Brazil’s Ronaldo’s infamous 2002 World Cup hair patch was not a fashion statement

Ronaldo Nazário, Brazil hero of the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, has an interesting story about why he decided to leave a semi-circle-like patch of hair in front of his head. He changed his look during the tournament, but Ronaldo wasn’t trying to make a fashion statement. Rather he wanted the attention to shift from his injury.
“Everyone was going on and on about my leg injury, questioning whether I could play in the semi-final,” Ronaldo was quoted as saying Fifa.com. Ronaldo had limped out of the quarterfinal against England, a game Brazil won.
“I was sick and tired about hearing about it. So I cut my hair like tat, asked my team-mates what they thought, and they said, ‘it’s horrible. You can’t keep it like that.’

But knew his plan to move the focus away from his injury had worked. He scored in the semifinal against Turkey to take Brazil to the final.Subscriber Only StoriesPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium

The haircut became a rage but Ronaldo soon gave it up. He also apologised to all mothers for inspiring their sons to follow his style.
“It was horrendous. I apologise to all mothers who saw their sons with the same hairstyle.”