Top Tens

Bouffant bonanzas

Carlos Valderrama

He could play a bit, but the eruption of frizzy strawberry blonde hair warming his head is the reason we best remember Valderrama. The Colombian looked a little like Rudi Voller - a surprise escapee from the top 10 - if the German had been tempted to toy with electric sockets.

Roberto Baggio

The Divine Ponytail's most obvious contribution to World Cup history might be that missed penalty in the 1994 final shoot-out but pipping that incredible goal against Czechoslovakia at Italia 90 into second place is that rat's tail dangling down his neck. Italians stylish? Not this one.

Ronaldo

Ronaldo nipped into Hair Today Gone Tomorrow for a quick trim before the 2002 World Cup and all was going well until conversation came to settling up. Trouble was, Ronaldo only had plastic and, well, Cliptomania was a cash-only establishment. So Bernie the barber downed his scissors, leaving the final triangle of hair uncut. And so a fashion disaster was born. Maybe.

Clint Mathis

Mathis arrived in the Far East in 2002 with the reputation as a fashion-conscious kid and the World Cup was his catwalk. So, with a punk-rock Mohawk, the United States striker attracted more attention for his appearance than his performances, even if he did score against the Korean hosts. His club, Dallas Burn, later launched a competition, the 'Mohawk challenge', allowing free entry to fans with similar cuts. A nation wept.

Chris Waddle

The Waddle mullet had blighted English football for years, and in 1990 England let the world in on the Geordie's guilty secret. Missing a penalty in the semi-final against Germany paled against the damage Waddle had already done his country. A nation steeped in high fashion since the swinging sixties was now the laughing stock. His years in Marseille did little to mend the ways of the errant winger.

Paul Breitner

Located somewhere between Brian May and Rory McGrath in the encyclopaedia of criminal barnets is Breitner's. The German midfielder appeared at the 1974 and 1982 World Cups and was nicknamed 'Der Afro' as a supposed term of affection.

Hidetoshi Nakata

Nakata might never have reached the glitzy heights of Bolton Wanderers had he not decided on a new hair-do for the 1998 World Cup. The Japanese playmaker dyed his close-cropped hair red, a thousand agents scrambled for their mobile phones, Perugia bit, and his career in Europe took off. Might be time to reach for the dye again this summer, hey Hidetoshi?

Winfried Schafer

The only coach on the list, Schafer - a German - managed Cameroon in 2002. The Africans were unspectacular, but did you see Schafer ranting and raving on the touchline? Not only was he often animated, but those hand signals and that mane of long blond hair made the former Borussia Monchengladbach player look not unlike an ABBA tribute act dancer.

Sergio Batista

There was something Christ-like about Batista in 1986, but the likeness was in the hair rather than the tackling. Splendidly unkempt, the rugged Argentinian was the enforcer of the side which took home the trophy.

Rene Higuita

The second Colombian on the list, Higuita's rush-goalkeeping was hair-raising enough and possibly the cause of Valderrama's electrified look. The locks, jet black, long and curly, were more Renee than Rene. Flash forward though, and in 2005 Higuita underwent extravagant plastic surgery for a TV show back home, aimed at taking years off him. The hair, too, has been regrettably shorn.