With the FIFA World Cup just around the corner, we thought it would be the perfect time to revisit some of the most famous haircuts to grace the pitch in recent years!
The only place we can start is with Ronaldo at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Four years previous, Ronaldo famously fell ill before Brazil played hosts France in the final and the pressure was on Ronaldo's shoulders to bring home the trophy this time around. Ronaldo stepped up and took the tournament by the scruff of the neck and netted an impressive 8 goals, including two in the final against Germany. But before the semi final against Turkey there was a media furore as there were rumours that Ronny was carrying a thigh injury and this seemed to be the only talking point in the build up to the game. In an attempt to deflect the attention away from the supposed injury, Il Fenomeno took a razor to the head and left what can only be described as a "patch" at the front of his head. By doing this he undoubtedly created one of the most iconic haircuts in football history, while also influencing a generation of children to have a hideous haircut!
Taribo West - where do we start?! We could have done a whole blog post on his myriad of hairstyles from over the years but we've chosen his green dreads as our favourite! Aside from his hairstyles, the Nigerian defender had an illustrious career. He played for both Milan clubs as well as Auxerre, a loan stint at Derby County and a 4 game spell at Plymouth Argyle too. He represented The Super Eagles at two FIFA World Cups and won an Olympic Gold Medal at the 1996 games in Atlanta. After retiring, the powerful and commanding defender has since become a pastor in his homeland.
What kind of list would this be without the legendary World Cup 'cut? Carlos Valderrama's frizzy mane is without a doubt one of the most iconic hairstyles to have ever donned a football pitch. But don't let that deter you away from the fact he was a world class talent! In 2004 he was included in the FIFA 100, a list of 125 greatest living players chosen by Pelé. Who are we to argue with Pelé?! Valderrama was an integral member of the Colombian national side during his playing career, racking up and impressive 111 international caps and representing his country at three World Cups & five Copa America tournaments. Nowadays his hair is a lot more lowkey and he is almost unrecognisable as shown from an appearance in 2019!
When you hear the words "Iconic Footballers", Maradona has to be one of the first names that comes to mind. Maradona's first FIFA World Cup was in 1982 with his head full of luscious, dark hair - but this wasn't the tournament that Maradona was most remembered for. Four years later, El Pibo De Oro stepped up to the plate and cemented himself in footballing folklore. Diego captained his side to World Cup victory in Mexico, beating West Germany in the final. But the standout moment of the whole tournament was his infamous "Hand Of God' goal vs England in the quarter finals. If that wasn't enough, just four minutes after out leaping Peter Shilton, Maradona scored the greatest goal in the history of the World Cup. You've all seen it - he picks the ball up in his own half and dribbles past five England players before dropping Shilton on his behind and slotting the ball into the net. Maradona was on a different planet throughout the whole tournament and it will take something special for another footballer to really dominate a World Cup like that again. Maradona took the game above just sports - he turned the beautiful game into an art form.
With the FIFA World Cup just kicking off in a few days, fingers crossed we get to see a few more iconic haircuts this year! Follow us over in Instagram @barberbladesuk