Manchester United go into their Europa League last-32 second-leg game against Club Bruges at Old Trafford tonight, with a slight advantage, after their 1-1 draw in Belgium last week gave them an important away goal, but the big news is that the Red Devils'captain, Harry Maguire, has said that the most-decorated Belgian team's name is spelt in a stupid way.
Maguire, 26, was interviewed by TheSpoof.com after training on Wednesday, and complained:
"If it is pronounced in the way the Belgian fans seem to prefer, then it should be spelt "B-R-O-O-S-H". I think it's very misleading."
He went on:
"If we are going to spell it "Bruges", then we should be saying "Broojiz", not "Broosh", in my opinion."
But others pronounce Bruges differently.
Even in Belgium (Bell-jum) itself, pronunciation varies from area to area.
In parts of the country near the border with France, locals say "Brooje", rhymng with the French word 'rouge' (red), but in areas close to the Luxemburg border, Brugge - BROO-GUH is favoured.
Others say it is "Brügguh" with a short 'u' like in 'brunch', a soft 'g' sound that sounds more like 'ch' (like in 'loch') and the final 'e' that sounds as 'uh'.
In Germany, people frequently refer to the town as "Brüzj", the pronunciation of which is anybody's guess.
Fortunately, nobody had told the United captain that the club's full name is Club Brugge Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging.
Maguire said:
"It's confusing, but it won't bother many people after we put the Walloon bastards out tonight!"
