10 weird jersey numbers worn by footballers

Footballers, over the years, have acquired the reputation for being eccentric entities. Their off the pitch adventures have been well documented in the recent times and with the kind of money being thrown around these days, their adventures off the pitch are only expected to attract further attention.

However, some players decided to mix business and pleasure and perhaps the only way to do that would be with the numbers they wear and trust us on this, there have been quite a few choices of numbers amongst footballers.

In this segment, we take a look at 10 of the weirdest numbers ever worn by professional footballers.

Honourable mentions

Milan Baros – 5 (Liverpool)

Edgar David – 1 (Barnet)

Bixent Lizarazu – 69 (Bayern Munich)

Zamorano – 1+8 (Inter Milan)

Mathieu Flamini – 84 (A C Milan)

Andriy Shevchenko – 76 (A C Milan)

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Vitor Baia – 99 (Porto)

Baia played a critical role in Porto's UEFA Champions League winning campaign

The former Portuguese shot stopper had considerable success at Porto during the late '80s and early '90s before moving on to the Spanish super weights Barcelona in the summer of 1996.

After a good start to his career at Camp Nou, a series of injuries coupled with the appointment of Louis van Gaal meant that Baia was deemed surplus to requirements at the club and subsequently sent back on loan to Porto in January 1999.

However, upon arriving at his former club, the goalkeeper realised that the number 1 position was not available at the club and hence decided to opt for 99, a number weird for any footballer, let alone a goalkeeper.

Although, we would also like to mention that the change in numbers probably proved beneficial to the player as well as Porto as not only did their shirt sales shoot up, Baia also played a critical role in his side lifting 5 Primeira Liga titles and 1 UEFA Cup as well as a UEFA Champions League.

Asamoah Gyan – 3 (Ghana)

Ghana's all time top scorer dons a number that surprises many

Asamoah Gyan is a name that is forever etched in the memoirs of the game of football. The Ghanian’s missed penalty in his side’s quarter-final clash against Uruguay still evokes sad emotions from millions of football fans.

While the former Rennes and Sunderland man enjoyed a rather illustrious career since moving to Europe with Udinese in 2003, his choice of jersey number cannot be termed illustrious by any stretch.

Gyan, who is Ghana’s all time top scorer with 51 goals in 105 appearances, dons the number 3 jersey for not only his country but also his current club Kayserispor.

For an out and out striker who has over 184 club goals in 319 appearances, it's a surprise to us that Gyan prefers to wear the aforementioned number which is generally associated with defenders rather than the illustrious 9 or 10 that attackers often don. The attacker even went on to explain his decision in an interview with The Mirror UK.

He was quoted as saying, “Three is the shirt I wore as a teenager in Ghana. It is a powerful number. If you are lifting something heavy, you count to three before you lift. If you want to warn someone, you warn them once, then twice and the third time you take action.”

Glen Johnson – 8 (Stoke City)

Johnson is by no measure a midfield dynamo who deserves to wear the number 8

If you happen to be a Liverpool fan, chances are that the mere mention of his name might get your blood boiling. Glen Johnson arrived at the Merseyside with expectations amongst the Reds high due to his performances for his previous club Portsmouth but proved to be a rather wasteful buy as he was constantly mocked for his performances.

So, when Liverpool released him, the footballing world lost a source of entertainment. That was until Glen signed for Stoke City and decided he was going to be “The Man” at the club by taking up the vacant number 8, the number traditionally worn by a central midfielder.

Now to be fair to him, while his attacking instincts can prove troublesome to the opposition at times, Johnson is by no measure a midfield dynamo who can boss the centre of the park. In fact, he could barely boss his own flank during his time at Liverpool. What is perhaps more entertaining is that Stoke actually let him have the number 8, which he still wears to this day.

William Gallas – 10 (Arsenal)

Wenger's decision to hand Gallas the number 10 jersey surprised many

Let’s be honest here, if there was a list of foolhardy things during the regime of Arsene Wenger, the decision to hand William Gallas the number 10 jersey would perhaps feature very high on it.

Dennis Bergkamp had just retired from the game of football and when Gallas refused to wear the number 3 jersey, Arsene Wenger decided, after a lot of deliberation, that the recently acquired Frenchman was the perfect person to acquired the responsibilities associated with the number, one generally associated with strikers and playmakers.

However, that was not the first time that eccentric defender put on a number that was unusual having pulled on the number 13 jersey at Chelsea because it was the postcode of the area in Marseille where he lived!

While his defensive abilities were world class, his poor attitude on and off the pitch often proved to be a major hindrance during his time in England and Gallas failed to truly become an elite centre-back that many believed he would be one day.

Gianluigi Buffon – 88 (Parma)

Gianluigi Buffon irked many with his choice of squad number of Parma.

Buffon was already believed to be one of the best in the business during the late 90s courtesy of his performances for Parma. He played a crucial role in the side winning the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup in 1999. However, Buffon courted controversy at the beginning of the 2000-01 season when he decided to swap his jersey number from 1 to 88.

Goalkeepers are believed to be a weird breed of footballers by many but picking the number 88 was preposterous even by a goalkeeper’s standard. However, that was not all that was weird about his number.

The number 88 is believed to be a Neo-Nazi symbol and Buffon was under immense media scrutiny for wearing the number. Buffon had to even clarify his rationale behind the decision to don the number and was quoted as saying, “I have chosen 88 because it reminds me of four balls and in Italy, we all know what it means to have balls: strength and determination. And this season I will have to have balls to get back my place in the Italy team.”

To his credit though, Buffon decided that he would no longer wear the number and decided to change his number to 77!

Ronaldinho – 80 (A C Milan)

The Brazilian decided to wear the number 80 jersey at the San Siro

Ronaldinho is believed to be amongst the best footballers who ever lived by many. The Brazilian mesmerised the world of football with his performances for Barcelona and is regarded as a magician who possessed the ability to weave his magic around the best of defences. He is still revered at Barcelona for his mesmerising performances during his 5-year tenure at the Camp Nou.

While being absolutely fabulous to watch on the pitch, Ronaldinho, over the years has also acquired the reputation for being an eccentric. His time at PSG was mired by controversy with his manager even questioning his dedication towards the game.

When Ronaldinho signed for AC Milan in 2008, he was already past his prime and his partying habits had become a headache for Barcelona. Upon arriving in Milan, Ronaldinho learnt that his favoured number 10 jersey was not available (Clarence Seedorf donned the number 10) and hence decided that he was going to wear the number 80 jersey.

While it indicates the year in which he was born, the magical Ronaldinho wearing the number 80 jersey still remains a sight that made many fans question his saneness.

Khalid Boulahrouz – 9 (Chelsea)

Circumstances forced Boulahrouz into wearing the number 9 at Chelsea

Boulahrouz had already acquired a reputation for himself when he arrived on the English shores to sign for Chelsea from Wolfsburg in the summer of 2006. The tough tackling Dutch defender, who was nicknamed “Khalid der Kannibale” (Khalid The Cannibal) was believed to be a perfect fit for a Jose Mourinho side courtesy of his solid defensive abilities.

However, even Boulahrouz might have been surprised when Chelsea decided to hand him a number 9 jersey, previously worn by Hernan Crespo, on his arrival. Number 9 was the only number available at the club and Khalid was handed the responsibility of donning the same. Needless to say, his number became a constant subject of jokes for fans of other clubs and to this day remains one of the most unusual numbers ever worn by a footballer.

As for his time at Chelsea, while Boulahrouz did start well, a spell on the sidelines coupled with the emergence of John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho as a world class central defensive pair meant curtains for his time at Stamford Bridge and the Dutchman was shipped on a loan to Sevilla at the beginning of the 2007-08 season.

Clint Dempsey – 2 (Tottenham Hotspur and Seattle Sounders)

Dempsey was forced to wear the number 2 at Tottenham Hotspur

Clint Dempsey is perhaps one of the best American footballers to have set foot on the English soil. After having impressed during his time at the Gillette Stadium with the New England Revolution, Dempsey signed for Fulham in the winter of 2007 and while he took some time adapting to the life in the Premier League, he grew as the seasons got on and had an amazing 2011-12 season.

After a short stint at Tottenham Hotspur, the 34-year-old returned to Seattle Sounders in 2013 and has gone about his business of scoring goals as usual (50 goals and 21 assists in 104 appearances is not a bad return by any measure).

While he gained the plaudits of the pundits during his time at Fulham, his short stint at Tottenham was not uneventful either. The American found the back of the net on 12 occasions apart from assisting another 5 in 43 appearances. While his performance in front of the goal did not come as a surprise to many, his choice of number with Tottenham was a surprise to many.

Tottenham had already allocated the number 8 that he wears with the US Men’s National Team and number 23 that he had worn at Fulham and hence, Dempsey had to choose another number and he picked 2, a number not associated with an attacker.

The player continues to don the number 2 to this day with Seattle Sounders despite having the option to wear the number 8 and 23 and his choice of number remains an unusual one to this day.

Wilfried Bony – 2 (Swansea City)

Bony has decided to wear the number 2 to commemorate his 2nd coming at Swansea

After impressing during his spell at Swansea, when Wilfried Bony moved to Manchester City, it was believed to be a step in the right direction. The Ivory Coast man needed to play for a bigger club in order to fulfil his potential and Manchester City have already become an elite club in England and many deemed it a match made in heavens.

However, after a rather tumultuous time at the Etihad as well as a rather underwhelming loan at Stoke City, Bony is back where it all began for him in England and he surprised quite a few football fans with his choice of number at Swansea. The Ivorian, who is an out and out striker, decided that he would be wearing the number 2 jersey even though the number 9 jersey was available at the club, making fans worldwide ridicule his choice.

In his defence, the player has a reason why he has chosen the number. Bony said in an interview post his unveiling that he took the number since it is his 2nd stint at the club. “It’s a special number for me. It’s the second time I am at the club, hence I wanted to wear number two, and I want to achieve more for the team,” the striker was quoted as saying.

Hicham Zerouali – 0 (Aberdeen)

Zerouali's decision to wear the number 0 remains one of the most unusual decisions in the game.

This is perhaps a name that features on every list of unusual jersey numbers worn by footballers and deservedly so. Late Hicham Zerouali, a Morrocan attacker was signed by Aberdeen in 1999 and did not waste time from introducing himself to the footballing world by choosing a number that was weird in plain simple words.

The first four letters of him name are Zero and the player decided that choosing a number 0 jersey did justice to his name. However, he soon became a fan-favourite at the Pittodrie Stadium and was lovingly called “Zero” by the clubs fans and justified his transfer with some impressive performances in Scotland.

Despite being a player who attracted a lot of positive attention, Zero fell out of love with Scottish football and moved to UAE in 2002. However, he remains a revered figure to this day and the club even arranged a memorial and tribute to his memory after his passing away in 2004 which was attended by thousands despite him not being on their books at that time.

Thankfully for the footballing world, the Scottish and English football associations decided to outlaw players wearing the jersey making Zerouali one of a kind footballer.