What's the deal with Brazilian names and soccer (football)?

[Chez_Guevara]

@Colophon

Quite a few foreign players in the English league have their first names on their shirts rather than their surnames. But, typically, I can only think of one right now, Benjani Mwaruwari of Portsmouth.

Other examples which spring to mind are (a) Cameroonian international Lauren, aka Laureano Bisan-Etame Mayer, also of Portsmouth and (b) Nigerian Yakubu Aiyegbeni formerly with Portsmouth and now playing for Middlesbrough.

[One_And_Only_Wanderers]

@Dominic Mulligan

Stelios, a Greek national player, who plays for Bolton Wanderers, has recently used his first name instead of his surname, due to its length.

Another Bolton player, Iranian Andranik Teymourian is using Andranik on his shirts, and his surname ain’t even that long.

[Wee_Bairn]

@One And Only Wanderers

Another Bolton player, Iranian Andranik Teymourian is using Andranik on his shirts, and his surname ain’t even that long.

And it was very very cool of the Bolton fans to embrace him after he scored twice, a week after the hostage incident.

[bordelond]

It’s already been confirmed that folks of non-Brazilian nationalities occasionally go with the single surname. I’ll add another one, though – the Serbian footballer Predrag Radosavljević , known as Preki, was an MISL star in the 80s, played in the Premiership for Everton in the early 90s, and then in the MLS for Kansas City in the late 90s.