World Cup winner was given nickname ‘The Barber of Berlin’ during 2006 heroics

Italy proved they were a cut above the rest when they won the 2006 World Cup in Germany – and they looked the part thanks to Massimo Oddo; the full-back who was dubbed 'The Barber of Berlin'.

Oddo was playing in the lower leagues of Italian football during the early days of his career before he was plucked from obscurity by Verona. After impressing in his stint in Serie A, Oddo was snapped up by Lazio in the summer of 2002 and went on to win full international honours with the Italian national side.

But it was in the 2006 tournament in Germany that Oddo really came to the fore – both on and off the pitch. The 45-year-old – who celebrates his birthday today – is a trained barber and became a cult hero for keeping his teammates looking sharp throughout the tournament.

Speaking about the tournament, Oddo revealed that his unofficial role as the team's barber all come about by chance – after Gennaro Gatusso spotted him sorting out his own barnet.

Oddo told COPA90: "It all started very fortuitously. We did – Pippo reminded me well – a month of retreat first and then in Germany we were closed there and didn't have a chance to go to a barber.

"I was always fixing my hair by myself, until someone saw me, I think it was Rino Gattuso. He told me 'Cut my hair', so for him the aesthetic aspect was less than zero. I did it well and from there came Gilardino, who had long hair and I did it short, Perotta who also had long hair I did short. I also did Buffon."

One of the more bizarre images of Italy's post-match celebration involved Oddo as well – as he have Mauro Camoranesi's hair in the middle of the pitch immediately after they beat France on penalties.

And Oddo revealed that Camoranesi's post-match trim was the result of a high-stakes wager that the pair had made after Camoranesi had refused a haircut from Oddo during the tournament.

Oddo added: "This little game with Camoranesi was born there; joking, I told him to come into the room to cut his hair too, but he was naturally very attached to his long hair. So one day I said to him 'Lets do this, if we win the World Cup I'll cut your hair right after the end of the game' and thats how it was."

Oddo himself has had a number of different trims throughout his career but now has a much slicker look in his new role as the head coach of Serie C outfit Padova.

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