from our own, chances are you have run into a roadblock of consonants that you could not make heads nor tails of.

Perhaps it's because of the spelling.  Perhaps it's because it's a tongue twister.  Or, for the really good ones, perhaps it's both.

Here are the 25 toughest Euro 2012 names to pronounce with a pronunciation guide for each.

I promise not to pick on the Poles too much.

Note: For avid football fans, you may be familiar with a bunch of these names, but think back on the first time you saw them, and remember the difficulty. 

25. Rolando

Pronunciation: Rō-'lan-dō

Explanation 

Look, on it's own, Rolando is not a difficult name to pronounce.

However, when a man named Rolando is on the pitch for Portugal, I think everyone experiences that same moment of dyslexia and mistakes him for his more famous counterpart.

24. Yann M'Vila

Pronunciation: Yŏn Ĕm-'vē-lă

Explanation

That apostrophe can be slightly intimidating, but all you have to do is say the letter "m."

If you're a football fan, you may want to get used to this name; this 21-year-old midfielder could just be the future of French football.

23. Niko Kranjčar

Pronunciation: Nē'-kō 'Krăn-char

Explanation

That thing over the c in his last name?  It makes it similar to "ch" in "chair."

Oh, and you might as well just ignore that j.

22. Dirk Kuyt

Pronunciation: Derk Kout

Explanation

That "uy" in this flying Dutchman's name will trick you on first viewing.

After hearing it once, though, it's pretty easy to say.

21. Fábio Coentrão

Pronunciation: 'Fa-bē-ō Kō-in-'trow

Explanation

It doesn't seem like too tough of a name, but the middle syllable in the Portuguese player's name is short enough to miss or over-emphasize.

Commentators often miss that syllable, resulting in a pronunciation closer to "Kun-trow."

20. Anatoliy Tymoshchuk

Pronunciation: Ana-'to-lē Ti-mo-'sh-chuk

Explanation

This is a fairly straightforward name and is pronounced similarly to how it is spelled.

However, the adjacent "sh" and "ch" sounds are tough to do.

Ukrainian tongue twister.

19. Lasse Schøne

Pronunciation: 'Lass-uh 'ShŒ-nuh

Explanation

The slash through this Dane's name is not for decoration but it makes almost an "r" sound without using your tongue.

Think of the German phrase "Danke schöne."

18. Anthony Réveillère

Pronunciation: 'An-tō-nē Rā-'vā-yair

Explanation

If you don't know much about the French language, this Frenchman's name is a nightmare.

The "th" in his first name is not pronounced the same way we say "think," but is just a "t" sound.

The accent on the first "e" in his last name makes it sound like the "a" in take; the "ei" after the "v" is actually the same sound.

The "ll" makes almost a "y" sound, and the last three are just like the "air" we breathe.

17. Ognjen Vukojević

Pronunciation: 'Og-nyen Voo-'koi-ye-vich

Explanation

A Croatian with a "j" in his name is always tough, as you have to look at it as a "y."

Two in one name makes this a little tougher to read.

However, once you get used to that, it's not too bad. 

16. Phil Jagielka

Pronunciation: Fil Yag-ee-'el-ka

Explanation

Besides the "j" being a "y" sound, this name seems pretty easy.

The biggest difficulty associated with it, though, is the number of times it has changed over the years.

Commentators began by calling him "Jag-ee-el-ka," then he corrected them by saying it was "Ya-gel-ka."

People then even started saying "Ya-jel-ka" and "Ya-chel-ka," but it seems like everyone (including the player himself) has settled for the slightly Anglicized "Yag-ee-el-ka."

Confusing.

15. Xavi

Pronunciation: 'Shavē

Explanation

There may only be four letters in this name, but I have heard more pronunciations than that.

The problem comes from the "x," which is not pronounced similar to "j" or even "ch," but is an "sh" because he is a Catalonian.

Plus, the "v" is somewhere between our "v" and "b."

14. Xabi Alonso

Pronunciation: 'Sha-bē A'lon-zō

Explanation

While it's a similar four-letter word to his teammate and countryman, the fact that Xabi Alonso is Basque makes it a little different.

Still, the name is similar to Xavi's, with the "x" being a "sh" sound.  In this one, though, the "b" makes it clearer, as it should be pronounced as a "b."

Alonso is pretty straightforward.

13. Mesut Özil

Pronunciation: 'Mĕ-zut 'Œt-sil

Explanation

The first name of the great German playmaker isn't too bad.

It's really just that one letter that makes this name difficult: Ö.

The pronunciation is very similar to that of the "ø" in Lasse Schøne, but the fact that it is the first syllable of his last name makes it more difficult to say.

Again, try making an "r" sound like in "grr" but without moving your tongue.

12. Simon Kjær

Pronunciation: Si-'mon Kair

Explanation

That weird "ær" just becomes like "air."

That "j," well, just forget about it, and you'll be fine.

The real mistake would be pronouncing this Dane's name like the "chair" on which you sit.

11. Kim Källström

Pronunciation: Kim 'Chel-strum

Explanation

Despite how good this Swede is and how mainstream he is, people are still caught off guard by the fact that the "k" at the start of his last name is pronounced like a "ch."

Also, the "a" in his last name is more like the "e" in "best."

10. Yevhen Konoplyanka

Pronunciation: Yĕ-ven Kō-nō-'plē-ang-ka

Explanation

This young Ukrainian is set for big things, as talks have swirled around a possible move to Old Trafford or Anfield.

But what will they call him there?

Konoplyanka is pretty phonetic in it's pronunciation, but actually saying it is a task.

9. Šime Vrsaljko

Pronunciation: 'Shē-me Ver-'sa-lē-kō

Explanation

This one is mostly because of the amount of consecutive consonants in this Croatian's last name.

Also, the "j" that is really a long "e" makes this harder to see the first time.

8. Przemysław Tytoń

Pronunciation: Pshe-'mi-swaf  'Ti-ton-yuh

Explanation

The last name is not too hard for the backup keeper who performed heroics in Poland's first match.  The only thing to remember is that the "n" at the end has a little syllable at the end.

However, the first name is quite tough.

The "rz" is like an "sh," creating a problem right away as the first syllable starts with "Psh."

Also, the "ł" is like our "w" and the "w" like our "f."

Luckily, who needs to know first names?

But for fun, try saying it 10 times fast.

7. Wojciech Szczęsny

Pronunciation: Voy-check Sh-ch-ăz-nē

Explanation

Another Polish keeper provides another tough task for us English speakers.

The first name is tough to grasp from the letters but then becomes quite easy after a few hearings.

The last name, on the other hand, is tough enough that even English commentators of Arsenal matches still don't quite have it.

The first few letters amount to adjacent "sh" and "ch" sounds, while the e isn't like our "den" but rather our "van."

6. Benedikt Höwedes

Pronunciation: Bĕ-ne-dikt HŒ-vi-dus

Explanation

Think of the "o" sounds in Özil and Schøne.  Now realize that the name is longer, so you have to pronounce that syllable on the fly.

Also, the "w" is a "v," and those consecutive syllables with "e's" are pronounced ever so slightly differently.

Tough last name.

5. Grzegorz Wojtkowiak

Pronunciation: 'Gje-goj Voit-'ko-vē-ak

Explanation

The last name is full of consonants, but look at that first name.

Are you kidding me?

A hard "g" sound followed by a "j" sound?

It's basically the name "Gregor," but replace the "r's" with "j's."

4. İlkay Gündoğan

Pronunciation: Ēl-kī Gün-dō-an

Explanation

That first name doesn't look so bad, but this German's last name has some tough aspects to it.

First, the "ü" is not a sound we make very often in English.

Also, the "g" does not really make the type of "g" sound we would expect; in fact, you might as well ignore the "g" entirely.

However, this causes some trouble, as there are now two different vowel sounds (ō and ă) together.

Saying it slowly is possible; speeding it up is a different story.

3. Jakub Błaszczykowski

Pronunciation: 'Ya-kub Blash-chi-'kov-ski

Explanation

Quite a long last name there for the Polish captain.

What makes it even tougher is the "sh" and "ch" sounds right next to each other.

Still a tongue twister.

2. Jakub Wawrzyniak

Pronunciation: 'Ya-kub Vav-'zĕ-nyak

Explanation

Another Polish player with a last name with far too many consonants.

This time, the "r" is almost silent, which is not what you'd expect from those other Polish names.

To boot, this is one of the toughest tongue twisters on the list.

1. Sokratis Papasthathopoulos

Pronunciation: Sō-'kra-tēz Pa-pas-ta-'tho-poo-los

Explanation

So much about this name makes it the most difficult to pronounce in the tournament.

First of all, his last name is so long that it does not fit on the back of his jersey.

Furthermore, there are two consecutive syllables that start with "th," yet those two letters are pronounced differently in both.

Finally, it's a tongue twister of the highest level.

Commentators everywhere were overjoyed when he got a red card in his first match.

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