Last week, John Marsden noted Arsenal's signing of Kepa, a keeper, and asked if there are other players with names similar to their positions. While no one is called Left Back, former Anderlecht defender Mark De Man comes close, though his name is an on-pitch instruction rather than a role. The Belgium international earned five caps before retiring in 2012, having rejected a move to Kilmarnock to stay with his family.
Italian midfielders Sandro Mazzola and his father Valentino both played as mezzalas. Valentino, captain of Torino and Italy, died in the 1949 Superga air disaster. Sandro, a one-club man for Inter, was a key part of the Grande Internazionale team of the 1960s. He signed with Inter after the club's forward Benito Lorenzi, a friend of his father, invited him to be a mascot, a gesture that convinced him to stay.
Dave Adams recalls former Portsmouth attacker John Utaka, the club's record signing at £7m in 2007. The striker struggled to justify his £80,000-a-week salary, contributing to Portsmouth's financial woes. Richard Wilson suggests Lennart Wing, the Swedish wing-half, and Wycombe full-back Fin Back, whose initials match his role. Vuk Strikovic, with 36 goals in 131 Montenegrin games, is another example of nominative determinism.
A Reddit user noted that in Greek, the suffix '-akis' means 'small', similar to '-inho' in Portuguese. Michalis Bakakis, who plays as a right back, thus translates to 'small back man'. Matthew Wilkie recalls Farnborough winger Phil Wingfield, who literally played on the wing. Glyn Berrington mentions Michael Wright, a right back for Villa in the 1970s. Finally, David Dyte offers American footballer Chuck Long, a quarterback for Iowa and the NFL, as a perfect name-position match.
