The 10 least sexy World Cup players
BOSTON — If you've been following media coverage of the World Cup these past few weeks you might think every footballer is a chiseled god — ripped, handsome, and oozing sex appeal.
You'd be wrong.
These World Cup 2010 players won't be featured in Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan or The Daily Beast for their looks.
The men on the list below have been chosen by GlobalPost because they are un-sexy in some way or another. Some lack physical beauty, others lack inner beauty, a few lack both. And while many redeem themselves with skills on the field, we just don't want to see them in their skivvies.
1. Franck Ribery – France
Yes, he has a scar as the result of an accident when he was 2. But that's not why Ribery, one of France's stars, makes the list. He was recently accused of hiring an underage prostitute. That's just not sexy.
2. Wayne Rooney – England
Yes, Wayne Rooney’s ears stick out from his perfectly round face making him look like Shrek. Indeed, England’s Rooney was just named the ugliest soccer player in the world, at least according to 33 percent of the 2,500 women polled by www.thepeoplesclub.com. But he (usually) scores, which makes him a fan favorite.
3. Carles Puyol – Spain
Things are looking hairy for Spain in the 2010 World Cup, and Carles Puyol isn't the only reason.
4. Carlos Tevez – Argentina
He has a widow's peak. But also a unibrow. Enough said.
5. Lee Woon-Jae – South Korea
South Korea's goalkeeper Lee Woon-Jae is nicknamed 'Spider Hands’ for his skills in the net. But those hands got him in trouble in 2007, when Woon-Jae and three of his teammates started messing around with prostitutes on the eve of the country's Asian Cup match.
6. Peter Crouch – England
Peter Crouch — the tallest England player at 6’7’’ — makes for one awkward and gangly soccer player. And he knows it. In an interview, when asked what he would be if he weren’t a soccer player, Crouch replied: “A virgin.”
7. Marcus Tulio Tanaka – Japan
Only one month ago, Marcus Tulio Tanaka of Japan acted like a child on the playing field. He got frustrated with the referee and marched around with his shirt on his head. This performance led one website to select him for the No. 1 “tantrum of the week." Sexy.
8. Jong Tae-Se – North Korea
North Korea’s Jong Tae-Se didn’t look so hot as he burst into tears before the Brazil-North Korea match. But the emotion seems genuine: Born in Japan to South Korean parents, Tae-Se traded his South Korean citizenship for a North Korean passport just so that he could play for Kim Jong-il's team. Really?
9. Sotirios Kyrygiakos – Greece
Sotirios Kyrgiakos, 31, is only one of the many seasoned 30-something players on the Greek team, which has a 71-year-old coach. So if the early bird special is your idea of sexy, go Greece!
10. Argentina coach Diego Maradona
Before the start of the tournament, Argentinean coach Diego Maradona promised to run naked through the center of Buenos Aires if Argentina wins the 2010 World Cup. We'd prefer he kept his pants on.
11. Koman Coulibaly (bonus pick)
In one bad call, which may have cost the U.S. team a win Friday against Slovenia, Malian Koman Coulibaly became the least sexy referee in the world. At least for Americans.
(Check out GlobalPost's Insider's Guide to the World Cup 2010)
Nominations? Comment!
Jackie Leavitt and Kylie Atwood compiled this report. Photos by Reuters.