👶🏽 Children's Day special: Football's 'childish' names and nicknames 🇧🇷

👶🏽 Children's Day special: Football's 'childish' names and nicknames 🇧🇷 Children's Day, celebrated on October 12, was officially established in Brazil in 1924. It began with a political and social purpose: to discuss and defend children's rights, health and protection. And over the years, it took on a strong commercial appeal. OneFootbal l is marking the occasion this Monday by looking back at current and former players whose names and, especially, nicknames evoke childhood.  Xuxa The "Queen of the Little Ones" became a "common" nickname in football. Former midfielder Cássio Luís Rissardo, now 45, made history in a Mirassol shirt. He is considered one of the club's greatest legends after EIGHT spells there. 📸 Photo: Vinicius de Paula/Agência Mirassol He also remains the club's all-time leading scorer, with 56 goals. The nickname came from his "resemblance" to Xuxa Meneghel, with his long blond hair.  Júnior Xuxa Former midfielder Diógenes Alves de Miranda Júnior played for a total of 20 clubs. His career began in 2003 at Vitória and lasted until 2017. He is an Icasa legend and also played for the likes of Paysandu, Ceará, América de Natal, ABC and Vila Nova. He is now 42.  📸 Photo: Reproduction/Icasa Gustavo Xuxa Midfielder Gustavo Simon Vertuoso came through Grêmio's youth system. He is 33 and suffered an arrhythmia during a training session with Mixto, from Mato Grosso.  He received immediate assistance, was hospitalised and is still recovering in Cuiabá.  📸 Photo: Reproduction/Botafogo Rodrigo Pimpão This one isn't a nickname at all. The former forward, who came through at Paraná and had spells at Vasco, Botafogo, América de Natal and CSA, is named Rodrigo Pimpão Vianna. His last club was Marcílio Dias in 2023. He is now 38.  📸 Bruna Prado - 2019 Getty Images Everton Cebolinha Everton Sousa Soares only became known as Cebolinha at Grêmio. 📸 Ricardo Moreira - 2026 Getty Images A standout in Fortaleza's youth system at the time, he was signed permanently by Grêmio in October 2013 after impressing during his loan spell. Right-back Pará gave him the nickname. There was supposedly a resemblance to the character from Monica's Gang because of the spiky hair Everton wore when he was promoted to the first team at the southern Brazilian club. The current Santos forward, now 30, didn't like the joke at first, but eventually "gave in".  Brinquedo José Gonçalves Lopes De Sousa Filho, known as Brinquedo, was a forward who played for several clubs in northeastern Brazil. He came through at Caiçara, in Piauí, played for Sport in 1998 and retired in 2010 at Comercial, also based in Piauí. He is now 55.  Márcio Baby Márcio Roberto dos Santos Ribeiro, known as Márcio Baby, was a centre-back who came through at Fluminense. He played for the club between 1992 and 1994, making 49 appearances and scoring two goals. He died on April 7, 2021, after being shot during an attempted robbery. He was 48. 📸 Photo: Flu Memória Archive Nenê Anderson Luiz de Carvalho needs little introduction.  He was a fan favourite in France and has played for several major Brazilian clubs, including Palmeiras, Santos, São Paulo, Vasco and Fluminense. He is the oldest outfield player to score in Brazil's top flight: at 44 years and 32 years, for Juventude against Vasco. 📸 Lucas Figueiredo - 2025 Getty Images He is still playing at 45, having represented Botafogo da Paraíba this season. Nenê There's ANOTHER Nenê! This one's name is Ânderson Miguel da Silva. He is also in his forties and shares the nickname of the more famous Nenê. Now 43, the forward who began his career at São Bento in 2003 spent many years in Italian football before moving to Portugal in 2018. 📸 AFP - 2011 AFP He has been at AVS since 2023/2024, and his debut season ended with 25 goals in 39 games and promotion to Portugal's top flight.  Pikachu Glaybson Yago Souza Lisboa earned the nickname while still playing futsal for Tuna Luso.  His short stature, speed and agility on the court prompted "comparisons" with the character from Satoshi Tajiri's Pokémon cartoon. Pikachu had an impressive spell at Paysandu before joining Vasco. He made 253 appearances for Vasco and scored 40 goals. He is the club's highest-scoring natural full-back this century. He had his ups and downs at Fortaleza and currently plays for Remo at 34.  📸 Lucas Figueiredo - 2026 Getty Images Wellington Saci Former full-back and midfielder Wellington Aleixo dos Santos stood out at Remo and played for Itumbiara before joining Corinthians for the 2008 season. 📸 Matthew Stockman - 2015 Getty Images He also had spells at Atlético-MG, Goiás, Sport, Vitória, Athletico, Figueirense and Joinville, among others. His last club was Atlético Cajazeirense in 2021. He is now 41. Pião Luís Carlos Rodrigues Campos, known as Pião, is now a 64-year-old gentleman. He had notable spells at América de Três Rios and Bangu.  He was at América when he scored a goal at Caio Martins that delayed Botafogo's clinching of the 1990 Rio state title. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.