Why Football Shirt Numbers are Different By Country

Why football shirt numbers are different by country.

Shirt numbers were first used in European football on August 25th, 1928 in matches between Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal, and Chelsea and Swansea Town. These fixtures began the convention of numbering players right to left, back to front, based on pitch location.

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#shirtnumbers #squadnumbering #tactics

[splodgethekangaroo]

"The number 10 symbolises attacking ability, flair, and creativity"
William Gallas: "Hold my beer"

[ozeirGD]

"11 is tricky, pacey wingers..."


Rui Patricio: hold my hands

[ramshacklealex]

The way Joe says "shirt numbers" at the beginning makes it sound like he's shocked that such a thing could exist. Shirt numbers?!

[IgazenTalksWrestling]

Never have information I never asked for explained so fascinating.

[BeachPleased]

I always notice only England use no.4 as DMF... but never questions why,
Javiet Zanneti the noticeable RB wear no 4, while Roberto Carlos wear no 6 as LB
great video as always

[terretetetito]

In Argentina it's so clear what positions the shirt numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9 represent that a lot of times when we talk about a position we don't even say the name, we say the number. For example: saying "número 5" or "el cinco" is waaay more common than saying "mediocampista defensivo", "el volante de contención", etc.

[tom.parryjones]

Tifo: <recognises Lucas Biglia as a typical number 5>
Also Tifo: <animates Biglia in a shirt with a very prominent number 6 on it>

[MrFilbert]

Dutch football:
3 for RCB
5 for LB
6 for DM
14 for Johan Cruyff

[AliBaba-vvrb]

I moved to England last year, and when people ask me where I play on the pitch I'm used to replying I'm a 6. I was kinda surprised to see it doesn't have the same significance and is not as self-explanatory as it is in France.

[danielpedic]

One of my favourite Easter eggs about shirt numbers is that in the 2010 World Cup, Xavi and Iniesta swapped their Barcelona shirt numbers - Xavi wearing 8 and Iniesta wearing 6.

[hvehart]

I'm a squad number enthusiast and I can not describe how much I enjoyed this video. Thank you for this!

[ex.martian]

Then the God said Let there be shirt numbers 72, 77 and 99 in Italian league!

[ferhathebbache]

that explains why the Left Back Roberto Carlos wore number 6

[dienederlanden]

I believe in The Netherlands it is very 'conventional':
GK: 1
RB: 2
CBs: 3 & 4
LB: 5
CDM: 6
Box to box CM: 8
CAM: 10
Wingers: 7 & 11
ST: 9

[Mateus_Carvalho]

5:58 Didn't expect to see Operário-MS in one of these.

[BadDayLp]

In germany we go even further than just the "Sechser"

The defensiv midfielders are called (like in the video) "Sechser" (coming from Sechs = six).
Our central midfielders are called "Achter" (coming from Acht = eight)
and our offensive midfielders are the "Zehner" (Coming from Zehn = ten)

Additionally some numbers have a sweet spots on some positions:
1 is obviously the Goalkeeper
12 is banned from most germany teams, because the Fans are the "
twelfth" man on the pitch.
9 and 11 are almost everytime strikers
7 is def. a winger
2, 3, 4 are almost always defenders
5 is either a defender or a deep lying midfielder

And sometimes, but i think this happens outside of Germany as well, we give the number 10 not to the OM, but to the best player of the squad

[waex]

Thanks for clearing up why Brazilian always have a number 6 left back. Learned so much.

[TheFrede]

I can't explain how much it annoys me when a player wears a number that just doesn't fit their position or play style. Probably not the only one that feels this way

[SlowBrakes]

"Number 5 like Lucas Biglia" proceeds to use drawing of him wearing number 6

[IvanderVaart]

In Brazil, only Santos plays with:
RB 4
CB 2
CB 6
LB 3