Story of `Costly` record and bizarre `Song` in Brazil 2014

Sao Paulo: There is a lot in a name and from Italy`s Ciro Immobile to Carlo Costly of Honduras, the ongoing FIFA World Cup has thrown up some hilarious ones, which can provide instant comic relief to football fans irrespective of their performance on the field.

Then, there are Brazilian stars Oscar and Hulk, Ivory Coast`s Serey Die and Adrian Bone of Ecuador -- names that provide ample fodder for thought. There are a few more surnames that are quite thought-provoking - Daley Blind of the Netherlands, Cameroon`s Alex Song and Nigeria`s Victor Moses. Apart from his abilities on the field, Indians can also relate to the name of Portugal winger Nani. Those with a religious bent of mind can just look upto Moses. Think of Immobile and one might be reminded of words such as physically challenged or lubricant. Serie A club Torino striker Immobile was a late substitute for Mario Balotelli in Italy`s campaign opener against England on June 14. There are names that talk about human body and its parts like Hulk and Bone. But quite contrary to his `macho` name, Hulk missed Brazil`s second group match against Mexico, which ended scoreless, due to an injury. Costly, however, managed to live up to his surname as he has found his name in record books is 31-year-old costly whose goal in Honduras` 1-2 loss to Equador was the first for his country in 32 years in the World Cup. His goal ended Honduras` run of 511 goalless World Cup minutes. Prior to Costly, the last man to score for Honduras at the global showpiece was Eduardo Laing, who netted against Northern Ireland on 21 June 1982 in Spain. On the other hand, Cameroon`s Alex Song and Ivory Coast`s Serey Die would return home disappointed from the World Cup, despite their interesting surnames. Football fans might also have thought that there could be a musician in Alex Song but it turned out to be an ignominious World Cup outing for the Cameroon defensive midfielder. The Barcelona midfielder was dismissed for bizarrely elbowing Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic in their group clash in a moment of madness and in one of the strangest incidents of this World Cup. Song surely played a part in Cameroon`s 0-4 humiliation by Croatia and their disappointing exit from the World Cup. Ivory Coast midfielder Serey Die, who plies his trade at Swiss club FC Basel, might have attracted attention for his blond mohawk haircut and also for breaking down in tears during national anthem just before his country`s crucial group match against Colombia. But on the pitch, he has nothing to show. Instead, in the same match against Colombia which Ivory Coast lost 1-2, he committed a defensive blunder and allowed Teofilo Gutierrez to play in Juan Quintero who slotted the South American side`s second goal. Oscar had delivered a grand performance in the tournament opener against Croatia and remains a key player in Brazil`s ranks. That English Premier League giants Manchester United are eyeing Daley Blind is proof that one cannot rule out a blinder of a performance from the defender who is part of a strong Netherlands outfit.