Brazilian man named Franz Beckenbauer names son Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Franz Beckenbauer is Zlatan Ibrahimovic's father.

The Franz Beckenbauer in question, however, is not the legendary German defender, but a fanatical fan of Brazilian Campeonato side Santa Cruz. Being arbitrarily named after a European footballer now runs in the family, as his newborn son name is called Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Globo.com explains the puzzling situation:

The father, who is the namesake of Der Kaiser, baptized the child with the name of the AC Milan player. Zlatan Ibrahimovic Lima da Silva was born in Pernambuco three days before Santa Cruz won the Championship, further increasing the happiness of fanatical family.

It's unclear why Beckenbauer would choose the overrated Swede over any other top European or Brazilian player, but he wishes for his son to play for Santa Cruz when he grows up. In celebration of his favorite side's recent title win, Beckenbauer has also promised to bury little Zlatan's umbilical cord underneath their Arruda stadium.

Mr Beckenbauer isn't the only Santa Cruz fan in the bizarre child-naming game: Globo also report that a pair of Tricolor supporters named their child Dayvid Shevchenko Ximenes da Silva in honor of David Beckham and Andriy Shevchenko.