A First Time Footballer

Throughout the past few weeks of World Cup madness, I have noticed various things about the footballing world that have intrigued, amused and, sometimes, shocked me…

The Suarez bite incident was certainly quite bewildering – and he hasn’t done himself any favours by spending the following days denying having a chomp on Chiellini’s shoulder, before revealing yesterday that he had, in fact, bitten the Italian. The incident won’t be forgotten in a hurry and, I imagine, will haunt the rest of Suarez’s promising football career.

Secondly, whilst I appreciate the importance of talented strikers, a goal is, at the end of the day, a team effort. I can’t stand watching a goal scorer race around the pitch with his shirt over his head (surely this is breaching some kind of health and safety regulations) before standing with arms outstretched, body tensed and sculpted abs rippling from the roars of support from his loyal crowd. You can practically see his head ballooning as the rest of his team mates try desperately to get in on the action, but just end up jumping in a useless pile on top of each other…

On the other hand, I have thoroughly enjoyed the celebratory style of the Colombian side. On hitting the back of the net, the team join together and perform a dance. The routine doesn’t last very long, nor does it distract from the actual game. It simply brings together the team, who all deserve to celebrate the goal and, furthermore, it displays a fantastic sense of team spirit – something that is a key part of a successful team.

The final thing that has kept me well entertained throughout this World Cup has been the questionable hairstyles of many of the players. There are a number of important factors that must be taken into account when the players are in front of the mirror – heat, humidity, visibility, stylishness, individuality. Here are five of my favourites.

Whilst Fellaini scores high for individuality, he has failed to see the practical side of playing international level football in temperatures often reaching near 40 degrees. This intense mass of hair will be problematic for the Belgian.

One of the more baffling World Cup hairstyles from Pogba here. He’s kept it short, which shows he is thinking practically about playing in the Brazilian heat, but the black and white stripes just look like he is trying too hard.

I am not normally a fan of dreadlocks however, for me, Beckerman is pulling the look off. I am not sure how it will fare in the humid climate of Brazil, but it requires very little maintenance and leaves him time to focus on the competition.

Many would argue that Giroud has one of the best hairstyles at the tournament this year and whilst he scores highly for stylishness, I just can’t imagine that it’s a practical look to maintain. He should be spending time focusing on the game and training, instead of sculpting his hair.

Meireles grabs top points in all categories as far as I’m concerned. He has managed to achieve a unique yet practical look – the nearly bald head ensuring that he won’t be overheating on the pitch. And that facial hair is just beautiful…

Is the football pitch is starting to morph into a fashion runway? Either way, it’s quite entertaining to see the constantly changing hairstyles of these footballing stars. As the World Cup grows increasingly intense, I’ll continue to tune in and enjoy the action (and the hairdos).