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The fan was Clóvis, the Gaúcho of the Cup, immortalized in the photo crying with the trophy at the 7 to 1. He died in 2015, and now his son Frank is going to the family’s tenth World Cup, in the United States, carrying the hat and the replica of the trophy to honor his father.
For decades, the face of Brazil in the World Cup stands was a fan with a hat, gourd, and a replica of the trophy in his hands. This fan had a name, Clóvis Acosta Fernandes, the eternal Gaúcho of the Cup. And his story did not end when he passed away.
Clóvis followed the Brazilian National Team in seven World Cups, traveled through more than 60 countries and watched over 150 games, before dying in 2015. Now, according to g1 RS, the mission is taken up by his son, Frank. In 2026, he takes the hat and the trophy to the family’s tenth World Cup, in the United States, on the first journey without his father and without his brother, Gustavo.
The fan who became a symbol of the stands
It was at the 1990 World Cup in Italy that Clóvis Acosta Fernandes began to follow the National Team around the world.
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A passionate Gremio fan, he ended up going to seven World Cups, traveled through more than 60 countries, and watched over 150 games of Brazil, always with the same symbols, the hat, the gourd, and the replica of the trophy.
This is how he became the Gaúcho of the Cup, a fan recognized in any stand.
There was a moment, however, that was forever etched in memory.
In the 7 to 1 defeat to Germany in 2014, the image of Clóvis crying while holding the trophy went around the world and became one of the most powerful images of that World Cup.
He died the following year, in 2015, at the age of 60, in Porto Alegre, a victim of cancer he had been battling since 2004. He left behind his wife, four children, and three grandchildren.
The son who takes up the hat and the trophy
The tradition did not end along with the Gaúcho of the Cup.
In 2026, Frank, one of Clóvis’s sons, prepares for the family’s tenth journey to a World Cup, this time in the United States.
It is up to him to continue carrying the hat and the replica of the trophy, two symbols that, in Frank’s own words, carry decades of travel, friendship, and love for the Brazilian National Team.
This passion was not born by chance, it was inherited from father to son.
Frank says he grew up in this universe of stadiums and travel, and what was most striking was seeing how Clóvis connected with people from different cultures.
None of that, according to him, was about fame.
It was about true passion and about representing the true Brazilian fan.
A different Cup, without the father and without the brother
The 2026 trip carries a new emotional weight.
It will be the first time Frank goes to a World Cup without the physical presence of his father, who passed away in 2015, and also without his brother, Gustavo Fernandes.
The two were together precisely in the two World Cups where Clóvis was no longer around.
The absence of the brother, however, has a beautiful reason.
Gustavo faced the dilemma of whether to embark on the World Cup or stay in Porto Alegre to witness the birth of his daughter. He chose to stay.
For Frank, it’s the kind of decision that would make their father proud, and it shows that, for this fan and his family, it “is more than football”.
The Brazucamóvel and the sock campaign
Taking this tradition so far requires a lot of logistics.
The highlight is the Brazucamóvel, the car that has accompanied the family for decades and has traveled more than 250,000 kilometers.
To help fund the trip to the United States, the brothers created a virtual campaign that turns the sale of socks into a kind of fuel for the dream.
More than money, the idea is to share the journey.
Frank says this was the affectionate way they found to involve people because the Brazucamóvel never traveled alone.
There were always many people pushing this dream together.
At the core, the campaign is just the current version of something that already existed, a legion of fans walking alongside the Gaúcho da Copa.
The story of the Gaúcho da Copa shows that a fan can become part of a country’s collective memory.
Clóvis turned passion into a symbol, and now his son Frank carries this legacy to another World Cup, without his father nearby, but with everything he taught him.
It’s proof that some passions don’t end, they just change hands.
And you, do you remember the image of the Gaúcho da Copa crying with the trophy in 2014? Do you think it’s beautiful for the son to keep this tradition alive in the stands? Tell us in the comments, with respect to different fans and stories, and share this article with that friend who is passionate about the Brazilian National Team.
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