Aug 28

Aug 28 Football’s Most Iconic Kit Numbers

The Top 5 Most Iconic Kit Numbers in Football

Kit numbers are an important staple in football.

From the early days of the sport where starting line-ups were given numbers of 1-11, fast forward to today where we see players don kit numbers into the late '80s, they always tell a story.

Today in my latest top five list, we rank the five most iconic kit numbers in football.

Number 6

In every kit number you'll read about today, you will hear about the greatest players to ever grace the game, but number six may hold the greatest leaders ever in football.

It's no coincidence that holding midfielders and centre-backs especially wear this number who in turn make the greater leaders if you look back on history.

The likes of AC Milan legend Franco Baresi and West Ham hero Bobby Moore wore the number six, with both clubs electing to retire the number in respect of their careers with the clubs, an action you don’t see often in football.

Aldair, Roma's title-winning captain of the 2000/01 season also wore the number six shirt for most of his tenure with Roma.

Barcelona icon Xavi wore the number six for 14 years with his boyhood club as he captained the club to their second treble in the 2014/15 season.

P.S. This will be the only ‘honourable mention’ in this article, but it was incredibly tough leaving out the number five shirt worn by the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Franz Beckenbauer, Carles Puyol… whilst writing this I'm feeling regret, nevertheless I'm sticking to my guns.

Number 8

Now, number eight is the number of elite midfield players, whether they be playmakers, box-to-box players, or an all-action, do-everything midfielder.

As a Liverpool fan, it would be disgustingly disgraceful if I didn't mention Mr. Liverpool himself; Steven Gerrard first alongside his former England teammate and the Premier League's highest-scoring midfielder ever, Frank Lampard.

Both players epitomised what it meant to be attacking number eight’s in football and set a standard for the next generation.

While they defined a generation of attacking number eight's, Barcelona's Andres Iniesta was the maestro, genius, metronome, there are too many superlatives to describe the Spaniard and how he was the heartbeat of those Barcelona teams.

The likes of Socrates, described as the “brain of Brazil” in the national teams of the early to mid-1980s by Jonathan Wilson had everything you wanted in a playmaking midfielder who was also prolific in front of goal.

Number 7

The number seven kit might just have the most importance and history when you look at certain clubs and their reaction to when players decide to take that number.

Manchester United’s rich history of the number seven kit consists of Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Without a doubt some of Man United’s Greatest Players.

That’s just one club.

Bonafide football legends like Raul, Luis Figo, and Kenny Dalglish all did the number seven shirt proud in their career.

Most of the time it’s the creative, maverick players who choose this number and are usually the most exciting on the pitch, the one you’d go and pay your money to see, with obvious exceptions you’ll see later on in the piece.

Number 9

The goalscorers of the game. The ones that can win you the game or lose you the game.

It’s a long list of greats who wore the special number nine, but I’ll try my best to be succinct.

The greatest to wear this number is Ronaldo, not ‘Brazilian Ronaldo’, or ‘Fat Ronaldo’, just Ronaldo.

I believe we've already seen the greatest strikers to ever play the game and I just don't see how anybody now or in the future can stack up to the sheer talent that we've witnessed from decades upon decades ago

Three-time Ballon D’or winner Marco Van Basten who played his last match at 28 years old, a fact that still stuns me remains one of the greatest to wear the number.

I know I said I’ll be succinct but I’m going to be rattling names off because it’s just way too hard.

Premier League all-time leading scorer Alan Shearer, Liverpool's all-time leading scorer Ian Rush, Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano as well as the likes of Bobby Charlton, Wayne Rooney, and George Weah.

Number 10

I genuinely believe four players who have worn the number ten shirt have a valid argument for greatest player ever and that’s why it ranks first on my list.

Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, Diego Maradona, and Pele are four of the greatest players to ever play football and if they aren't in your all-time top five, I refuse to converse with you.

It’s the number kids dream of wearing and one that makes you the star of the show and one to watch.

Number tens are usually the most technically gifted players, the ones who can create something out of nothing and one that can be off form the whole game but can produce a moment of magic in an instant.

The likes of Rivaldo, Dennis Bergkamp, Eusebio, and Alessandro Del Piero are just a few of those players to embody what it means to wear the number ten shirt and if I was to name all the legendary players that wore the number, we'd be here all day.