Iconic Football Player Hairstyles

There’s been some iconic duos in football. From Yorke and Cole to Raul and Morientes, duos have lit up the pitch for years. There is, of course, a duo that reigns supreme – footballers and their haircuts.

FC Ultra’s Adamo and Estevan run you through their starting 11 and bench as we look at the most iconic football hairstyles of all time. Missed the video? Check it out below.

René Higuita

René Higuita is a football immortal. His scorpion kick save technique he pulled off against England in 1995 earning him the nickname El Loco ("The Madman") means he will never be lost to the game, as people hundreds of years from now will still scratch their heads in amazement whenever they see his two-foot over the head from behind batshit madness of a save. High risk. High, high risk!

It wasn’t just his wild antics in goals that made Higuita a recognisable figure. Who can forget his long, frizzy hair that was ever present throughout his career? Between him and teammate Carlos Valderrama, there’s enough hair to donate to many a bald man across the globe.

If you’ve never seen the Scorpion Kick art form feast your eyes on it below.

Rhyan Grant

We wanted to have at least one local lad in our team and in Australia there really is only one option, the Bush Doof Cafu as Vince Rugari aptly named him, Rhyan Grant. 

Grant’s mullet is 10/10 iconic and has even influenced a few members of FC Ultra, with Adamo doing his best at getting the mullet going and captain Tom McGowan about to follow suit.

There's rumours circling that Rhyan is going to visit Ultra HQ's Barber once all this COVID-19 stuff settles down to give Tom the haircut he desperately needs. It's definitely going to be a mullet too. Stay tuned!

Sergio Ramos

Long hair or short hair, Sergio Ramos nails every look. The Real Madrid hard man had to make his way into our side, with Estevan a massive Los Blancos fan.

Whether you love or loath him, you cannot deny the effect he has had on his Real Madrid team, picking up endless trophies with his career not yet over... there's been plenty of red cards too!

Rio Ferdinand

Anyone with the balls to dye their hair white, wear a matching suit and stroll into Old Trafford for photos with Sir Alex Ferguson upon signing for Manchester United deserves to be in the starting 11. Rio’s big money move from Leeds had him feeling confident – would love to know what Sir Alex thought of the kit/hair combo.

Taribo West

Taribo West wasn’t just a very underrated footballer, he was also a wild haircut connoisseur. If you Google iconic football hairstyles, you’ll no doubt see Taribo rocking the classic Nigeria jersey from the 90’s with matching black and green platted ponytails. It was an outrageous look from a man who went from Inter Milan directly from AC Milan back in 2000. Definitely a controversial switch, very controversial haircut to match. 

If anyone heads into Ultra HQ in Sydney and cops this haircut with our barber Kenji we’ll give you a $100 voucher. Do it!

David Beckham

Right wing was always going to be Becks. He’s had a million different hairstyles over his career and nails every single one.

He’s like that annoying guy at school who is unbelievable at sport and super good looking, even for a straight guy to admit. Throw a few tattoos and bling into the mix and you’ve got arguably the most commercial footballers of all time, even years after his career has finished.

We could have chosen several cuts for this segment, but the cornrows were our personal favourite.

Don't let the good looks and hairstyles fool you though, Becks could play and unfairly sometimes his abilities on the pitch get forgotten about. He was an absolute superstar.

Carlos Valderrama

A bit like Taribo West – If you Google iconic football hairstyles Carlos is going to appear high on the list of image searches.

Carlos rocked his epic blonde frizzy afro for his whole career. Not one for change, it was impressive to see him take the plunge and dye his afro hairstyle pink for breast cancer awareness in 2013.

It wasn’t just his hair that made him famous though, with Pele including him in the FIFA 100, a list of 'greatest living footballers' chosen by Pelé to celebrate the 100th anniversary of FIFA. The man could play!

Andrea Pirlo

As Adamo and Estevan mentioned in the video – Andrea Pirlo never wore a freakin’ headband! Can you believe that when you look at his hair during any of his games, especially at Juventus with his impeccable beard. Quintessentially Italian and defining sprezzatura, his hair literally stays perfect throughout a game which is no mean feat. 

We also love the fact that Pirlo is like a fine wine. It may seem cliche but its so true with him. 

Speaking of wine, we also have a soft spot for him given our on sight restaurant, Zona Azzurri, stocks wine from his family owned winery Pratum Coller based in Brescia.

He’s our other central midfielder. No arguments.

Ruud Gullit

History will never forget that Milan team, lead by Arrigo Sacchi, in the late 80s, who went back to back in the European Cup against Steaua Bucuresti and Benfica respectively. Another all-time great with an all-time great haircut. Ruud Gullit has been involved in so many memorable teams and games over his career and his long dreadlocks always remained.

We had to sneak him into our team on the left wing. A true football immortal.

Ronaldo

None of that mattered though as he secured the Golden Boot, scoring eight goals, including a brace in the final, to earn his country their first world crown since 1994. Who can forget R9’s 2002 World Cup hairstyle? 4 years after the disappointment in France, he turned up to the tournament with glory in his sights rocking a ridiculously bad part shaved, part number 1 at the front cut.

One of our all-time absolute favourite players.

Roberto Baggio

What a player. The divine ponytail. The man who lit up Italia 90 and managed to play for all the best Italian teams but still be idolised at each one. If his football legacy wasn’t enough, what about his efforts in raising money for the Haiti earthquake. The man is a gem, just like his ponytail.