From Victoria Beckham and Cheryl to Abbey Clancy: The Baden-Baden 2006 World Cup Wags – then v now-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro

From Posh Spice to Cheryl, let’s take a trip down memory lane of the Wags antics in Baden-Baden… (Picture: Getty/REX)

The World Cup 2022 is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than by looking back on the antics of the wives and girlfriends in the Baden-Baden resort in 2006?

It really was an iconic era – the tiny shorts, the vest tops, the big sunglasses… it’s safe to say the likes of Victoria Beckham, Abbey Clancy, Coleen Rooney, and Cheryl had their own moment alongside the football.

England crashed out of 2006 World Cup during the quarter finals, but the Wags (a term coined by the Mail on Sunday) made headlines themselves, to the point where former England manager Fabio Capello later ‘banned’ partners from visiting their other halves during training.

Described by Rio Ferdinand as a ‘circus’, there were wild parties galore in the German spa town, not to mention expensive shopping sprees, sky-high hotel bills and drunk dancing on tables. Honestly, we’d love to have been a fly on the wall.

‘If I’m honest, we became a bit of a circus in terms of the whole Wags situation. It seemed like there was a big show around the whole squad. It was like watching a theatre unfolding and football almost became a secondary element to the main event,’ the former pro said two years later.

‘People were worrying more about what people were wearing and where they were going out, rather than the England football team. That then transposed itself into the team. That’s said in hindsight…

Victoria Beckham joined Louise Owen, Coleen Rooney, and Elen Rivas for a night out in the German town (Picture: Mark Large/ANL/REX/Shutterstock)

The Wags dominated Baden-Baden during the 2006 World Cup (Picture: FilmMagic)

‘At the time, we were caught up in the bubble ourselves. Being somewhere like Baden-Baden, walking around the town, there were paparazzi everywhere, our families were there. When you step back and look back at that, it was like a circus.’

The Wags stayed at the Brenner’s Park Hotel, which cost £1,000 a night, Baden-Baden’s Hermes and Gucci branches apparently ordered in £200,000 worth of extra stock ahed of the Wags’ arrival.

And that extra stock was definitely worth it, as the girls splashed the cash, with Alberts sunglasses, boutiques Monica Schol and Gero Mure, and jeweller Bijou Brigitte being just some of the stores that raked it in as a result of their spending sprees.

Wives and girlfriends were later banned from visiting their partners during training (Picture: DPA/PA Images)

Cheryl was a newbie Wag at the time, in a relationship with Ashley Cole (Picture: Getty)

In 2006, out of the 23-man England squad, only 19-year-old Aaron Lennon chose not to bring a partner – so 22 wives and girlfriends ruled the laid back town of Baden-Baden.

Wives and girlfriends keep a much lower profile these days, with Rebekah Vardy admitting she’s ‘happy’ for it to be that way, as their role is ‘to be supportive.’

But, we couldn’t let this year’s World Cup pass us by without taking a trip down memory lane. No, we can’t remember any of the scores or who did what on the pitch, but we’re here to give you the goss on where our Baden-Baden gals are now…

Victoria Beckham

Victoria looked worlds away from her 2022 self with her hot pants and strappy tops (Picture: Action Press/REX/Shutterstock)

Of course, we know Victoria Beckham now as a connoisseur of all things style and sophistication. She’s a mum of four and has built a multi-million pound empire, with her marriage to David Beckham still going strong.

But, while she might be a fashion queen, the Spice Girl was also once queen of the Wags.

In 2006, she’d been married to Becks for seven years.

Little Brooklyn accompanied his mum to cheer his dad on (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)

VB is often hailed the queen of the Wags (Picture: Getty)

With her glossy lips and big shades, she nailed the Wag look (Picture: Getty)

Then 32-years-old, VB remained close by the side of Cheryl, guiding her through life as a newbie Wag.

With the breast implants and fake tan, strappy tops, teeny shorts, massive shades, and glossy lips, Victoria looked worlds away from the woman we know today, admitting in 2013 that she’d ditched the fake tan and had her implants removed.

Victoria went on to build her fashion empire (Picture: Getty)

Posh and Becks are still going strong (Picture: Getty)

‘Twas also the year her reign as the Wags queen came to a close, as David retired after quitting as England captain following their defeat against Portugal on penalties.

She may not be a Wag anymore, but 2006 Vicky B will always have a place in our hearts.

Cheryl

We often forget Cheryl was a wag during her Girls Aloud days (Picture: Mark Large/ANL/REX/Shutterstock)

Yes, before she was the Call My Name hitmaker and X Factor judge we’ll always love, Cheryl was a Wag too.

The Girls Aloud star married Ashley Cole days after the 2006 World Cup finished, and we all remember the sour ending that came to that romance following the former England player’s infidelity, thus ending Chez’s time in Wagville.

Following Ashley’s first cheating scandal in 2008, Cheryl admitted her friendship with Victoria had also fizzled out, despite them being extra close in Baden-Baden.

The singer married footie star Ashley days after the World Cup ended (Picture: Paul Grover/REX/Shutterstock)

Victoria took Cheryl under her wing (Picture: Mark Large/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock)

The Fight For This Love singer told Vogue in 2009 that Victoria didn’t contact her after the allegations were made public.

‘David’s mum is friends with Ashley’s mum, she (Victoria) was in my hotel room the whole time during the World Cup – we’ve had barbecues together — so I was quite shocked by that.’

Alas, we never got the Spice Girls x Girls Aloud collaboration we deserved, but it’s safe to say Cheryl is doing just fine following life as a Wag. Well, she’s managed to become so iconic, we only refer to her with one name.

Now, Cheryl stays largely out of the limelight following a successful pop career (Picture: Getty)

She shares a son with ex-boyfriend and 1D star Liam Payne (Picture: Instagram)

Now 39, Cheryl is a mum to five-year-old son Bear, whom she shares with ex-boyfriend and One Direction star Liam Payne.

She’s remained largely out of the limelight since becoming a mother, but there’s no denying Cheryl is still the nation’s sweetheart.

Coleen Rooney

Coleen was just 20-years-old when she travelled to Baden-Baden to support her man (Picture: Getty)

Long before the Wagatha Christie drama and her career as a TV presenter and author, Coleen Rooney was a 20-year-old party girl.

In her first Wag outing, she joined the rest of the gang in Germany, then going by her maiden name of McLoughlin before marrying Wayne Rooney in 2008 in Portofino, Italy.

Coleen was amongst the big spenders in Baden-Baden as, on June 19, a day before the final group game, £57,000 was spent in just one hour, with Coleen specifically forking out £900 on designer goodies.

She made the most of all the designer shops there, that’s for sure (Picture: Mark Large/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock)

Coleen went on to forge her own career in writing and TV (Picture: Mark Large/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock)

It’s no secret that her marriage to Wayne has been a rollercoaster, with numerous cheating scandals putting them to the test.

However, they’ve stood the test of time and share four boys – Kai, 12, Klay, nine, Kit, six, and Cass, four, and reside in a £20million Cheshire mansion.

Most recently, she made headlines with the Wagatha Christie trial (Picture: WireImage)

Despite numerous cheating scandals, her marriage to Wayne has stood the test of time (Picture: Instagram)

Most recently, Mrs Rooney captured the country’s attention with her legal battle against Jamie Vardy’s wife, Rebekah, when she accused her former friend of leaking stories about her to the press.

After a highly-pulicised trial and Rebekah’s attempt to sue Coleen for libel, the court ruled in Coleen’s favour.

Alex Curran

Model Alex Curran – now Alex Gerrard – married Stevie G the year after the World Cup (Picture: Back Page Images/REX/Shutterstock)

Model Alex Curran – now Alex Gerrard – married Steven Gerrard in 2007 at Cliveden House hotel in Buckinghamshire, after five years together.

They’re now settled with four kids – Lexie, 16, Lilly-Ella, 18, Lourdes, 11, and Lio, five.

She ran up a mega hotel bill during her short stay in Germany (Picture: Gouhier-Hahn-Orban/ABACA/REX/Shutterstock)

Still together, Alex and Steven share four kids (Picture: Mark Large/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock)

But, before her life became much more tame, Alex, a former nail technician, was raising eyebrows with her spending habits.

In Baden-Baden, she ran up a £25,000 hotel bill, which included 60 bottles of £75 pink champagne.

The model keeps a low profile these days (Picture: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

But she’s closer to her hubby than ever (Picture: Instagram)

Following her Baden-Baden stint, Alex has done a fair bit of relocating and was once sunning herself Stateside, as she and her husband moved to America in 2015 when Stevie G joined LA Galaxy.

After several collaborations with clothing brands and writing weekly columns for the likes of OK! and the Daily Mirror, Alex now largely remains out of the limelight.

Abbey Clancy

Abbey Clancy had a tumultuous time in Baden-Baden (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)

Before she married Peter Crouch in 2011, Abbey Clancy openly admitted that it was her dream to marry a footballer – something she can definitely tick off her list.

The couple now share three children – Sophia, 11, Liberty, seven, and Johnny, four, but the 36-year-old’s marriage to the 6 foot 7 former striker hasn’t always been a smooth ride.

In fact, model Abbey was sent home from Germany amid the World Cup after photos surfaced of her appearing to snort cocaine two years prior.

The model was sent home after splitting from Peter Crouch due to a drugs scandal (Picture: PA)

She didn’t get to enjoy the Wag life in Baden-Baden for as long as the other gals (Picture: Bob Thomas Sports Photography via Getty Images)

‘Whilst I do not ordinarily comment upon matters relating to my private life, I have read with dismay various recently articles and reports about my “relationship” with Abbey Clancy,’ Crouchie said at the time.

‘In light of this, I wish to make the situation absolutely clear: Abbey and I were in the very early stages of a relationship which, for a number of reasons, I decided a few weeks ago to end, and I accordingly informed Abbey of my decision.’

But, they rekindled their romance, and Pete got down on one knee in June 2009 while on holiday in Sardinia.

Abbey remains a successful model, with stints on TV shows like Strictly Come Dancing (Picture: Getty)

She and Peter reconciled and, well, the rest is all in the past (Picture: Instagram)

Like plenty of Wags and their footballer partners, they also faced cheating rumours when Abbey was pregnant with the couple’s first child in 2011.

She later described the ‘heartbreak’ as ‘horrendous,’ but they later tied the knot and, well, the rest is history.

As for her own career, Abbey is known for her winning stint on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and presenting Britain’s Next Top Model since 2015.

Elen Rivas

Elen Rivas was dating Frank Lampard at the time (Picture: Mark Large/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock)

Of course, Frank Lampard is now happily married to TV presenter Christine Lampard, but he dated Elen Rivas before they split in 2009.

Fortunately, their romance lasted long enough for Elen to enjoy the wild Wag life of Baden-Baden, as she famously belted out Gloria Gaynor’s hit I Will Survive while standing on a table at a bar.

It was also previously reported that the Spanish model threw a strop when she was stopped from taking six items of carry-on luggage to the plane to Germany.

She made headlines with her drunken karaoke moment on a bar table (Picture: Mark Large/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock)

Elen and Franke split after seven years and two daughters together (Picture: Getty)

Having dated from 2002 until 2009, Elen and Frank share two daughters. Their first, Luna, was born in 2005, while second daughter, Isla, was born in 2007.

She and Frank split in 2009, much to the shock of the public.

‘It was by mutual agreement, but break-ups are never good, especially when you have children,’ the now 47-year-old told the Daily Mail at the time.

She admitted their break-up was a mutual decision (Picture: Getty)

Alex went on to date Peter Andre for a brief moment, while Frank is married to TV presenter Christine (Picture: James Veysey/REX/Shutterstock)

‘We also had plans for the future: one minute we were planning another baby, the next we parted. Luckily, our girls were young enough to be spared the agony of seeing their parents split up.’

Elen went on to date Mysterious Girl popstar Peter Andre, while Frank married Loose Women and The One Show host Christine Bleakley in 2015.

Vanessa Perroncel

Vanessa Perroncel was pregnant with Wayne Bridge’s son at the time (Picture: Gouhier-Hahn-Orban/ABACA/REX/Shutterstock)

Vanessa Perroncel actually steered clear of alcohol in Baden-Baden, due to being pregnant with Wayne Bridge’s son, Jaydon, at the time.

But despite swerving the drunken scandals, it all came crashing down following her split from Wayne in 2009.

She managed to avoid the wild antics of Baden-Baden due to not drinking (Picture: Getty)

Vanessa split from Wayne in 2009, but they now co-parent a son (Picture: Instagram)

Vanessa, now 46, was accused of having a four-month affair with Wayne’s teammate, John Terry, which she denied.

Things became very frosty between the two players, as Wayne quit the squad because he didn’t want to play alongside him, and even refused to shake his hand when they faced one another on the pitch.

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French Model Vanessa was later linked with Cheryl’s ex-husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, while Wayne has been happily married to The Saturdays star Frankie Sandford since 2014.

Wayne and Frankie also share sons Parker, nine, and Carter, seven.

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