20 footballers whose names aren't really what you think they are

Footballers' names

Pelé was one of the greatest footballers to ever play the game, but many people won’t even have heard of his real name: Edson Arantes do Nascimento.

He’s not the only Brazilian player who’s commonly known by a shorter epithet (‘Kaka’ is certainly less of a mouthful than Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite), and there are numerous other examples of footballers whose names aren’t really what you think they are.

Tammy Abraham

The Chelsea loanee has caught the eye for Swansea at times this season, although he’s struggled for game time under Carlos Carvalhal in recent weeks. The striker may not be part of the Portuguese’s first-choice XI at present, but Kevin Oghenetega Tamaraebi Bakumo-Abraham surely ranks near the top of the Swansea list as far as names are concerned.

Adebayo Akinfenwa

The burly Wycombe striker is referred to as “The Beast” by many supporters, while others know him by what his actually his middle name. The ex-Wimbledon and Northampton frontman was christened Saheed Adebayo Akinfenwa.

Frank and Ronald de Boer

The Dutch twins played together for Ajax, Barcelona, Rangers and the Netherlands, with Franciscus De Boer later moving into first-team management with Ajax, Inter and Crystal Palace, and Ronaldus De Boer spending a brief period coaching in Qatar.

Sol Campbell

The ex-Tottenham, Arsenal and England defender once described himself as “one of the greatest minds in football” after missing out on the Oxford managerial job. Given his past, that’s unlikely to be the last we hear of Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell.

John Charles

Arguably the greatest Welsh player of all-time, the ex-Juventus and Leeds striker-cum-defender won three Serie A titles in Turin and is widely regarded as one of the Bianconeri’s best ever foreign signings. Bet you didn’t know he was actually called William John Charles, did you?

Alan Curbishley

The bookies’ favourite for every vacant managerial job in the Premier League between 2008 and 2012? Former Charlton and West Ham boss Llewellyn Charles Curbishley. That’s right, ‘Alan’ isn’t Alan at all.

Louis van Gaal

"The fans are shouting every week: 'Louis van Gaal's army!'", exclaimed the Dutchman during one of his many entertaining press conferences as Manchester United manager. Even if Red Devils wanted to sing Aloysius Paulus Maria van Gaal's full name, they'd have struggled to find a tune to fit.

Joe Hart

West Ham’s loanee goalkeeper is struggling for game time in the Premier League this season, a situation which looks set to cost him a place in England’s World Cup team. Perhaps a rebrand is in order – demanding to be known as Charles Joseph John Hart from this day forward could inspire an upturn in the custodian’s fortunes.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

“Oh Jimmy, Jimmy,” sang the Chelsea fans whenever the Dutch striker hammered home another goal in their colours. It turns out ‘Jimmy’ was nothing more than a nickname, though: the former Leeds, Atletico Madrid and Middlesbrough man was christened Jerrel Floyd Hasselbaink.

Shaka Hislop

We always thought the former Newcastle, West Ham and Portsmouth goalkeeper had one of the coolest Christian names in the Premier League, but in fact the opposite is true. Neil Shaka Hislop played 221 games in England’s top flight and currently works as a pundit for ESPN in the United States.

Pierre van Hooijdonk

Best known in England for going on strike at Nottingham Forest in the late 1990s, Petrus Ferdinandus Johannes van Hooijdonk won silverware at Celtic, Feyenoord and Fenerbahce in an 18-year playing career. The Dutchman also earned 46 caps for his country and was part of the Netherlands squad for the 1998 World Cup.

Mark Hughes

The Welshman was sacked by Stoke in January 2018 after failing to keep the Potters clear of relegation trouble in the Premier League. His P45 presumably featured the ex-Manchester United and Chelsea striker’s full, legal name: Leslie Mark Hughes. As he explained to FourFourTwo in 2007, "Leslie is my father's name. I was going to be Mark Leslie Hughes, but maybe it looked better on the birth certificate."

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar

It’s relatively common for people to shorten their Christian name, but the Ajax striker decided to do something different by dropping one of his monikers and reversing the order of the other two. The Dutchman’s official name is Dirk Jan Klaas Huntelaar.

Kevin Keegan

Idolised by Liverpool fans as a player and Newcastle supporters as a manager, ‘King Kev’ is another football personality better known by his middle name. Joseph Kevin Keegan is what's on his birth certificate, but 'King Joe' doesn't have quite the same ring.

Bixente Lizarazu

Institutionalised racism ahoy! The ex-Bordeaux and Bayern Munich defender told FourFourTwo in 2017 that he once came close to joining Manchester United, but the Lilliputian left-back didn’t reveal the fact that his name is officially Vincent Lizarazu. The 97-time France international won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 with his country, but he comes from proud Basque stock – so imagine their horror when the registrar refused to record his birth name as Bixente and filed him under the French equivalent instead.

John Lukic

The former Arsenal and Leeds goalkeeper was born in Chesterfield and even won a cap for England B in 1990, but his parents were from Yugoslavia. That doesn’t only explain his surname, but his real first name – Jovan – too.

Ruud van Nistelrooy

The former Manchester United marksman used to be serenaded by chants of “Ruuuuuuuuuud!” whenever he found the back of the net for the Red Devils. Ruud, it turns out, is short for Rutgerus Martinius Johannes van Nistelrooy.

Charlie Oatway

Take a deep breath before reading the former Brighton midfielder’s full name: Anthony Philip David Terry Frank Donald Stanley Gerry Gordon Stephen James Oatway. He has 11 official monikers to choose from because his parents opted to name him after QPR's 1973 team, but the Shanghai Shenhua analyst rejected them all in favour of ‘Charlie’.

Harry Redknapp

We hope you’re sitting comfortably for this one: ‘Arry isn’t ‘Arry at all. The former Bournemouth, West Ham, Tottenham and Portsmouth boss was christened Henry James Redknapp, with “Harry” nothing more than a nickname.

Jaap Stam

The Dutchman was one of the best – and hardest – centre-backs the Premier League has seen, winning three titles in a row with Manchester United before his premature sale to Lazio. Currently in charge of Reading, Jakob Stam is under pressure amidst an underwhelming campaign in the Championship.