We’ve all had bad hair days, but some of the barnets on display at World Cups gone by really take the biscuit.
Chris Waddle, England
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Not only did Waddle miss that decisive penalty in the shoot-out against Germany at Italia ’90, he also sported a truly awful mullet that had defenders too busy laughing to be able to tackle him.
Effective, but shit.
Ronaldo, Brazil
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Before Cristiano Ronaldo there was another very good player called Ronaldo who played for Brazil… at least he was very good before he got fat, slow and seemingly uninterested in playing the game that made him millions.
While still playing well, at the World Cup in 2002, he sported a truly awful haircut: his head completely shaved except for a bizarre patch at the front. Numpty.
Rigobert Song, Cameroon
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The former Liverpool player took a turn for the worse at the 2010 World Cup in terms of his bleached hair and beard combo.
It was entertaining though.
Neymar, Brazil
Few players give Cristiano Ronaldo a run for his money in the vanity stakes, but Brazil starlet Neymar has a good go. With a range of “out there” styles, none of which look quite right, his squashed tarantula is probably the most memorable.
Carlos Valderrama, Colombia
This iconic Colombian was as famous for his massive flamboyant white afro as he was for his flamboyant talent on the pitch.
Had he spent as much time practising with a football as he must have grooming his fine bush of hair, he would have been one of the game’s true greats.
Locó, Angola
Manuel Armindo Morais Cange, known simply as Locó, played for Angola in the only World Cup in which they have appeared (2006).
And to mark the occasion the right back decided to go for a similar look as the aforementioned Ronaldo, but with braded slugs crawling down his forehead. He was really living the Vida Locó with that hairdo.
Romanian National Team
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When Romania were preparing for the crucial group match against Tunisia at the 1998 World Cup, instead of bothering to do a bit of training, the whole team decided to get their hair bleached.
Tunisia scored the opener, but then the Romanians woke up and earned the point they needed to top the group.
Alexi Lalas, USA
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While some folk with ginger hair try not to draw too much attention to it, USA player Alexi Lalas let his orange locks flow wildly.
He even added a nice big ginger beard to complement it.
David James, England
Much-maligned “Calamity” James has had some fantastic (and fantastically bad) haircuts in his time, from bleached curls to big, bad afro, braided criss-crosses to an orange-tinged fuzz.
But none has been quite so awkward-looking at the slicked down side parting he sported for a time… before realising it was rubbish and changing styles again.
Some truly awful haircuts there, but if you can think of any worse, let us know on a postcard (or Facebook).