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Retired numbers in football (soccer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Football clubs around the world sometimes retire squad numbers to recognise players' loyal service, or tragic death.
Contents |
This practice, long established in the major North American sports, is a recent development in soccer since squad numbers were not widely used until the 1990s. Before then, it was typical for players in the starting lineup to be issued numbers 1 to 11 by formation/position on a match-by-match basis, and substitutes to be numbered from 12 upwards, meaning a player might wear different numbers during the season if they were to play in different positions for tactical reasons, or simply not be a regular in the starting lineup.
Retiring a player's number usually occurs after the player has left the team or retired. It honors a player who has meant so much to his club that they retire the shirt number that the player wore during their time there, meaning no other player is permitted to use that number in the future. In some cases, such as Jason Mayélé, Vittorio Mero, Marc-Vivien Foé, Miklós Fehér, Ray Jones and Antonio Puerta, numbers have been retired to posthumously honour a player who died in tragic circumstances while still active. Also, Norwegian club Fredrikstad have retired Dagfinn Enerly's number following an on-pitch accident that left Enerly paralyzed.
National teams Argentina and Cameroon have been prevented by FIFA rules dealing with squad numbers for Finals tournaments, from retiring the numbers of Diego Maradona (10) and Marc-Vivien Foé (17) respectively, but in other competitions or friendlies national associations may assign numbers according to criteria of their choosing.
Some clubs dedicate a number to their fans, and do not issue it to any player. The most common number for this practice is 12, from descriptions of the fans as the twelfth man. Clubs and teams reserving number 12 for their supporters include:
- Aarhus GF
- Aberdeen FC
- AIK
- Atlético Mineiro
- Austrian national team
- Avaí F.C.
- Bayern Munich
- Bristol Rovers
- Cork City F.C.
- Fenerbahçe
- Ferencváros
- Feyenoord
- Flamengo
- Genoa
- Hammarby
- Lecce
- Lens
- Malmö FF
- OB
- Omonia
- PAOK
- Plymouth Argyle
- Portsmouth
- Stockport County
- Torino
- Újpest
- Vålerenga
- Zenit Saint Petersburg
- Club de Fútbol Monterrey
- UANL Tigres
- Werder Bremen
Reading reserve the number 13 for their supporters, Panathinaikos reserve this number in honour of Gate 13, the ultras based in the respective gate in home matches. Bristol City have allocated number 31 to their fans, while Oldham Athletic reserve the number 40 for their fans.
| Team | # | Player | Position | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dinamo Bucureşti |
11 | Cătălin Hâldan |
Midfielder | 1994-2000 | During the second half of the friendly match Şantierul Naval Olteniţa - FC Dinamo Bucureşti, Hâldan suffered a cerebral vascular accident and later died at a local hospital in Olteniţa. |
 AC Milan |
3 | Paolo Maldini |
Left fullback | 1984-present | The shirt has not been fully retired. Maldini has given consent for his sons to adopt the number 3 shirt if either of them play professionally for the club.[22] |
 Orlando Pirates |
22 | Lesley Manyathela |
Striker | -2004 | The club retired the number 22, after Manyathela died in a car crash in August, 2004. However, Confederation of African Football rules state that shirts must be numbered 1-30 in continental club competitions, so Pirates now have another player wearing 22. |
 Maccabi Tel-Aviv |
12 | Meni Levi |
Defender | During a game between Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem, Levi chest-controlled and kicked the ball, ran back to defend, then collapsed. He returned to his feet, and then collapsed a second time. He was subsequently on a life-support machine, and has since returned home.[23] | |
 Santos FC |
10 | Pelé |
Striker | 1956-1974 | The club had retired the shirt but re-issued it soon after, due to Conmebol rules, which state that shirts must be numbered 1-25 in continental club competitions (such as Copa Libertadores, Copa Conmebol, Copa Sudamericana, amongst others). |
 Universitario de Deportes |
22 | José Luis Carranza |
Midfielder | 1986-2004 | The club had retired the shirt in 2005 but re-issued it soon after, due to Conmebol rules, which state that shirts must be numbered 1-25 in continental club competitions (such as Copa Libertadores, Copa Conmebol, Copa Sudamericana, amongst others). |
 Dunfermline Athletic |
4 | Norrie McCathie |
Defender | 1996 | The club retired the number after club captain McCathie was found dead in his home on January 8, 1996, as a result of Carbon Monoxide poisoning.[24] At that time, Scottish League clubs used shirt numbers 1-11, so for the remainder of the 1995-96 season, 12 was used instead. However, the number was not retired permanently, and has been reissued since. |
 Stabæk |
7 | Christer Basma |
Central defender | 1995-1998 | The club retired the number to honor his services for the club.[25] The retirement was revoked ahead of the 2004 season, the number given to Henning Hauger. |
 América |
10 | Cuauhtémoc Blanco |
Striker | 1992-1997, 1998-2000, 2002-2004, 2005-2007 | The shirt number will be retired only for a period of 5 years, starting on June 2007. However, due to Conmebol rules -which state that shirts must be numbered 1-25 in continental club competitions- jersey #10 was worn by Leonin Pineda during Copa Sudamericana 2007 edition. |
| UANL Tigres |
7 | Gerónimo Barbadillo |
Midfielder | 1977-1982 | The number 7 in Tigres has been immortalized to honor Gerónimo Barbadillo. However, since it is a requirement for teams playing the Copa Libertadores to list their players with numerical order, the #7 has been given only in these special occasions to special players. In 2005, the #7 was given to Claudio Nuñez, and in 2006, to Walter Gaitán for the Copa Libertadores competition. |
 Sevilla FC |
16 | Antonio Puerta |
Left back, Left winger | 2004-2007 | The shirt has not been fully retired. Puerta's posthumous son will be able to adopt the number 16 shirt if he reaches Sevilla's first team.[26] |
- ^ Vasco honour Romario by retiring number 11 shirt. ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved on 9 September 2006.
- ^ Jeg var rørt. Viborg FF. Retrieved on 1 November 2005.
- ^ Pools retire Maidens' number 25. BBC News. Retrieved on 29 October 2007.
- ^ "City v Arsenal", Match programme, Manchester City v Arsenal, 2006-08-26, pp. 82.
- ^ "Remembering Ray - Number 31", Queens Park Rangers F.C., 2007-08-28. Retrieved on 2007-08-28.
- ^ Utrecht defender probably died of heart attack. Sports Network. Retrieved on 9 September 2006.
- ^ Legends - Franco Baresi. Planet World Cup. Retrieved on 9 September 2006.
- ^ Aldair says arrivederci to Genoa. ATL World Cup Soccer. Retrieved on 9 September 2006.
- ^ L'addio a Federico Pisani. Una delle pagine più tristi della storia neroazzurra. Atalanta BC Website. Retrieved on 9 September 2006.
- ^ Brescia in lutto (Italian). RAI Sport. Retrieved on 9 September 2006.
- ^ Italy 2-0 Russia. Channel 4. Retrieved on 9 September 2006.
- ^ Chievo honour Mayele. BBC News. Retrieved on 9 September 2006.
- ^ Sullo ceduto all'Avellino, buona fortuna Sasà... (Italian). FC Messina official website. Retrieved on 27 January 2007.
- ^ Retira America el 10 del Cuauh como tributo. El Universal.
- ^ On April 18 2007, AFC Ajax decided to retire the number 14 shirt in honour of Johan Cruijff and in celebration of his 60th birthday
- ^ Utrecht defender honored. Sports Network. Retrieved on 9 September 2006.
- ^ NTB. "FFK freder Enerlys draktnummer", Dagbladet, 10 August 2007. Retrieved on [[2007-08-13]]. (Norwegian)
- ^ A death brings fear to the field. International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 9 September 2006.
- ^ Galaxy earns tie with Red Bulls. Fox Soccer. Retrieved on 18 October 2007.
- ^ 80-talets sista allsvenska skägg. kffsnack. Retrieved on 25 August 2007.
- ^ Númer Stefáns hjá Norrköping aldrei notað aftur (Icelandic). Vísir.is. Retrieved on 23 October 2007.
- ^ "Maldini shirt waits for 3G", Channel 4, 2007-05-26. Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
- ^ Levi continues rehab at home. Eternal-Allegiance. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
- ^ NMBF Profile. Norrie McCathie Benevolent Fund. Retrieved on 2007-01-26.
- ^ Stabæk - Rosenborg match report (Norwegian). Stabæk IF official site. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
- ^ "SDel Nido announces Sevilla will retire number 16", Marca, 2007-09-01. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.