David Beckham and the 10 best footballing beards

By Chris Hughes in Mirror Football Blog

Published 11:10 15/10/09

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David Beckham was rocking his new look at Wembley last night, sporting an impressive beard. During his, erm, man-of-the-match performance against Belarus, Becks resembled a 19th century explorer or a North Country mill-owner, thanks to his bristling facial growth.

But of course, DB7 is by no means the first footballer to bin the Mach II and get hirsuite. Here, MirrorFootball counts down the definitive top 10 footballers' beards of all time.

10) George Berry
Teaming his impressive beard with a breathtaking afro, the Wolves defender looked like he could have carved out a second career as a member of Earth, Wind and Fire. Actually, given the sheer number of musicians in the band, they could probably have given Wolves a decent game back then.

9) Trifon Ivanov
Don't remember the name? How about if we'd said 'the Wolfman of Bulgaria' instead? During the 1994 World Cup, the sight of the vulpine Ivanov tearing into opponents must have momentarily confused viewers tuning in for the late-night horror film instead. Lest we forget, that Bulgaria team also featured rug-sporting goalie Bobby Mihailov.

8) Robert Pires
Doubtless modelling himself on Zorro, the French winger attempted to give himself an air of swashbuckling brio during his time at Arsenal by adopting a sleek, musketeer-style look. Unfortunately, the overall effect more resembled 'embarrassing office marker pen incident'. Mind you, we'd rather have that, than his mate Thierry Henry pestering innocent folk to buy the latest 10-blade razor.

7) Paul Breitner
Everyone knows two things about the 1970s West German left-back: 1) he was a committed Marxist; 2) he had a fantastic beard. Tragically, in 1982, he abandoned both, ditching his socialist principles to sign a advertising contract with a German toiletries manufacturer which required him to shave off his facial fuzz.

6) Steve Foster
Back in the 1970s, Swedish tennis champ Bjorn Borg became a global sex symbol when he adopted the irresistible combination of beard and headband. Curiously, the same thing failed to happen when Brighton defender Fozzie rocked a similar look at the Goldstone Ground in the early 1980s.

5) Ricky Villa
Looking like a South American revolutionary, the Spurs midfielder regularly breezed through defences sporting a thick, lustrous beard and long, shaggy hair. The face of the hirsuite Argentinian can still seen on t-shirts at White Hart Lane, morphed into the classic silhouette of Che Guevara.

4) Alexi Lalas
It seems 1994 was a vintage World Cup for footballing beards (see also number 9). Part-Yosemite Sam, part-lead singer of The Spin Doctors, the USA defender led the beautiful game (belatedly) into the grunge era. All together now, "If you, want to call me baby, just go ahead now…"

3) Abel Xavier
It's difficult to know where to start with the Portuguese defender. The bleached blonde beard, teamed with either a) neat cornrows or b) an albino Lionel Blair shampoo, must have turned a few heads during his time on Merseyside with Everton and Liverpool. 'Distinctive' doesn't even begin do it justice.

2) George Best
During the late 1960s, Bestie lived up to his label as the Fifth Beatle by following the example of the increasingly hairy Fab Four and growing a full-on beatnik beard. It's a look that says iconoclast. It's a look that says peace and love. It's a look that says, 'I'm late for training and didn't have time for a shave'.

1) Jimmy Hill
Well, who else could it be at number one? For a generation of fans, Jim's mighty beard bookended Saturday nights (with the equally remarkable chin of Bruce Forsyth at the other end). Back in the 1950s, he'd used it to advertise Remington shavers ("Jimmy Hill's beard is famous – and tough"). When he shaved it off for good in 1983, it was the end of an era.

Agree or disagree? Who do you think had the greatest footballing beard of all time? Sign in below and let us know…