The San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting Kansas City, two of the 10 MLS originals, have a long, intertwined history that holds striking comparisons, both on and off the pitch.
The decorated histories of both teams tell a tale of victories, comebacks and surprises. They both have seen some iconic players in their time, and with that a fair share of noteworthy haircuts.
Soccer players throughout time have sported different hairstyles. In his prime, David Beckham changed his hair with the seasons and most recently, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr.’s platinum blonde dye jobs caught international attention.
Both the Quakes and Sporting Kansas City have seen various renditions of hair dyed blonde in their time, as well as other hairstyles whose legacies live on. Here are some of the best.
A Stroke of Sun
2001 was a big year for Landon Donovan. After joining the Earthquakes in March, he helped the Quakes earn their first ever MLS Cup championship by scoring in the 2-1 overtime victory against LA Galaxy. Donovan also scored four goals in the 2001 MLS All-Star game, earning MVP honors.
For the sake of this article, the blonde hair outshines all of that. This is one of the most memorable photos in MLS All-Star history, not only because of the Brandi Chastain reference, but also the blonde hair.
Kevin Hartman played for Sporting Kansas City, then the Kansas City Wizards, for three seasons from 2007-09. He is not the only Sporting KC keeper to have really blonde hair, but Jimmy Neilson’s is natural. During his time at Kansas City, Hartman broke the MLS all-time saves record, and is still the all-time No.1 keeper in MLS for saves with 1,474.
Present day Earthquakes Victor Bernardez and Anibal Godoy have also experimented with bleach.
Bernardez came back from the 2014 FIFA World Cup where he represented his native Honduras sporting the blonde buzz cut. With the exception of one game in 2015, the Honduran has started every game he has appeared in during his five seasons the Earthquakes for a total of 130 matches.
Godoy sported the blonde look earlier this year in April, while Sporting Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer is no stranger to it either.
These blonde tips with the short side cuts lead us to the next item in this journey of noteworthy historic haircuts: the side decoration.
Side Design
Darwin Ceren, who recently joined the Earthquakes on Aug. 3, has already sported a few designs with the Earthquakes.
While in Denver for the game against the Rapids last weekend, Darwin received his most recent design that has the same pattern as his wife’s wedding ring.
“My friend gave me the idea and told me he could do it,” Ceren said. “I am always thinking about what I am going to do and look at the Instagram pages of various barbers to find something I like. It is something fun and different from everyone else.”
Ceren’s impact in the team has been immediate, who started for the first time for the Quakes against the Houston Dynamo on Aug. 19 and has continued to do so since. Ceren’s performance in Colorado, in which he had three shots, created two chances, made four tackles and won two fouls for the Quakes, earned him MLS Team of the Week honors.
In 2015, Benny Feilhaber shaved “KC” into the side of his head while also sporting a mullet to raise money for charity. Feilhaber’s performance in 2015, in which he set the single-season club record with 20 assists, made him one of three finalists for the 2015 Landon Donovan MLS MVP award.
Business in the front, party in the back
Feilhaber is not the first Sporting Kansas City player to sport a mullet. Mo Johnson played for the Kansas City side from 1996 to 2001, but before his Kansas City days he also had a striking mullet while playing for Celtic in the 1980s. Johnson was part of the 2000 Kansas City Wizards squad that won MLS Cup, and sored 31 goals in 149 appearances for the team.
The long and luscious
Some players let the party out from all sides.
While Ariel Grazani played for the Quakes for one season, he made his mark with the club. In 2002, Grazani played 28 games with his long hair flowing behind him, scoring 14 goals and notching five assists.
Chance Myers has been with Sporting KC since the days of the Wizards, joining the club in 2008. After a couple of seasons of short hair, the long locks started to appear in 2014, filling in for Roger Espinoza’s absence.
In his first stint with Sporting KC (2008-12), Espinoza had long hair that he always held back with a headband. He left the club following the 2012 season to join England’s Wigan Athletic, and upon his return to Sporting in 2015 the long hair was no more.
Nick Garcia and his long locks appeared for both Sporting Kansas City (2000-07) and the Earthquakes (2008-09). Garcia joined the Quakes from Kansas City in 2008 for their first two seasons back in MLS, and served as the team captain.
Pony Tail
Keeping the mane tamed is achieved with a ponytail.
Graham Zusi, midfielder for Sporting Kansas City and the USMNT, has enjoyed a successful MLS career after joining Kansas City during the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. Zusi has been named to the MLS All-Star squad four times and in 2011 was named MLSsoccer.com’s Breakout Player of the Year. In recent years, he has done this with his hair pulled back.
Jeff Agoos was part of the San Jose Earthquakes for one of the most celebrated times in club history. The defender played for the Quakes from 2000 until 2004, and during that time they won the 2001 MLS Cup and the 2003 MLS Cup. In 2001, Agoos was named the MLS Defender of the Year. Throughout all of this he wore his hair in a ponytail.
Alexi Lalas
There are a couple of players whose hairstyles were so noteworthy they belong in categories of their own.
Former Sporting Kansas City defender and current Fox Sports analyst Alexi Lalas is one of those players. Lalas’ long red hair and beard was iconic, and he still gets questions about it today. A U.S. soccer symbol in the 90s, Lalas played for Kansas City in 1999 where he scored four goals and provided one assist. After his retirement from playing in 2004, Lalas served as the president and general manager of the Quakes from 2004 until 2005.
Steven Lenhart
While all the aforementioned players and there respective haircuts have caught the eye of many fans, only one player had hair so memorable that they made a Chia Pet for him. Steven Lenhart has been with the Quakes since 2011 and is tied for seventh in club history for goals (20), sixth for game winning goals (five), tied for second for hat tricks and is fourth for multi-goal games (five).
Lenhart’s blonde locks have been a hit with fans. In addition to the Chia Pet, which the Quakes gave to fans as a door prize for the game against the Philadelphia Union on Sept. 8, 2013, the Quakes gave a Steven Lenhart wig to fans on July 28, 2012 for the game against the Chicago Fire.
During that game, the Quakes were losing 1-0, but the game took a turn for the better when Lenhart scored an injury time goal to level the score. The goal celebration was memorable.
As these two teams continue to face each other, with two more meeting scheduled for this season including this Saturday’s match, the hairstyle history will continue to grow and new members will be added to this list.
