Major League Soccer's all-time all-hair team

Jim Reineking | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Haji Wright chasing soccer dream in Germany American soccer player Haji Wright hopes to make an impact for FC Schalke 04 of the German Bundesliga next season.

Soccer players don't wear plastic helmets ... or ballcaps. That means soccer players can feel free to express their personalities with hairstyles.

In the 20-plus years of play in Major League Soccer, there have been many players with great, fun or outlandish hairstyles.

Here is the starting hair 11 (plus one):

Dominic Oduro, forward

Teams: FC Dallas (2006-08), New York Red Bulls (2009), Houston Dynamo (2009-11), Chicago Fire (2011-12), Columbus Crew (2013-14), Toronto FC (2014), Montreal Impact (2015-present)

Just like most everybody, Oduro really, really likes pizza. He went so far as to get

his hair shaved to look like a slice of pepperoni pizza. Yum ... who's hungry?

Gyasi Zardes, forward

Team: L.A. Galaxy (2013-present)

Zardes sports his distinct blonde mohawk so that his grandmother can easily spot him when he's playing. Aww!

Kyle Beckerman, midfielder

Teams: Miami Fusion (2000-01), Colorado Rapids (2002-07), Real Salt Lake (2007-present)

Beckerman's signature reggae-inspired dreads make him one of the most recognizable players in both MLS and for the U.S. national team, with whom he played for in the 2014 World Cup.

Marco Etcheverry, midfielder

Team: D.C. United (1996-2003)

Etcheverry was one of the elite players in the early years of MLS, and the mullet-haired midfield maestro helped lead D.C. United to three MLS Cup titles with style.

Cobi Jones, midfielder

Team: L.A. Galaxy (1996-2007)

The hair game of the United States' 1994 World Cup team was quite stellar (more on that later), and Jones' dreads were a staple in three World Cups and the first 12 seasons of play for the Galaxy.

Andrea Pirlo, midfielder

Team: New York City FC (2015-present)

While the 38-year-old Italian World Cup winner easily feeds the tired MLS-as-retirement-league narrative, his hair remains at all times perfect. Pirlo also earns bonus points for the beard.

Carlos Valderrama, midfielder

Teams: Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996-97, 2000-01), Miami Fusion (1997-99), Colorado Rapids (2001-02).

Already one of world soccer's most decorated and colorful players before Major League Soccer's inaugural season in 1996, Valderrama brought his massive blonde curly afro to America and helped popularize the fledgling league.

Nat Borchers, defender

Teams: Colorado Rapids (2003-05), Real Salt Lake (2008-14), Portland Timbers (2015-16)

Borchers totally bought into the "Keep Portland Beard" ideology, and that made him a fan favorite among Timbers Army.

Alexi Lalas, defender

Teams: New England Revolution (1996-97), MetroStars (1998), Kansas City Wizards (1999), L.A. Galaxy (2001-04)

Long before he was a clean-cut network TV analyst/personality, Lalas had wild rock-star hair that made him an unmistakenly recognizable dignitary for the 1994 World Cup team and later MLS.

DeAndre Yedlin, defender

Team: Seattle Sounders (2013-14)

What makes Yedlin so easy to spot on the field? Is it his blazing speed, or his many unique hairstyles? After two standout seasons (both on the field and at the barbershop) with the Sounders and an impressive showing in the 2014 World Cup, the U.S. national team stalwart took his talents for dope hairstyles across the pond, where he currently plays for Newcastle United.

Tony Meola, goalkeeper

Teams: MetroStars (1996-98), Kansas City Wizards (1999-2004), New York Red Bulls (2005-06)

Gather around boys and girls and let us tell you about a time when the U.S. national team goalkeeper had hair. Sure, it's been more than two decades but prior to the Brad Friedel-Kasey Keller-Tim Howard-Brad Guzan American goalkeeping lineage,

Meola and his signature ponytail were a familiar site between the pipes in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups. When MLS opened up for business in 1996, Meola brought his party-in-the-back look with him to the upstart league.

Pablo Mastroeni, coach

Team: Colorado Rapids

Mastroeni is still the coach of the Rapids, and you might be asking yourself, "why did he get rid of that glorious mustache?" Well, on the field, the Rapids were brutal when their coach had that righteous tickler, and the coach decided to eliminate it. The Rapids then went from a last-place team in 2015, to finishing second in the Western Conference in 2016 and coming to within a game of reaching MLS Cup. Long before he had that handlebar mustache, Mastroeni — the player — sported dreads, which he showed off in a unique/infamous photo shoot for The New York Times before the 2002 World Cup.

Honorable mention: Marcelo Balboa, David Beckham, Jeb Brovsky, Frankie Hejduk, Kei Kamara, Devon Sandoval, Brek Shea, Sebastian Velasquez, Abel Xavier, Graham Zusi.

PHOTOS: Best of the 2017 MLS season