Let’s face it; a footballer with a beard is the embodiment of what we like to see in ourselves. The rugged man’s man who can kick a man as well as he can kick a ball! It seems though, that in recent times, the beard has fallen out of favour. Fashion frowns on beards; Society looks down on hairy individuals; we have been duped by the likes of Gilette & Wilkinson Sword into thinking that a beard is a bad thing! How many times have people said the following?
“You must shave for your interview” or “I have to shave, it’s
my brother’s wedding” or “My girlfriend doesn’t like my beard”
Well I’ve decided to bring it back. Gone are the days of
pretty boys and prima donnas; it’s time for the Bearded Ones to make a stand! Here's a pic of me sporting my beard:
And I have some pretty decent company. Some of the best
footballers of all time sported beards of varying lengths and I felt it was
time to recognise some of my favourites. In no particular order I have looked
at bearded footballers that I have taken inspiration from. To make the list the
beard must be of natural growth & colour. I have omitted the likes of
Djibril Cisse & Abel Xavier. These are not the types of beard associated
with leaders of men & this is reflected in their relative footballing inferiority.
Socrates
I thought I’d start with Socrates because he was a qualified
doctor like myself. He played as an attacking midfielder and was capped 60
times by Brazil, scoring 22 goals. In addition to the medical similarity I find
myself admiring his beard in a similar way to how I admire the way he played. He
was known for a laid back style married with physical presence & this is
reflected in his un-manicured, thick facial garden. Like football, hair growth
came naturally to him with little effort & minimal maintenance; a true
inspiration for the lazy gardener.
George Best
Pele good; Maradona better; George Best. Many people
attribute this famous phrase to their ability with the ball. I like to believe
it was in fact in reference to their abilities to grow beards & carry it
off with style & panache. Well known as a ladies’ man, Best recognised his
pretty boy looks could be complemented beautifully with a full beard. As he
grew as a man he grew as a player. Some of his best years in front of the
camera & on the pitch were with his thick locks flowing over a manly full
beard. I look to Best’s combination of excellent hair & trendy beard growth
as motivation for me to cultivate my own optimal follicular combination. Not a
bad player either.
Roy Keane
As a player, Keano usually sported a clean shaven look or
short stubble (though he probably never called it designer stubble himself). It’s
as a manager that his beard growing skills came to the fore. Unfortunately his
managerial career did not mirror his quite spectacular beard. This is more of a
personal one as I relate to his pattern of growth. Mine too is predominantly
black but with a healthy spattering of white at the chin. For that reason I
think me & Keano could have formed the greatest mid(beard)field partnership
seen in football. Alas it wasn’t to be.
Sergio Batista
A player straight out of the top drawer, Batista also
possessed a ‘Biblical’ beard. He was a midfielder who played 39 times for
Argentina & although he never scored an international goal he certainly
scored high points with me. His beard is what I am looking for from a modern
day footballer. Thick, natural, rugged and most importantly, manly.
Whilst they were my own personal inspiration from the past, there
are several others who have excelled in the beard department over the years.
Genaro Gattuso, Damiano Tommasi, Alexi Lalas, Ricky Villa, David James, Paul
Breitner, Gabriel Batistuta & David Beckham all get honourable mentions.
In modern football there is a dearth of bearded talent &
one of the positives of the European Championships so far is the exposure given
to the exceptional beards of today's professional footballers. Xabi Alonso, Olaf Mellberg,
Daniele De Rossi & Alberto Nocerino have continued the tradition having grown excellent beards before putting them on show at the Euros.
I for one am a fan of De Rossi, not only for his beard, but also for combining it with a no-nonsense, hard tackling style of play combined with classy distribution. Easily my favourite player of the tournament so far I can only hope that the youngsters in the United squad take inspiration & begin to cultivate their own beards.
I for one am a fan of De Rossi, not only for his beard, but also for combining it with a no-nonsense, hard tackling style of play combined with classy distribution. Easily my favourite player of the tournament so far I can only hope that the youngsters in the United squad take inspiration & begin to cultivate their own beards.
My Bearded XI:
I will leave you with one final thought. Imagine if Nemanja grew a beard...
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