Well, it is normal for footballers to have nicknames by which they are referred to alternatively, however their real names still remain their major way of identification. For instance, Kanu Nwankwo was nicknamed 'Papilo,' Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was nicknamed 'The Baby-faced Assasin,' Roberto Baggio was nicknamed 'The Divine Ponytail' and Alex Morgan was nicknamed 'Baby Horse.' However, these footballers are still widely recognized by their real names.
But in the case of many Brazilian footballers, this is not the case, as their nicknames are more popular than their real names. I'm sure thousands of football fans do not know the real names of players like Pele, Dida and Cafu. In fact, they probably assumed these names are the players' real names. So why do a lot of Brazilian players prefer to go by their nicknames?
Well, personally, I think the main explanation for this is that Brazilian player names are usually long and complicated and the fans, most especially fans outside Brazil, may have trouble trying to familiarize with such names. So the players decided to adopt nicknames that their international fans will recognize quite easily.
So here are some Brazilian footballers who most people know by their nicknames, as opposed to their real names. There are many more, but these are ten who are very popular.
1. Nickname: Ronaldinho
Real Name: Ronaldo de Assis Moreira
2. Nickname: Kaka
Real Name: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite
3. Nickname: Pele
Real Name: Edson Arantes do Nascimento
4. Nickname Hulk:
Real Name: Givanildo Vieira de Sousa
5. Nickname: Dida
Real Name: Nelson de Jesus Silva
6. Nickname: Garrincha
Real Name: Manuel Francisco dos Santos
7. Nickname: Cafu
Real Name: Marcos Evangelista de Morais
8. Nickname: Juninho
Real Name: Antonio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Junior
9. Nickname: Bebeto
Real Name: Jose Roberto Gama de Oliveira
10. Nickname: Zico
Real Name: Arthur Antunes Coimbra
Content created and supplied by: Kamsiwrites (via Opera News )
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