I happen to agree with maestro here. I'l try to give brief answers to why on all your suggestions. Please don't take offense guys. It's not my intent.
C2Cigars - The word "University" isn't the same example. A better example would be the word "State". There is a difference between Michagan and Michagen State. Not all soccer teams have "FC" or "CF". Some have AC (AC Milan), CD(CD Leganes), SC(Orlando City SC). They stand for Athletic Club, Club Deportivo, and Soccer Club respectfully. The abreviations can go on for ever. AFC, UD, RCD, and so on. They all mean something different.
cnagle - If you notice, it does say FC on the card here,
http://www.tradingcarddb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/57462/cid/2037540/1996-Panini-Estrellas-Europeas-65-Eric-Cantona?PageIndex=1
The problem with using the common name is that it depends on which language the card is written in. The example I"ve shown here is a Spanish Panini set that's pretty popular among collectors of all languages. And here's the kick in the butt, it also has a Russian version. Also keep in mind we don't use "NY Yanks" or "Ole Miss" here in the database for New York Yankees or the University of Mississippi.
garychap - Yes. You are correct. In England they eliminate the FC at the end. However, there's a lot more leagues here. We have to take into account that every team is not always written in English here. In AFC Ajax the "A" does not stand for association or athletic. It stands for "Amsterdamsche". We can't assume that all the letters used in the abreviations are the same words all the time, even when they're at the end of the team name.
The reason I agree with maestro is that when we look for draws in European competitions, UEFA (and FIFA, currently for the club world cup) uses the most basic ways to identify teams so that all the languages in Europe can understand the draw. It's the most logical universal measuring stick we have in this case (I think). Why not use it here?