The shaggy manes and bushy moustaches of soccer days past have been replaced by bleached beards, "city boy" crops and headbands at the World Cup in South Africa. Players’ hairdos are a perennial talking point at soccer's biggest spectacle and players face razor-sharp scrutiny -- right down to their shaving routines. Brazil's Robinho has been sporting a new-look beard at the tournament and bloggers back home have launched an online campaign urging the baby-faced forward to visit the barber's. "Ugly face, beautiful game -- God willing," Robinho, 26, told reporters last week, laughing off suggestions he grew the beard in a bid to frighten opponents. "I just forgot to shave," he said. Meanwhile, at the camp of South American rivals Argentina, the new greying beard worn by Diego Maradona is being seen as a symbol of a more serene, mature air in the squad that seems to be bearing fruit on the pitch. Maradona, nicknamed El Pelusa (Fuzzy) for the voluminous hairdo of his 1980s playing heyday, grew the beard because he could not shave after his pet dog bit him in the face, but it looks like becoming a permanent fixture. As far as footballers' haircuts go, award-winning British hairdresser Mark Woolley said they have got more conservative and sophisticated of late. The famously clean-cut Cristiano Ronaldo has become one of the sport's leading style icons and Spain's Fernando Torres recently chopped off his highlighted locks, opting for a discreet crop. But not all the game's protagonists seem ready to look like office workers. France's tattooed marksman Djibril Cisse raised eyebrows in South Africa with his trademark bleached beard, a trend also embraced by veteran Cameroon defender Rigobert Song, who teamed it with lionesque dreadlocks. Aesthetics aside, footballers' hair is sometimes motivated more by superstition than fashion. The entire Romanian squad dyed their hair blond as a lucky charm at the 1998 World Cup and Spanish media have speculated that goalkeeper Iker Casillas shaved off his beard after the team's opening loss against Switzerland in a bid to reverse their fortunes. So far it seems to be working. Spain won their two subsequent games to finish top of their group. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.) (Agencies) |
在本届南非世界杯的赛场上,你再也看不见球员们蓬乱的头发和浓密的胡须,取而代之的是白胡子、“潮男”短发和束发带。 球员的发型一直是足球最大盛会世界杯上的一大看点。球员的外表受到人们的密切关注——甚至具体到他们是否应该去刮胡子。 本届世界杯上巴西队球员罗比尼奥留了一种新式胡须,而远在巴西国内,球迷们则发起了一场网上运动,他们在博客中大呼这位长着张娃娃脸的前锋赶快把胡子剃掉。 26岁的罗比尼奥于上周接受采访时说:“我不要风度,只希望踢出漂亮的进球。”他在被问及留胡子是否是为了吓倒对手时一笑置之,并称:“我只是忘了刮了”。 与此同时,在南美劲旅阿根廷队的大本营,迪亚哥•马拉多纳新蓄的灰白胡须成为阿根廷队冷静、成熟的标志,而这一作风在球场上似乎也很奏效。 马拉多纳留胡子是为了遮住脸上被爱狗所咬留下的伤疤,但现在看来老马准备一直留着它了。在上世纪80年代马拉多纳足球生涯的鼎盛时期,他留着一头卷发,被人们称为“小卷毛”。 随着足球队员发型的千变万化,英国获奖发型师马克•伍利评价说,最近球员们的发型倾向于保守和成熟路线。 留着一头清新短发的C罗成为足球界的时尚潮男之一;西班牙队的费尔南多•托雷斯最近也剪掉了他那一头惹眼的长发,以一头谨慎的短发亮相世界杯。 但并非所有的球员都青睐“上班族”路线。 本届世界杯上法国队的射手,浑身刺满纹身、蓄着标志性白胡须的德吉布里尔•西塞让人大跌眼镜,他的这一造型也受到了喀麦隆后卫老将里戈伯特•宋的青睐,后者还配上了一头“狮毛”长发绺。 抛开美丑不说,球员们的发型有时更多地是出于迷信考虑而非时尚。 在1998年的世界杯上,罗马尼亚全体队员将头发染成了金黄色,作为一种幸运的象征。在本届世界杯上,据西班牙媒体猜测,西班牙队门将伊戈尔•卡西利亚斯在对阵瑞士开局不利后剃掉胡须是为了转运。 目前看来这一招还算灵。西班牙赢得了随后的两场比赛,以小组第一的身份晋级。 相关阅读 (中国日报网英语点津 Julie 编辑蔡姗姗) |
Vocabulary: shaggy: 又长又粗的 crop:a short haircut(短发) perennial:经常出现的; 长期的; 持久的 razor-sharp:very clearly delineated(犀利的,敏锐的) God willing: 若能如愿 bear fruit:to come to a satisfactory conclusion or to fruition(成功,取得成果) lock:a tress, curl, or ringlet of hair(头发) protagonist:the leader or principal person in a movement, cause, etc.(主角,主要人物) charm:an act or words believed to have magic power(魔力,符咒) |