I had few options when I picked a number for my high school soccer team. There are only a few pre-picked numbers for goalkeepers, 1 and 0 are the usuals, but there was a third option that I had to pick: 00. I loved the uniqueness of the double zero, was it a loophole to have another option for goalkeepers? Yes. Did I care? Absolutely not. Having a number that was unique and was exclusively for me was alluring, but that’s not something that is often done in soccer.
Every once in a while, players will wear unique numbers and make them their own. A majority of the time, players will opt for the already-prestigious numbers. It’s an honor to wear 7 or 10 for your club, doing the same as many legends that came before, but bringing your legacy to a squad number can be even cooler.
Often larger and unique numbers will be donned on the backs of youth players making their first appearances for the club. It feels foreign to see the number 77 under Saka’s name.
Sometimes though, the numbers will stick around. Declan Rice, Trent Alexander Arnold, and Phil Foden are all still rocking large numbers on their shirts. Foden wears #47 in honor of his grandfather, that passed away at that age. Declan Rice was randomly handed #41 and has been too superstitious about changing it.
I, for one, hope he never does. An ode to you, weird number wearers. May you make them iconic.