Football shirt numbers explained

I’ve got an OCD thing with squad numbers. I’d honesty spent up to and hour organising them on FM back in the day.

I cannot tell you how much it annoys me that Morelos plays in 20, Kent in 14 and Davis in 10.

I’d have it Morelos 9. Kent 10. Davis 4.
Davis wouldn't even get 4 in my squad.

CM with a CBs number no.
 
The players (or types) I associate with each number are

1. Goalie
2. Gary Stevens ………... Sandy Jardine
3. Davie Robertson ……. John Grieg
4. Richard Gough ……… John Grieg
5. Nigel Spackman …….. Derek Johnstone
6. Barry Ferguson
7. Trevor Steven ……….. Cooper
8. Paul Gascoigne …….. Tom Forsyth!
9. Ally McCoist ………… Derek Johnstone
10. Mark Hateley
11. Brian Laudrup …….. Cooper

14. Johan Cruyff
Tom Forsyth as an eight!
Yip, sometimes kicked off and dropped right back to centre defence.
Probably the first player I knew whose number wasn’t “his position”.
Then Souness came along and we had Wilkins wearing 5 in midfield.
As indeed Souness himself?
Graeme Roberts wearing 2 at centre back.
McPherson wearing fIve at right back.
Derek Ferguson wearing 2 in midfield.
I think the only numbers who have been true to their history, in UK terms anyway, and for the most part, have been three and nine.
 
Ronaldo famously wore 99 when he returned to Italy with AC Milan. Number 9 was taken by Inzaghi and therefore R9 had to be R99.

68893299_2771028432925406_4218874910899961856_n.jpg


Vítor Baía wore number 99 for Porto and won the Champions League wearing 99 in 2004.

68758611_2771028619592054_6497667378564825088_n.jpg


Bradley Wright-Phillips wears number 99 for New York Red Bulls. When he scored his 100th MLS goal he removed his shirt to reveal a new shirt with number 100 on the back.

69042286_2771028902925359_8467060177571414016_n.jpg


Tommy Oar wore 121 for Australia against Indonesia in an Asian Cup qualifier. It was the highest number worn in an International game at the time.

68752591_2771028709592045_4919416306312151040_n.jpg


Higham Zerouali wore number 0 for Aberdeen. He sadly died in a car crash.

ECk6hqDXsAAlYAH.jpg
 
1 . goalkeeper
2. right back
3 . left back
4 . right half
5 . centre half
6 . left half
7 . right wing
8 . inside right
9 . centre forward
10 . inside left
11 outside left

its really that simple
Really?
Explain the roles of inside right/left and right/left half to a millennial.
 
--------------------------------1.Klos---------------------------------

--2.Porrini----3.Moore----4.Amoruso----5.Numan--


--7.Kanchelskis--6.Ferguson--8.Gio--11.Albertz--


----------------------9.Mols-----10.Wallace--------------------

This is how I've always thought of numbers in certain positions.
 
Ronaldo famously wore 99 when he returned to Italy with AC Milan. Number 9 was taken by Inzaghi and therefore R9 had to be R99.

68893299_2771028432925406_4218874910899961856_n.jpg


Vítor Baía wore number 99 for Porto and won the Champions League wearing 99 in 2004.

68758611_2771028619592054_6497667378564825088_n.jpg


Bradley Wright-Phillips wears number 99 for New York Red Bulls. When he scored his 100th MLS goal he removed his shirt to reveal a new shirt with number 100 on the back.

69042286_2771028902925359_8467060177571414016_n.jpg


Tommy Oar wore 121 for Australia against Indonesia in an Asian Cup qualifier. It was the highest number worn in an International game at the time.

68752591_2771028709592045_4919416306312151040_n.jpg


Higham Zerouali wore number 0 for Aberdeen. He sadly died in a car crash.

ECk6hqDXsAAlYAH.jpg
Ivan Zamorano wore 1+8 because Ronaldo was given the number 9 at Inter.


 
There’s only 1 number 4 in my lifetime. John Greig.
To be fair, Gough and Amoruso carried the number four banner with great pride.
For me, Rangers most iconic number.
Should be the number worn by our team captain.
As in, when the captain is installed, he gets the number four jersey.
Not that Jack Simpson should have been captain in the games he played.:))
 
Gerd Muller always wore 13 for West Germany.

Argentina 1978 WC squad were numbered alphabetically.
Osvaldo Ardiles was either No.1 or 2.
Did the Dutch not do similar in 74?
Bar Cruyff, of course.
Their goalkeeper wore number eight.
Could probably have played in midfield as well though, knowing the Dutch, total football philosophy of those days.
 
Fitba was better when it was 1-11, with two full backs, 3 half backs, 2 wingers, inside right & left, and centre forward.
Used tobe loadsa games with 4-3, 5-4, 6-3
etc, was much better to watch.
Thanks for 'k all Alf Ramsey!
 
Really?
Explain the roles of inside right/left and right/left half to a millennial.

Got to say I'm delighted you young folk are the future of our world. We don't understand it any more than you understand the world we grew up in & still miss.
Enjoy (oh, & btw, you lot didnae invent sex drugs and rock & roll any more than we did)
 
Gerrard always see him as 4 because of England.

Lampard, England's 8 since Scholes prematurely retired.

Scholes 18.

Seeing Beckham wear 10 or Gerrard wear 17 looks weird
 
Good explanation of how numbers evolved into positions:

 
It's also different depending what country you're in.

First players that come to mind for me:

1. Goram
2. Cafu
3. Maldini
4. Zanetti
5. Puyol
6. Baresi / Xavi
7. C.Ronaldo
8. Gazza
9. McCoist / Ronaldo
10. Maradona
11. Laudrup
 
Ardiles was number 1 which looked odd as F'ck and think it was 82 WC when Argentina numbered the squad alphabetically. But I could be wrong!
Just googled it they did do it in 78 too.
Ardiles was 2 in 78, Norberto Alonso was 1.
Ardiles was 1 in 82.:))
 
I always liked this during the Advocaat years. Thought it was something we could have kept going.
Yeah, I remember Advicaat explaining it, saying in the Netherlands it went from right (2) to left (5) in the old days (pre-squad numbers).

Didn't stop them from using other systems for the national team, such as by alphabetical order:

 
That number on the back of the shirt.. I used to wonder when I was a lot younger what each number signified for the team. Although some teams and players are moving away from the traditional number - still very much used today.

For me, I want to see a good old number 10 shirt in the ranks. The playmaker, attacking the opposition and being able to control the play around him.


No.2
Defence – usually RB but not always.. Tav

No.3
Defence - usually LB - Roberto Carlos, our own Bassey

No.4 & 5
Defence - usually CD

No.6
Defence and MF - usually CD or Defensive Mid

No.7 usually wingers and strikers.. CR7?

No.8 - the MF that can score goals and control the play too.. think Stevie G, Iniesta, Kakaaaaa

No.9 - Strikers. Usually the main striker.. think R9 Ronaldooooo and Suarezzzz

No.10 - Attacking Mid - the playmaker..think Ozil, Baggio, Zidane

No.11 - Left Winger.. think Brian Laudrup, Giggs, Romarioo

Sorry! Lack of football action has got me bored. Probably seems common knowledge but I find the history of that shirt number interesting. Reminds you of some of the great players of today and yesterday
for me it’s
1 GK
2 RB
3 LB
4 CH
5 CH
6 CDM or CH
7 RM/W
8 CM
9 CF
10 Second Striker or CAM
11 LM/W

These are based on the old 4-4-2 formation tbf
 
I don't know why, but I have it in my head that no.31 is for young, high potential players.
Only one I can think of off the top of my head was Julian Draxler when at Schalke, but it seemed to be startlingly regular seeing a young talent or breakthrough youth player wearing no.31
It's most likely total shite that I have convinced myself there's a pattern somewhere when there's not...
 
I remember when the squad numbers and names on strips in Scotland when the SPL. The start of season 98/99 if memory serves me right, my eldest son was 6 at the start of that season and when to help him with his arithmetic I would ask him either going to the games or on our way home who had scored and get him to add up the goalscorers squad numbers together!! Example Gio (8), Johannsen (20) had scored would be 28.
Rangers and education. What else can I say…
Maybe you had to be there!!!
Sounds superb. A game I’d loved to have played!
 
Towards the end of 1997/98 we had Mccoist wearing 8 and Gattuso wearing 9 - swap them around man!

I assumed it was because Mccoist came back into the team when Durie was wearing 9, and then kept it due to some superstition/he was comfortable wearing it from the early days.
 
7 a striker?

10 an attacking mid?

Baggio was predominately a forward.

In a an old style 442 before squad numbers were generally

1 - GK
2-4 Defenders
5/6/7/11 - CM and wide midfielders
9/10 Forwards
This man is correct!!

Edit:
Until I read it closer. Where is your 8?
You only have three defenders.
 
—————— 1 ——————
2 ————— 5 ————— 3
——— 4 —————6
——— 8 ————— 10
7 ————— 9 ————— 11

Grew up with the old WM formation. I always think of play’s numbers corresponding with this.
 
Was Souness not a number 4, and Butcher 6? Maybe I remember that wrongly.

That’s probably where I got it from. Butcher used to like 6 so Wilkins sometimes wore 5 as Gough would wear 4. Also my boys club at the time the number 4 was always a midfielder.
 
Numbers for formations were/are different in each country. In Argentina traditionally a RB wore 4 and the CBs wore 2 and 6, with 5 being the defensive midfielder rather than the 4 like in Britain for example.

British 4-4-2 and 2-3-5 has been covered already on the thread. Liverpool though were a bit maverick with it under Paisley. Liverpool used to line up with 4 as a CB, and the midfield being LM 5, CMs 10 and 11 (Souness' usual number), and RM 8. Normally they played with 7 and 9 up front.

John Greig towards the end of his spell was the first Rangers manager to really mess about with standard numbers for positions. Backline was often:

4. McPherson 3. McCelland 5. Paterson 2. Dawson​

That changed when Jock Wallace came back in.

Souness was pretty different too when he was manager.

The team that won the league in 87 and ended up basically picking itself by the end of the season was:

1. Woods

7. Nicholl 2. Roberts 6. Butcher 3. Munro

5. McPherson 4. Souness 10. Durrant 11. Cooper

8. Fleck 9. McCoist​
 
That’s correct.
Ray Kennedy then Ronnie Whelan.
Bill Shankly
Going back a long way too, I'm sure ex Hibs player Peter Cormack regularly wore number 5 at Anfield.
Bill Shankly, was the first to break the mould ,with Peter Cormack,people would question him,” Why is Cormack wearing No 5 …..he’s not a centre half”
Which was the number always associated with a centre half.
 
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