Ever since the creation of the sport, football has overseen its fair share of distinguished looks. But for every elegant player like David Beckham and Paolo Maldini, we’ll find others who are a little less comely to say the least. In this piece we decided to honor those who are willing to be more original when it comes to their haircut and facial hair style.
So here we present to you our Top 10 of the craziest looks seen in Serie A this season.
DISCLAIMER: This article is just for fun. It is not our intention to offend any of the players mentioned below, who are obviously free to style their hair and beard the way the like and all probably have more interesting things to do than reading our nonsense anyway.
#10 – Mattia Destro (Genoa)
During the last decade, former Cagliari and Sassuolo midfielder Davide Biondini acted as the resident Serie A caveman, basically looking like a character from a Stone Age documentary.
But with Biondini now retired, a certain Genoa striker will now claim the role. Mattia Destro has never been the most elegant of players, but just like his Serie A career path , his looks are taking a rough patch, as he is slowly but surely turning himself into a modern caveman.
#9 – Juan Cuadrado and Weston McKennie (Juventus)
While the duo’s hairstyle is actually a cool one, the weird part is that there are now two players with distinguished and yet identical haircuts at Juventus.
Whenever Andrea Pirlo decides to field both Juan Cuadrado and Weston McKennie on the right flank – overlapping one another – it turns into the commentators’ worst nightmare.
#8 – Antonín Barák (Verona)
Serie A fans first met Antonín Barák as a young prospect at Udinese without anything particularly distinctive within his looks. But at some point, the Czech international decided to allow his blond hair to grow immensely.
We are sure that the Verona man looks cool on the streets, but whenever he’s on the pitch, his big braid of blonde hair running around makes him look like the awkward member of a boy-band from the 90’s.
#7 – Luca Mora (Spezia)
What if we tell you that your favorite Game of Thrones character is actually a calcio player? No, not Jon Snow – that weakling wouldn’t last a season against the challenges of the Serie A defenders.
But Sandor Clegane – better known as The Hound – plays for Spezia as a midfielder. If you don’t believe us, just ask yourself: Have you ever heard of the name Luca Mora before? Exactly. That is obviously a fake name that The Hound uses so he wouldn’t get caught by the Lannisters.
Another HBO spinoff in the making?
#6 – Arturo Vidal (Inter) and Radja Nainggolan (Cagliari)
Just like Antonio Conte, we opted to reserve only one spot for the Mohawk look. Arturo Vidal and Radja Nainggolan aren’t only two of the best Serie A midfielders in the past decade, the Chilean warrior and the Belgium Ninja are both known for their distinctive looks – including the Mohawk hair, the body paint, and occasionally some cool facials.
Although Vidal is undoubtedly Conte’s choice, Nainggolan’s golden tooth and his brilliant idea to dye his Mohawk blonde put him just ahead of his former teammate in our personal preference.
#5 – Soualiho Meïté (Torino)
The Milan newcomer has opted for several weird looks during his time in Serie A, but we’ll go with the one pictured below.
When Soualiho Meïté is off duty, he likes to spend his time hanging out with his fellow hyena friends while plotting with the usurper Scar – who stole his brother Mufasa’s crown – and occasionally chasing off the exiled prince Simba as well as his allies Timon and Pumbaa.
#4 – Bartłomiej Drągowski (Fiorentina)
Fiorentina do not possess the most solid of back-lines this season. But beware! Once you’re passed that sorry bunch of defenders, you’ll find yourself face to face (no pun intended…) with a giant of a man who looks like a mixture of a medieval warrior and a viking raider. Do you really want to go there just so you can perhaps score a goal? We know we wouldn’t.
Unfortunately for Serie A fans, Davide Moscardelli and his legendary beard have left the top-flight shores, but Bartłomiej Drągowski’s looks are certainly something to behold. Long live the beard!
#3 – Goran Pandev (Genoa)
Goran Pandev is not a man who gives up easily, which explains why he’s still an active player at the age of 37, while looking more like 53. Nonetheless, his battle with baldness has been long lost, and yet the North Macedonian is refusing to admit defeat.
As you see in the picture below – which was probably taken via satellite – an awkward “object” was detected on Pandev’s head, as the image went viral throughout the naughty part of social media.
Since this is a family-friendly website (seriously?!) we won’t mention what this object really looks like. Just use your imagination.
#2 – Gervinho and Yann Karamoh (Parma)
If one winger with a questionable haircut is not enough for your liking, then Parma offers your two for the price of one! Here’s how the veteran Gervinho inspired the young Karamoh into adopting his own unique look.
Karamoh: Oh Wise One, tell me what I need to improve to become as successful as you once were.
Gervinho: You mean as I still am, kid. Well you must have an incredible pace, a little bit of skills, and a horrifying haircut to make sure that no silly defender would dare to chase after you. Like this.
Karamoh: But Master, how can I pull off something as hideous as that?
Gervinho: You must find the strength within yourself.
Karamoh: Ok, let me try.
Karamoh: So?
Gervinho: The Student has become the Master. Unless some other UAE or China club pays me a ridiculous amount of money, I’m ready to peacefully retire now.
#1 – Rodrigo Palacio (Bologna)
Who else? Rodrigo Palacio is almost 40-years-old, and yet the Bologna striker has never let go of his signature haircut.
One would wonder how come that none of the Argentine’s friends, teammates or relatives ever had the courage to cut that rat-tail as a mean prank, surely the idea has crossed the mind of every single one of those individuals.
Well, we assume that no one would ever want to mess with Palacio and his rat-tail, and you expect him to maintain his weird and yet iconic looks until his last day in Serie A.
