You don’t have to look like Samson to be a world-class soccer player, and while blazing downfield with your flowing locks billowing out behind you, hearing the swoons of fans as their hysterics boost your ego may be the stuff dreams are made of, it’s the skill that counts.
While some of the best soccer players in history may have been a shampoo advertiser’s dream come true, there’s a surprising number of world-class bald players to choose from.
It’s time male-pattern baldness got the love it deserved, so today, we will be looking at seven of the best soccer players in the world to whom dandruff, like losing a soccer match, is something that happens to someone else.
7. Jaap Stam
While not all bald soccer players are tough-tackling, frightening beasts with a habit of flattening opponents, it just so happens that the first player on our list, Dutch legend Jaap Stam, was an absolute monster of a player.
A giant center-back, Stam patrolled his defense like a lion and was more than happy to let strikers know he was around to keep them out.
In fairness to the Dutch international, Stam was an exquisite player; he was quick, comfortable on the ball, and had great positional sense. In all respects, he was the perfect defender; he was just built like a bear and was quite willing to go straight through an attacker if the need arose.
A superb player for several of the biggest clubs in Europe, Stam was a key figure in the Manchester United team under Sir Alex Ferguson until an ill-advised autobiography enraged the Scottish manager so much that he sold Stam to Lazio.
Ferguson would later admit he made a colossal mistake; Stam was so good a player that selling him was a terrible decision.
6. Attilio Lombardo
As bald as a snooker ball but possessing great pace, strength, and stamina, Italian right-winger Attilio Lombardo was the consummate professional. In a nearly 20-year career, the winger would play in over 500 league games, though he is most remembered for his excellent spell at Sampdoria.
Not the most gifted of players, Lombardo made great use of his attributes; his crossing was excellent, and thanks to his stamina and pace, he could drive up and down the wings creating chance after chance for his teammates.
Capped 19 times for Italy, the consistent, hardworking Lombardo was able to consistently beat opponents, using his strength to force a way through before a pinpoint, accurate cross onto the head of an attacker.
Lombardo won the Serie A three times in an outstanding career with three different clubs, Sampdoria, Juventus, and Lazio, as well as dozens more domestic cups and a Champions League with Juventus.
5. Vincent Kompany
An imposing center-back with the leadership qualities of a five-star General, Belgian international and Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany will go down in history as one of the Premier League’s greatest defenders.
Helping Manchester City to their first league title since 1968, Kompany was a colossus at the heart of the City defense and was arguably the team’s most important player for several seasons. Despite several highly damaging injuries, Manchester City remained loyal to the player, knowing that a half-fit Kompany was still a tremendous asset to the team.
Off-field as well as on it, Kompany was the perfect ambassador for Manchester City, making sure his fellow players always gave their best; Kompany was also well known for spending time doing charity work in the local community in an effort to give back to the city.
After leaving Manchester in 2019, Kompany would eventually move into management and is currently at Championship club Burnley. Regardless of what the future manager accomplishes, his time as a player will be remembered as a complete player and an absolute leader.
4. Bobby Charlton
One of English soccer’s most revered players, Sir Bobby Charlton, is a Manchester United and England legend. Having played for Manchester United for 17 years, the World Cup winner scored 199 league goals in a little over 600 appearances and was a three-time league title winner.
Charlton also helped United win the 1968 European Cup after rebuilding the team after the Munich Air Disaster. As one of the few players to survive the crash that cost so many of the
Busby Babes their lives, Charlton would become the bridge between two eras. Fellow survivor and club manager Sir Matt Busby would keep faith with Charlton throughout the 1960s.
In 1966, a Charlton-inspired England team won its only World Cup, and the Manchester United striker would go on to lift not only the World Cup but the Ballon d’Or in the same year. In his United career, Charlton would play 758 times, a record not broken until 2008 by Welshman Ryan Giggs.
As long as there’s a Manchester United, Bobby Charlton will always be remembered as a true ambassador for both his club and his country.
3. Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli is a part of Italian soccer history and is often cited as one of Italy’s most complete center forwards. Able to play anywhere in an attacking role, Vialli was tactically astute, technically superb, and had a thunderous shot that he used to devastating effect.
Great in the air, especially as his hair rarely blocked his eye line; the bald striker was powerful and robust and could outleap most players. Vialli was also capable of scoring incredible goals, either from long-range or from overhead kicks.
Spending 16 of his 19-year career in Italy, Vialli played for two of Italy’s most famous clubs, Sampdoria and Juventus.
The Italian was also capped 59 times for his country and became a hugely popular and well-known player. After a move to England in 1996, Vialli played for Chelsea for three seasons before becoming their player-manager in 1998.
2. Arjen Robben
Holland has a long history of producing superb players, especially tricky, creative players, and Arjen Robben is a perfect example of a Dutch player who perfected his craft.
After four successful years in the Eredivisie, first with Groningen and then with PSV, the Dutch young player of the year was sold to Chelsea in 2004.
Three seasons in London, while not a failure, didn’t see the Dutch international live up to the hype, and he was sold to Real Madrid in 2007. Again, despite being a superb player with a vast range of abilities, Robben didn’t take to life in Madrid and was sold to Bayern Munich, where everything fell into place.
In 10 years at the Bavarian giants, Robben would average a goal every two league games and play over 200 league games for Bayern. Winning the league in eight out of the ten seasons he spent in Germany, Robben would also lift the Champions League with the club before deciding
to retire from soccer in 2019. A year later, though, Robben was back at his first club, Groningen, but would only make six appearances before finally retiring for good.
One slight criticism that would often be aimed at Robben was his diving; he would often go to the ground far too quickly, but at the speeds he was moving, the slightest knock could cause a loss of balance.
This minor complaint aside, Robbe was one of the best Dutch wingers of all time, and Robben’s place in Bayern’s history books is secure.
1. Zinedine Zidane
The most famous bald soccer player of them all, and with good reason, Zinedine Zidane was an absolute genius with a soccer ball at his feet. Zidane was a complete player with sublime skill, skills that led the French superstar to win the FIFA World Player of the Year three times and the Ballon d’Or once.
Regarded by players and fans alike as one of the greatest players of all time, Zidane was a monster of a player, with an appreciation of space that hasn’t been seen before or since.
The Frenchman could control a ball with ease, make space for himself, and already be thinking three steps ahead before finding the perfect pass.
Zidane was so skillful that fans would turn up to games early so that they could watch him warm up for the game; many of the greatest players of the past 20 years have cited Zidane as their inspiration. Striding across the field like an ice skater, Zidane oozed elegance and class and made his teammates better just by being on the pitch.
Despite his graceful play, Zidane was also a strong, powerful player and had an incredible will to win. Ghosting around the midfield, Zidane was unstoppable, always having the time to pick the perfect pass, never flustered, and always moving.
Watching the mercurial Frenchman in action was like watching the ballet; ideal economy of motion allied with supernatural athleticism.
