The fashion of the knobs was all the rage in the fans of the Spanish team in that summer of 1994.
The World US celebrated on 1994 It was, for many, the most spectacular in history. Those of us who were children at that time still remember those full stadiums, a selection full of stars and… the knob of Spanish footballers.
The group led by Javier Clemente faced the appointment with great enthusiasm. The truth is that there was a great team and, although it started with a draw against South Korea, subsequent matches against Germany, Bolivia and Switzerland were very good.
As the days went by, we saw that more and more Spanish footballers were wearing a curious perilla. What at first seemed sloppiness or mere chance, it soon became a habit for the bulk of the Spanish expedition. Not only did the players wear it, but several members of the coaching staff also stopped shaving..
The knobs of the players of the Spanish National Team 1994
The press echoed this and consulted those involved. effectively, the world of sports in general and football in particular, is full of manias and superstitions. After digging a bit, several media published that it was an initiative led by the players who achieved the Gold Medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992.
Pep Guardiola was the main instigator of the goatee craze. Others like Abelardo followed, Bakero, Goikoetxea, Zubizarreta, Julio Salinas, Nadal, Jorge Otero, Camarasa or Caminero. The latter, by the way, was the only one, after the team was eliminated against Italy in the Quarter-Finals, returned to Spain with the goatee intact. The rest of the expedition decided to shave.
The funny thing is that this fashion began, even, before the success of the Barcelona Olympic Games. At the World Cup in Italy 90 we could already see Manolo, front of Atletico Madrid, with the perilla. The Spanish forward did not do too well as he was a substitute in almost all the games and, once again, the national team packed their bags early thanks to the defeat against Yugoslavia in the Round of 16.
A few years earlier, particularly in the World Cup Spain '82, some players from the Italy team also chose not to shave to get lucky on the pitch. curiously, the Italians did achieve their goal and won the title of world champions.
