Soccer shirt numbers were once intimately linked with the position one played. To the extent that positions were no ifs ands or buts referred to by shirt number! This meant that a player's amount changed with each match, depending on which position was assigned to him on that singular day. The numbers 1 and 12 were usually kept for goalkeepers, 5 for a center midfielder, 9 for a striker, 11 for a left winger and amount 10 for an attacking midfielder.
Things changed while the 1954 World Cup when Fifa laid down the rule that teams had to use a numbering system. A specific shirt amount was to be given to each player for the entire tournament. But that was then and this is now...
With the numbering law of 1 to 11 relegated to the past, on the world stage, teams usually stick to the numbers 1 to 23, though there are a few exceptions. And at the club level, any amount from 1 to 99 can be worn. So, you have random numbers at play - numbers that players reconsider lucky or their beloved player's numbers worn as a mark of respect.
Players now lay claim to positive numbers and jealously guard them. Only players that seem worthy of continuing a patrimony are allocated the much coveted numbers 7, 9 and 10. They have history to back them up and have come to be synonymous with soccer legends. But the biggest honor goes to the amount 10, given to the most creative playmaker on the field who scores the maximum goals. The amount 10 soccer jersey has graced the shoulders of Pele, Diego Maradona, Michel Platini, Zico, Lothar Matthäus, Gary Lineker, Roberto Baggio, Zinedine Zidane, Michael Owen, Juan Román Riquelme, Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Van der Vaart, Wayne Rooney, Kaka and Lionel Messi.
Bobby Charlton, Ian Rush, Fornando Torres and Alan Shearer are preeminent amount 9's. More recently, the lethal Brazilian forward Ronaldo did full justice to the amount 9. Iconic amount 7's are David Villa, Raul Gonzalez, Franck Ribery, Luis Figo, George Best, Eric Cantona, Juanito, Amaro, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Andriy Schevchenko.
And then, of course, you've got positive players who adopted their own unique numbers and made them their trademark. The legend Johan Cruyff took a liking to amount 14 and wore it instead of the amount 1 that should've been assigned to him. David Beckham chose 23 and made it the most sought out for amount on the field! Recently, Ronaldinho premium amount 80 based on the year of his birth.
There's no doubt that generations to come will connect these numbers with soccer greats. They'll be worn with a sense of pride, driving each player to deliver an inspired operation that does the amount on his back proud...
Soccer - A Number's Game