Kick-off at The Soccer Tournament (TST) may still be a few hours away, but Christian Anderaos has already made a splash in North Carolina with an incredible West Ham-themed haircut that he hopes can inspire the Hammers to success.
The 29-year-old midfielder, who has scored 33 goals in 96 appearances for the Kansas City Comets, who he helped claim the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) Eastern Conference title in 2024, is part of the Irons’ 20-man TST squad gunning for glory in the $1million, winner-takes-all, 7v7 world championship.
After helping his side power to victory over Borussia Dortmund in a pre-tournament friendly on Monday, Anderaos and his teammates are now finalising their preparations for their opening two Group G clashes on Wednesday, against Brown Ballers FC (9.30am EST, 2.30pm BST) and Villarreal CF (5.30pm EST, 10.30pm BST). Both games will be shown live on the Club's official YouTube channel, with streaming available to supporters worldwide for the Brown Ballers match, and to all fans outside the USA for the Villarreal fixture.
And having already caught the eye off the pitch, the Brazil native is hoping to produce the goods where it counts in Claret and Blue, and make the most of what he describes as an incredible opportunity.
Anderaos said: “I always play around with different hairstyles, and I sat down with my barber and best friend, Gerry, because we wanted to come up with something that really encapsulated what an honour it really is to be here at TST with West Ham.
“We wanted the Irons symbol in there, and we wanted the letters too. I’ve never had letters in my hair before, but I wanted to do something special for the fans. It took about eight hours altogether, but it was good fun and I’m really pleased with the outcome.
“It really is so exciting to be here, and to have been asked to be part of this by West Ham. As a kid, I grew up watching the Premier League, so it is a dream come true to pull on the Hammers jersey and represent a team I’ve admired from afar.”
While he has become more familiar with the Club since being announced as a West Ham TST player last month, Anderaos has enjoyed meeting and getting to know the other players involved since arriving in the States, as well as learning from some of the ex-pros who are part of the camp.
Though he is focused on making the most of the overall TST experience, he is also clear about his belief that West Ham have the tools to challenge for the ultimate prize, under the stewardship of Head Coach Dillon Vedral and Player-Coach Anton Ferdinand.
Anderaos added: “One example of truly discovering the size of West Ham was when my mum shared a post of mine on social media, the amount of people that interacted with it was crazy.
“I’ve always been inspired by players like Mark Noble, and so to be now mixing with the likes of Anton Ferdinand is great. Listening to him is really insightful, and also inspiring in terms of wanting to go out there and do well.
“Fans of the MASL and the Comets call me the ‘Tasmanian devil’, because I always try to play with high energy and cover as much ground as possible. I’ll fight for every ball, and hopefully we get off to the right start in the group stage.
“I truly believe in this team. We have a great squad, and I think we’re only going to get stronger as time goes on. We’re ready, and we’re all just excited to get going now.”
