From Neymar to Marcelo, why Brazilian players bear nicknames
From the president to the kid kicking a ball around in the street, everyone has a nickname in Brazil.
It’s part of the culture in the South American country, which stems from the days of Portuguese colonisation.
In Portuguese tradition a person has four names – so nicknames are common to avoid the potential mouthful.
For example, we all know the name Kaka – but he’s actually called Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite.
What are all their World Cup players’ real names? Find out below as chronicled by The Sun:
1 Alisson – Alisson Ramses Becker
2 Ederson – Ederson Santana de Moraes
3 Cassio – Cassio Ramos
4 Miranda – Joo Miranda de Souza Filho
5 Marquinhos – Marcos Aoás Corrêa
6 Thiago Silva – Thiago Emiliano da Silva
7 Geromel Gremio – Pedro Tonon Geromel
8 Marcelo – Marcelo Vieira da Silva Júnior
9 Fagner – Fagner Conserva Lemos
10 Danilo – Danilo Luiz da Silva
11 Filipe Luis – Filipe LuÃs Kasmirski
12 Casemiro – Carlos Henrique Casimiro
13 Fernandinho – Fernando Luiz Roza
14 Paulinho – José Paulo Bezerra Maciel Júnior
15 Renato Augusto – Renato Soares de Oliveira Augusto
16 Philippe Coutinho – Philippe Coutinho Correia
17 Willian – Willian Borges da Silva
18 Fred – Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos
19 Neymar – Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior
20 Douglas Costa – Douglas Costa de Souza
21 Roberto Firmino – Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira
22 Gabriel Jesus – Gabriel Fernando de Jesus