What is it with the jersey number 10? Why have so many great footballers had that number on their back? Is it because of superstition, because of the popular belief that the best player of team gets to wear it, or does that number get the best out of them? Well, I’m afraid I don’t have any answer. But what I have is a compilation of my all time favourite footballers to have sported ‘Jersey #10’, in no specific order.
Michel Platini:
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The current UEFA president used to sport the No. 10 jersey during his playing days. Even though he was midfielder, he once held the record of most international goals by a Frenchman until Thierry Henry broke it. With 2 Ballon d’Or’s against his name, Platini is one of the finest midfielders the game has ever seen. And as he once said, ‘The street is the best way to become a good footballer’, it has become more of a fact than a quotation.
In comes a cross, Ronaldinho takes it on his chest and as the ball bounces off it, he performs an amazing diagonal bicycle kick and GOAL! Ronaldinho, as we all know him as, is one of the better players to have graced the footballing world with his extraordinary football skills, especially juggling. When on field, he seems to have an affair with the ball. Forget the Romeos and Juliets, this is undoubtedly the best love story known to mankind. Period.
Zinedine Zidane:
There’s Xavi-Iniesta, there’s Gerrard-Lampard and there is Zidane all alone. What Xavi-Iniesta and Gerrard-Lampard struggle to do even as a pair, Zizou used to do it with absolute ease. This world has never seen a playmaker as good as Zidane, never will.
Although, I am not a big fan of Rooney, this is by far the best goal by a Manchester United player, ever. Many players have scored a goal with a bicycle kick but what makes this one perfect is that even though the cross had so much swing on it, he still managed to finish it with perfection. It seemed as if something in his studs attracted the ball. And boy, what a goal!
Pelé:
If there’s one player of whom I became a fan even before watching him play, it’s Pelé. I’ve heard about a few of the many goals scored by him through my grandfather, and that was enough to make me one of his billion fans. Do yourself a favour, just sit back and watch this video.
Maradona:
If Pelé is there in the compilation, how can Maradona be far behind? I’m not going to compare them, I’m no one to do so. But if I have to choose between the best goal by Pele and the best goal by Maradona, I’ll choose the latter. Well, look at his physique and look at the goal he scored by beating 6 players. Awesome, isn’t it?
Now Messi! Well, what can I say about him? There’s so much. I’ve been his fan since the past four years, and I’ll continue to be so for as long as I live. He’s got skills, more than any other footballer. He’s someone on whom his teammates and his fans can totally count on and seldom will he let you down. I’m not his fan because he is one of the all time best footballers, but because he always, no matter what, plays for the team and not for his personal records. Not just that; he is always away from controversies, he never dives or cries fake foul. He is one of those very few who plays fair football, the way it should be played.
