Gennaro Gattuso earned a reputation for being a no-nonsense, scary footballer who was not at all shy from taking part in a tussle or exchanging blows with his opponent. The AC Milan legend has now transitioned into a coaching career and is currently working as the head coach of Croatian side Hajduk Split.
What made Gattuso even more intimidating was his rough beard style, as he’s really liked keeping a scruffy look with his face filled with beard. But the 46-year-old recently stunned many people by completely shaving off his salt n pepper’ scruffy beard look, going clean-shaved for the first time in 22 years. He did so as part of a men’s mental health initiative, raising over £8200 for the ‘Bradata Aukcija’ campaign in Croatia.
Hajduk Split announced the reason for Gattuso shaving his beard off, stating: “After no less than two decades, our head coach Gennaro Gattuso shaved his beard under the blade at Barber Shop Ritual as part of the Bradata Aukcija charity campaign, raising over €10,000. Zvonimir Šarlija also trimmed his beard for the cause. The campaign promotes men’s health and has provided more than 350 health checkups, shaved over 250 beards and mustaches, and raised around €150,000 for cancer leagues in Split, Vinkovci, and Pula.”
Gennaro Gattuso beard evolution
Gattuso has always gained his fame for having a face full of beard, but he actually went for a clean shave look early in his football career. When playing for his first club Perugia, the Italian midfielder had almost no facial hair.
He would then join Rangers in 1997, after which the midfielder started to let his beard grow.
Initially, Gattuso had a very thin beard line across his face and sported a tiny moustache too. That changed once joined AC Milan in 1999, a transfer which would spark a rise in his popularity levels in European football.
The Italian midfielder didn’t have a face full of beard in his first years at Milan. He scored his first goal for the Rossoneri on 12 February, 2000 and sported a thin line of beard along with a cute little moustache and goatee to round it off.
In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Gattuso opted to keep some prominent sideburns but not that much beard at all – instead focusing on his moustache.
The midfielder started to let his beard grow out more as he gained experience, mostly opting to keep a deep moustache and letting most of the beard evolve beneath his chin than on his face itself – something known as the ‘Balbo Beard’.
The Italian midfielder even sported a thin beard style in the final years of his stint as an AC Milan player. Gattuso ended his playing career with Swiss club Sion FC, and even sported a Royal Beard style during his final years a professional footballer.
Gattuso retired from football in 2013, after which he opted to transition into a coaching career. During the majority of his career as a football manager, the Italian has let his beard grow out and sported a scruffy look for the last decade or so.
He started to let his sideburn beard grow out during his time as a manager, fully embracing the salt and pepper look and not being shy about white hair growing out on his facial hairstyle.
Gattuso really started sporting a heavy, scruffy beard look during his years managing Napoli and Valencia, opting for a deep short beard look and growing out the white hair on his sideburns.
The 46-year-old will now need to wait before able to grow out such a scruffy beard style. He might be a well-groomed person who takes great care of his facial hair, but his age means that kind of beard might at least take a few months to grow out.
