Fansided

The 16 best soccer haircuts of all time

By Andrew Beasley

30 Jun 2002: Ronaldo of Brazil looks on during the Germany v Brazil, World Cup Final match played at the International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan.
30 Jun 2002: Ronaldo of Brazil looks on during the Germany v Brazil, World Cup Final match played at the International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan. /
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LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Brazilian goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel (L) kicks the ball away from Italian midfielder Roberto Baggio 17 July 1994 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena during the World Cup soccer final. Brazil won 3-2 in the shoot-out (0-0 at the end of extra time) after Baggio missed his penalty kick to become the first nation to win the World Cup title four times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994). AFP PHOTO/DANIEL GARCIA (Photo credit should read DANIEL GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Brazilian goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel (L) kicks the ball away from Italian midfielder Roberto Baggio 17 July 1994 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena during the World Cup soccer final. Brazil won 3-2 in the shoot-out (0-0 at the end of extra time) after Baggio missed his penalty kick to become the first nation to win the World Cup title four times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994). AFP PHOTO/DANIEL GARCIA (Photo credit should read DANIEL GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images) /

12. Roberto Baggio

We’ve seen that the likes of Jason Lee can have their whole existence as a soccer player defined by their hairstyle. That might not have happened to Roberto Baggio as such, but his nickname was not The Divine Ponytail for nothing.

Roberto Baggio was an incredibly good player who had a remarkable career. In the 1994 World Cup in the USA, he was simply inspirational. Baggio scored five goals in the knockout stage, almost dragging Italy to the final through his own effort alone.

He famously missed the decisive penalty against Brazil to hand them the trophy though. Was this divine intervention for having such a terrible haircut? Probably not; Diana Ross missed a penalty at the start of the tournament, and her hair was fine.

When speaking about his miss, Baggio said “I knew what I had to do and my concentration was perfect. But I was so tired that I tried to hit the ball too hard.” He also had the hopes of a nation weighing him down. And some dreadful hair, too.

Whereas David Seaman waited until after his career ended to dispense with his (non-divine) ponytail, Baggio cut his off in 1997 when he moved to Bologna. Apparently this was to signal his rebirth; was playing for Milan for two years before that all that bad? He scored 23 goals in 33 appearances that season, so his lack of ponytail didn’t hurt him too much.

Though it may seem hard to believe, the ponytail was not the worst hairstyle of Baggio’s long career. Follow this link if you dare.

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