The shaggy manes and bushy moustaches of soccer days past have been replaced by bleached1 beards, "city boy" crops and headbands at the World Cup in South Africa.
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。
The shaggy manes and bushy moustaches of soccer days past have been replaced by bleached beards, "city boy" crops and headbands at the World Cup in South Africa.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（发型） are a perennial2（常年的，反复的） talking point at soccer's biggest spectacle（景象，奇观） and players face razor-sharp scrutiny3（监视） -- 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（对手） . "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 serene4（平静，晴朗） , mature air in the squad5（班，小队） that seems to be bearing fruit on the pitch.
Maradona, nicknamed El Pelusa (Fuzzy) for the voluminous（大量的，多卷的） hairdo of his 1980s playing heyday6, grew the beard because he could not shave after his pet dog bit him in the face, but it looks like becoming a permanent fixture7.
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 icons8 and Spain's Fernando Torres recently chopped off his highlighted locks, opting9 for a discreet10（谨慎的，小心的） crop.
But not all the game's protagonists11（主角，主演） seem ready to look like office workers.
France's tattooed12 marksman（神射手） Djibril Cisse raised eyebrows13 in South Africa with his trademark14 bleached beard, a trend also embraced by veteran Cameroon defender15 Rigobert Song, who teamed it with lionesque（如狮的） dreadlocks.
Aesthetics16 aside, footballers' hair is sometimes motivated more by superstition17（迷信） 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.
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