Nothing much could be remembered about his football skills or records than his weird jersey number. And the world still remembered when a Moroccan striker Hicham Zerouali first showed up in a football match with Jersey number 0. Was it a printer's mistake or a tier out? Why Jersey number 0?
You can't say, but how an utterly absurd jersey number selection brought unforgettable fame to Adolfo Bautista of Chivas De Guadalajara. The Mexican striker remains the only top-level footballer in history to wear three digits on his back. For the only reason that his favorite jersey number 10 had been taken by another player and all he needed to do was to add another 0. That became his unique personal brand, now nobody can miss him or wonder who was that player wearing number 100 shirt It was sure, Adolfo Bautista
Radamal Falcao’s return to La Liga and slightly surprisingly brilliant start to life with newly promoted Rayo Vallecano has delighted many, with “El Tigre” being fondly remembered for his exploits with Atletico Madrid when he became one of the world’s most feared strikers.
What was also surprising was the number Falcao chose to wear on his return to Spain: 3.
The Colombian marksman had worn the 9 shirt for the duration of his career in Europe, so did he simply take a number more associated with defenders as his usual number was already taken.
Not quite, Falcao explained that he took the shirt in honour of his father, who had worn it throughout his own career, and who sadly passed away in 2019.
Like many of the weird and wonderful numbers chosen by strikers, there’s usually a method to their madness, uniqueness and make them stand out among the large crowd.
When shirt numbers became part of football in 1939, it was very simple – you wore the number for your position, something Burnley and Sean Dyche recreated in a game earlier this season in a beautiful show of symmetry.
This meant that strikers wore 9 and 10 – think of all the greats that donned these and passed them down the generations to the point where nearly all first-choice forwards select these iconic numbers.
As squad numbers were introduced in the early 90s, allowances were made for first choice forwards wearing the classic winger numbers 7 and 11 – think of Cantona, Ronaldo (literally renamed CR7), Romario, Salah and Drogba.
Number 10 is still the most popular Jersey number in football, associated with the star player in the team. When a player becomes the main star in a team, he is often rewarded with number 10 shirt. We have players who switched over to wearing number 10 shirt made for the best players in the world. Think about Pele, Maradona, Messi, Neymar
Now that we’ve made it through the more recognisable striker shirt numbers, let’s go back to the start and look at the rest, starting from, well, the only possible place to start.
0
Now you’re probably thinking, who outside of the NBA (shout outs to Russell Westbrook and Damian Lillard) would choose to wear this number. Moroccan striker Hicham Zerouali did and you might then reasonably wonder why? Well, it’s in his name. And became his nickname.
.jpeg)
“Zero” joined Aberdeen and soon turned into a fans’ favourite, becoming the first player in British league history to wear the number 0 in the process. The number was outlawed a year later by the Scottish and English Premier Leagues, making the Moroccan unique in more ways than one.
01
Ossie Ardiles had famously worn 1 at the 1982 World Cup due to the Argentinian squad numbers being handed out in alphabetical order, but he was a midfielder so let’s park him and look at Derek Riordan.
On his return to Hibernian in 2008 following a disappointing sting at Celtic, Riordan saw that his No. 10 shirt was taken and decided to take the next best thing. No, not 9 or 11, but 01. He swiftly returned to 10 the following season, making his 08-09 (80-90?) shirt something of a collector’s item.
99
What’s better than one 9 on your shirt? That’s right, two of them.
.jpeg)
Upon his return to Serie A in January 2007, Ronaldo wore the 99 shirt for the other Milanese giants simply due to the 9 shirt already being in the possession of Filippo Inzaghi.
100
.jpeg)
From 0 to 100 – another utterly absurd jersey number selection by Adolfo Bautista of Chivas De Guadalajara. The Mexican striker remains the only top-level footballer in history to wear three digits on his back. Don’t expect that to change.
