Brazil icon Ronaldo has apologized to the mother of all the children who copied his infamous World Cup haircut from 2002, which was a ridiculous half-shaved head with a hair bite left in front.
Ronaldo played the dubious trim for Brazil’s World Cup semi-final against Turkey and then the final against Germany. He scored all of Brazil’s three goals over those two matches to win the World Cup, land the Golden Boot and complete his redemption from four years earlier.
Ronaldo decided not to shave his whole head – initially for a joke | Claudio Villa / Getty Images
Ronaldo’s celebration after every goal against Turkey and Germany is still one of the most lasting memories in World Cup history, but he played the dubious trim in them all.
He was the best player in the world at the time, back to his electrifying, unplayable self after nearly four years of injury, and young fans around the world were desperate to be him. It meant copying everything, from trying to flash to becoming a hairstyle.
Looking back, Ronaldo has now told Sports Illustrated, “[It was] terrible! I apologize to all the mothers who saw their children [get] same hairstyle. ”
However, there was a logic to the madness. Ronaldo has admitted that it became a diversionary tactic to distract media attention from a minor injury he had suffered before meeting Turkey.
The haircut turned out to be a welcome distraction from questions about a possible injury – / Getty Images
Four years earlier in France it was Ronaldo’s World Cup. He was only 21 at the time but had already twice been the most expensive player in history and had been named the world’s best player by FIFA in both 1996 and 1997. Due to his reputation, the media intensity was insane.
In the hours before the final against France, Ronaldo had a mysterious seizure. He was initially pulled from the starting lineup before being reintroduced. But he was obviously not himself on the pitch and Brazil was crushed by the hosts in a 3-0 defeat.
After years of paralyzing injuries, 2002 was Ronaldo’s renaissance on the world stage.
Ronaldo completed his World Cup redemption in 2002 | Odd Andersen / Getty Images
Although it seems that the hairstyle before Turkey’s semi-final may have originally been intended as a quick joke to laugh with their teammates, as soon as journalists discovered it, that was all they could talk about and all concerns about the player’s condition were quickly forgotten. .
“I did the hairstyle. I saw my teammates and asked, ‘Do you like it?’ They said, ‘No, that’s awful! Cut this out! ‘But the journalists saw my hairstyle and forgot the injury,’ says Ronaldo.
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