Diego del Casale always keeps a suitcase by his door, always ready for the next unexpected call for a haircut.
The caller might be Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez. Or Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez. Or Argentine recording superstar Bizarrap, asking him to fly out to Los Angeles for a day.
The call usually comes with little warning. Del Casale has learned not to plan too far ahead, just to be ready.
“But I don’t mind, I like to fly,” he tells The Athletic over FaceTime.
Del Casale talks quickly, his words tumbling out with an easy, upbeat porteno energy that makes it clear he’s always in good spirits. Even as he casually shows the cast on his arm through the screen — which he broke playing football with friends a few days ago — there’s no trace of discomfort or complaint, just a shrugging acceptance, despite an impending surgery on it.
He is speaking from his hair salon in Buenos Aires’ Chacarita neighbourhood, which his Italian grandfather, Hugo Del Casale, moved to before opening the shop 54 years ago. Chacarita was once a working-class neighbourhood known for the city’s largest cemetery, but has transformed into one of the city’s hippest districts, now buzzing with bars and restaurants. The family’s salon has evolved along with it.
Hairdressing — not barbering, as Del Casale was quick to clarify — runs in his blood. And because the stylistic arts involve their own kind of high performance, he has a clippers-and-scissors version of a stage name, preferring to go by Diego Il Figaro.
Del Casale with Enzo Fernandez (Diego del Casale)
His grandfather started the trade, his father, Dario, continued it, and now Diego and his brother, Martin, carry it forward. Being the first choice of elite footballers and the notoriety that comes with it doesn’t hurt, as they continue a tradition now three generations deep.
For years, the staple of the business lay in simply cutting the hair of locals. Then, about 15 years ago, an opportunity changed everything.
One of Buenos Aires’ football clubs, Club Atletico Tigre, called the shop and asked if they could cut players’ hair during a pre-match training camp — known as la concentracion — where teams gather the night before games, often staying in hotels together. That downtime became the perfect moment for players to have a trim away from curious fans.
What started as late-night sessions — the family kept working all day in the shop, then cut footballers’ hair until 2am — quickly evolved. Football, like hairdressing, runs on trust and word of mouth. Players moved clubs. One went to another team, another climbed higher, and they brought Diego with them.
“As the player moves to a different club, you move up, too,” he explains. “They keep calling you.”
One of those players was River Plate’s attacking midfielder Sebastian Driussi, who opened the door for Diego to Argentina’s most successful club. With an invite from Driussi, Del Casale started cutting River Plate players’ hair a day before their games, including Fernandez, Alvarez and Franco Mastantuono, now Real Madrid’s rising star.
That’s how he eventually found himself travelling across continents to maintain the looks of athletes who had long since left Argentina. For many of these players, Diego Il Figaro represents more than a haircut.
“They can go to any salon in London or Madrid,” he says. “But they want someone who knows them. Someone who was there from the beginning.”
In a career where players are constantly in motion — new teams, new cities, new languages — familiarity becomes rare currency. A haircut becomes a ritual. A conversation becomes a reminder of home. “They want a piece of Argentina with them,” Del Casale explains. “That’s what I bring.”
Del Casale with Alvarez (Diego del Casale)
His work often turns into a logistical puzzle. Once in Europe, distances are short, so he can fly from one city to another to attend to his clients. A one-hour flight or a short train ride is nothing compared to reconnecting with a client.
“I go city to city,” he says. “If they’re nearby, I make it happen.”
Sometimes, things don’t go according to plan. Earlier this month, on his way to London to cut Fernandez’s hair, a transport strike disrupted his flight; his luggage (and his tools) never made it from Amsterdam to London. With only hours before a match, Del Casale woke up early and rushed out into the cold to buy new equipment.
“It was winter. I was freezing,” he recalls. “I had to wear a hotel robe and wrap towels around my legs just to go out.”
There was no time to shop for proper clothes. It was a simple choice: buy a jacket or buy the tools. “The tools, always,” he says.
Despite the chaos, he bought a set of new tools, cut Fernandez’s hair, and made his way to Stamford Bridge wearing a borrowed coat from Fernandez.
Flexibility is essential in his line of work — not just in travel, but in the chair. Players usually arrive with a clear idea of what they want, often sticking to a signature look. Del Casale’s role is to refine it and subtly adjust without disrupting identity.
“They already have a style,” he says. “I just help evolve it a little higher, a little lower, maybe add something new.”
And then there are the superstitions. “In football, everything can become a ritual,” he says with a smile. “If they win with a certain haircut, they want to keep it.”
Del Casale doesn’t believe his work changes performance, but he understands players’ psychology. “If it makes them feel comfortable, confident, that’s what matters.”
Del Casale with Franco Mastantuono (Diego del Casale)
Beyond football, his client list has expanded into music and show business, taking him from hotel rooms to studios, from locker rooms to backstage dressing areas. The pace can be relentless. “But I love flying,” he says. “So it’s never a problem.” He admits, though, that transatlantic flights take a toll on his legs afterwards.
For all the miles travelled and high-profile clients, Del Casale remains grounded in his daily routine back home. He works long hours in the salon for familiar faces. Life centres around the steady rhythm of scissors and conversation.
And he doesn’t try to predict what comes next, not even something as massive as the upcoming World Cup, which will be Lionel Messi’s last. He is not the official hair stylist of the Argentine national team, but has cut a lot of their players’ hair in the past, including Rodrigo De Paul, Nico Gonzalez, Leandro Paredes, and Alexis Mac Allister.
As Argentina keeps sending top talent to Europe and the United States, Del Casale will travel where he is needed. He has made no plans for the 2026 World Cup, but if they call him up, he is ready. “I will go to the U.S. to cut their hair, of course!”
Until then, the suitcase stays packed, along with his passport, tools, and that special touch of creativity.
