Tim Payne isn’t the best player at the World Cup. He’s not playing for a contender, and he doesn’t play for a globally famous club team. All of that is exactly why he has gained over three million followers in less than a week.
The 32-year-old New Zealand utility player is bound for this summer’s tournament as his nation returns to soccer’s greatest stage for the first time since 2010. The right back plays his club soccer for the Australian A-League’s lone New Zealand club, the Wellington Phoenix, but has become the folk hero of this summer’s tournament already.
An Argentine soccer influencer, Valen Scarsini, made a video suggesting that Payne might be the least known player at the World Cup and encouraging his followers to follow him and comment on his posts. The veteran defender quickly rose to overnight fame.
“We have to start mentioning Tim Payne everywhere … We have to make videos featuring the legend of Tim Payne. We have to get Tim Payne on everyone’s lips,” Scarsini in his initial English video, before making a similar one in Spanish.
“The goal before the World Cup is to see how many people know Tim Payne before the Cup starts. We have to build a good fanbase to cheer for him. I have faith [New Zealand] can go through.”
Tim Payne Gets Song and More Followers than NHL, MLB teams
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