Brazilian wonderkids are picking more extravagant nicknames than ever: meet Playboy, Popcorn and Jameson
The best nicknames from Brazil's Junior Football Cup, the Copinha, have been revealed
BRAZILIANS have always drawn on nicknames.
The tradition goes back to the country's days as a Portuguese colony - in the Portuguese tradition, people have four names, making it difficult to differentiate one person from the next.
The tradition sees people getting at least a given name - which is often to to include a Saint's name - then their mother's surname and then their father's.
In 2010, Lyris Wiedemann, a Brazilian in charge of the Portuguese language programme at Stanford University in the US, revealed that all Brazilians use nicknames as a term of affection, right up to the President.
"We don't use the last names," Wiedemann told the Daily Telegraph, "it reflects a trait in the culture that's more personalised.
"We care about the person, and the person is not the family name. It's who they are."
BEST NAMES FROM THE COPINHA
Named after current/former players
- Ganso (after the Sevilla midfielder, also means goose)
- Clayvert (Patrick Kluivert)
- Aplilia (Faustino Asprilla)
- Rivelino
- Ka Ka (Kaka)
- Gullit (Ruud Gullit)
- Etoo (Samuel Eto'o)
- Guti
- Tafarel (Claudio Taffarel)
- Illgner (Bodo Illgner)
- Matthaus (Luthar Matthaus)
- Lucas Dimaria (Angel Di Maria)
- Balotelli (Mario Balotelli)
- Pelezinho (Pele, means Little Pele)
Named after other people
- Bozo (Bozo the Clown)
- Jhordan (Michael Jordan)
- Rusevel (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
- Bam Bam (Flinstones character)
- Jheikson (Jackson, presumably Michael)
Named after food/drink
- Manjuba (anchovies)
- Farinha (flour)
- Mingau (porridge)
- Pitoco (popcorn)
- Halls (cough sweets)
- Pimentinha (little pepper)
- Macarrao (noodles)
- Jheymmyson (Jameson whiskey)
Named after an animal or nature
- Abelha (bee)
- Barata (cockroach)
- Jacare (alligator)
- Matheus Pitbull (pitbull dog)
- Montanha (mountain)
- Chumbo (lead, the element)
Named after body parts
- Cabecinha (little head)
- Maozinha (little hand)
- Lucas Pezao (literally Lucas Bigfoot)
- Parrudo (muscular, well built)
- Bodao (big body)
Named after something else/self-explanatory
- Espeto (spit)
- Darling
- Barcelona (the club/city)
- Motor
- Cego (blind)
- Gasolina (petrol)
- Joao Aleluia (like Hallelujah)
- Mito (legend or myth)
- Matheus Barba (beard)
- Lutador (fighter/warrior)
- Mocorongo (someone from the countryside)
- Favela (the famous slums)
- Madruga (morning)
- Broca (electric drill)
- Gibi (cmic)
- Catatao (a lot of/handful)
In a category of his own
- 6D (??????)
Brazilian footballers have also long drawn on the name shortening.
The Selecao's first superstar Manuel Francisco dos Santos was more commonly known as Garrincha - little bird.
As the years went on the names had to become more diverse, with stars not wanting to be confused for their players from older generations.
Then we come to Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
You may think which two players we're talking about... but we're actually talking about three.
Bare this in mind so you don't get too confused at the next bit - 'inho' is little while 'ao' is big.
At the 1994 World Cup, the future Inter Milan and Real Madrid striker Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima was known as Ronaldinho (Little Ronaldo), as there was an older striker in the squad named Ronaldo.
Sometimes he was nicknamed Ronaldao (Big Ronaldo).
When he retired, Ronaldinho became Ronald0 (the deadliest striker in the world for a long time).
Then in 1999, Ronaldo de Assis Moreira came along.
The buck-toothed star, who would later go on to win the Ballon d'Or with Barcelona, was initially named Ronaldinho Gaucho (from the area where he came) to distinguish himself.
He then dropped the Gaucho to become the Little Ronaldo who mesmerised the world at the Nou Camp.
And breathe.
This year's crop of players appears to have gone a step further, getting their nicknames from all kinds of weird and wonderful places.
There's those based on current and former players - Pelezinho (Little Pele), Ka Ka (Kaka), Etoo (Samuel Eto'o) and Balotelli (Mario Balotelli).
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Some are based on athletes from other sports such as Jhordan (Michael Jordan) or TV shows, like Bam Bam (The Flinstones).
Rusevel and Jhonkaermeson even seem to be a Brazilian spellings of former US diplomats- World War II President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the much more obscure John K. Emmerson.
Food and drink gets a great showing with Farinha (flour), Mingau (porridge), Pitoco (Popcorn), Macarrao (Noodles) and Jheymmyson - for the Irish whiskey Jameson.
The likes of Playboy, Gasolina, Darling, Motor and Barcelona need little explanation.
Why a player would decide that Espeto (spit), Jipinho (little Jeep) or 6D (no idea) would be a good idea, no one knows.
The players will all be taking part in the Copinha, Brazil's Youth Cup, that includes sides from all the top teams.