What about Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite? Does this name ring a bell?
Or, and this is my favourite one, who is Arthur Antunes Coimbra? This one is particularly difficult and unless you google it I doubt you know this one.
Let me put you out of your misery.
The first name, I am sure sports and particularly football (soccer) fans will know is Pele.
Next, Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite. Maybe you have recognised that this is also possibly a Brazilian name and maybe this person is a football player too, Well, you would be correct. This is Kaka. He also played for Brazil from 2002 to 2016.
Finally, Arthur Antunes Coimbra. Care to guess? Socrates? Ronaldo? Cafu? Hulk? Ronaldinho? Dunga? Drum roll please. (Scroll down to reveal the answer.)
This is Zico.
This is one of my earliest memories of the FIFA World Cup. Zico's brilliant goal against the All Whites (New Zealand).
In Brazilian culture it is not unusual for people to use nicknames as a show of affection. You can see with the above names that you have three or four or more names to remember so the nickname is easier to remember. In the case of the above football players it can almost be considered a brand.
Apparently, even a former president of the country was recognised by his nickname, Lula.
I think nicknames are good. It makes these players more human and it allows the fans to associate with them better. I hate it when you have to use a title to address someone. Their parents didn't name their children, Your Majesty or Bucho or Mr. President. Why do we need to use that title? I think it is ridiculous.
I think also having a nickname or a brand or something similar allows you to stand out from the crowd. It allows you to create who you are as opposed to just some faceless person in the crowd.
I wonder if Edson Arantes do Nascimento would have been as well known today if he didn't have the nickname Pele. There is no doubt, but I'm sure that the name Pele added to his aura.
What are you going to be known as?
No comments:
Post a Comment