By the hairs of my chinny chin chin
The first thing that occurred to me at the end of the world cup final was an article I'd read a few weeks ago in the "knowledge" feature on Guardianunlimited;
"For some reason, I believe that no bearded player has ever won the World Cup," claims Jonathan Taylor. "Can this be right? And I mean full beards, not stubble, goatees or moustaches - the full works."
Strict guidelines indeed, but Olly Winkles is one of several readers to remember at least one hairy-faced winner. "Step forward Sergio Batista of Argentina," writes Olly. "He sported a full-on beard in the 1986 final...."
Olly adds that, "arguably, West Germany's Paul Breitner could be described as bearded in 1974 too," but despite an impressive 'tache/sideburns combo, we're not letting 'Der Afro' into the select band. Nor Fabien Barthez's 1998 goatie effort, or Ricky Villa's handlebar in 1978, both of which were good, but not good enough. Sadly there's a distinct lack of bushy facial features on show in Germany this summer, although should Gennaro Gattuso steer clear of a razor and Italy go all the way, then he'll surely be eligible to join Batista in the pantheon of hirsute legends."
History in the making. I texted everyone (not quite everyone...) in my phone book to let them know the importance of what they had just seen, (the second ever bearded world cup winner) and here's a selection of responses:
"Who was the other?" (most popular response)
"But what about Socrates" (most popular response from people who don't have a very good memory for these things)
"Forza Italia" (most popular response from Italians)
"Is Paul Breitner the first" (From a football geek, who was nevertheless wrong)
"Gimp" (Someone who wasn't particularly interested)
"What!?" (From someone who seems to have taken the whole thing a bit too seriously)
"A uniquely great fact...but who are you?" (from someone who has lost all of their phone numbers)
"That's knowledge! Can't believe the Italians won on penalties" (From someone who has trouble focusing on the bigger picture)
"What was Zidane doing?" (from someone who is always about half an hour behind everyone else.)
"For some reason, I believe that no bearded player has ever won the World Cup," claims Jonathan Taylor. "Can this be right? And I mean full beards, not stubble, goatees or moustaches - the full works."
Strict guidelines indeed, but Olly Winkles is one of several readers to remember at least one hairy-faced winner. "Step forward Sergio Batista of Argentina," writes Olly. "He sported a full-on beard in the 1986 final...."
Olly adds that, "arguably, West Germany's Paul Breitner could be described as bearded in 1974 too," but despite an impressive 'tache/sideburns combo, we're not letting 'Der Afro' into the select band. Nor Fabien Barthez's 1998 goatie effort, or Ricky Villa's handlebar in 1978, both of which were good, but not good enough. Sadly there's a distinct lack of bushy facial features on show in Germany this summer, although should Gennaro Gattuso steer clear of a razor and Italy go all the way, then he'll surely be eligible to join Batista in the pantheon of hirsute legends."
History in the making. I texted everyone (not quite everyone...) in my phone book to let them know the importance of what they had just seen, (the second ever bearded world cup winner) and here's a selection of responses:
"Who was the other?" (most popular response)
"But what about Socrates" (most popular response from people who don't have a very good memory for these things)
"Forza Italia" (most popular response from Italians)
"Is Paul Breitner the first" (From a football geek, who was nevertheless wrong)
"Gimp" (Someone who wasn't particularly interested)
"What!?" (From someone who seems to have taken the whole thing a bit too seriously)
"A uniquely great fact...but who are you?" (from someone who has lost all of their phone numbers)
"That's knowledge! Can't believe the Italians won on penalties" (From someone who has trouble focusing on the bigger picture)
"What was Zidane doing?" (from someone who is always about half an hour behind everyone else.)
posted by Pickles @ 3:30 pm
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