Football’s flash cuts fade as stars turn to neat, low-key looks | OneFootball

Showy footballer haircuts have largely given way to neat, conservative styles. According to L'Équipe, even the barbers who once drove the 2010s excess say the spectacle has stopped.

Michaël Caiolas says it is now hard to name a look that truly stands out, and requests for a footballer cut have mostly dried up apart from Richard Rios of Benfica. He once had free rein with Paul Pogba, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Quaresma, but that era of trust and experimentation has faded.

Ethnologist Christian Bromberger observes that there is no prevailing hair trend in the modern game, with cropped temples and combed styles the default. He notes previous eras stamped their mark, from Franz Beckenbauer’s longer-over-the-ears look to mullets and the 2010s crest, which even prompted José Anigo to ban it at Marseille in 2012.

Major tournaments once encouraged audacity, yet by 2018 Pogba adopted a pared-back cut to keep attention on his football. Advisers now often warn youngsters against standing out, and during Euro 2016 Caiolas even delayed posting his work to avoid backlash in defeat. Imitation in dressing rooms carries weight, so when a figure like Pogba goes understated, others tend to follow.

Another star of that period, Gérald Lerandy, known as Barber Gé, left Paris for Martinique seven years ago and half-jokingly wonders if his exit played a part. He crafted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s wildest looks, Ivan Perisic’s Croatia chequerboard and Djibril Cissé’s red-and-blonde dye before his 2007 cup final double against Sochaux.

He adds that intricate dyes and motifs take hours and demand trust from the player. A single headline cut could spark a revival, though even that feels uncertain. Hair once carried messages too, as when Aubameyang wore Jérémy Clément’s initials in support after the midfielder’s injury.

That expressive energy now seems to live in fashion, with arrivals at Clairefontaine doubling as a runway. Jules Koundé, Ibrahima Konaté and Benjamin Pavard push their own looks, while barbers no longer steal the spotlight and bench players are barely mentioned.

Source: L'Équipe