LONDON -- When Laurie Cunningham, the former West Bromwich Albion winger, joined Real Madrid in the 1980s, the Spanish pronounced his surname "Coon-ingham." This was shortened to "Cunny" or "Coony" as they said it, just as Steve McManaman became Macca.
In England "coon" is a slang, derogatory word for a black man. While the Spanish, in their innocence, meant no insult toward Cunning ham, who died later in a car accident in Spain, it was hard for him to accept being called "Coony."