Bad Herr day for Beckham in Germany

9 March 2004

HAMBURG – German football supporters are not great fans of the David Beckham hair look, preferring a neat and tidy cut to longer locks, a study showed Tuesday.

The Emnid survey of 1,200 European fans showed most supporters on the continent thought Beckham had the best hair taste among today’s footballers.

The French and Italians – 62 percent and 59 percent respectively – like the longer “Latin lover” hair look, with 56 percent of female fans also going for longer, wavy hair.

But in Germany, 77 percent of fans polled preferred a clean-cut style, as worn by former international Oliver Bierhoff, to Beckham’s hairband-aided thatch, according to the survey for Initiative ProHaar.

Dreadlocks, streaks or the shaven-headed look are not particularly popular among football fans, the survey showed.