10 weird jersey numbers worn by footballers

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.