The Myth of Numbers

Every player that gets a football Jersey today gets a number along with it. This number and player both become each other’s identity.

Last season, when Paul Scholes retired, Ashley Young was handed over the number 18 which previously belonged to the Ginger Prince. Everyone, including me, thought that we may have seen the last of Scholes but few months later the Prince returned. This time, he was handed the 22 number jersey which he had worn before.

As the new season arrived, I expected Scholsey to get the number he had for 15 years back but nothing like that happened.

Retiring a number

Retiring a number for the legends of club or country has been done by many others before. But I guess this practice is not followed at United.

In my opinion, numbers 11 and 18 should be retired just to serve as a token of appreciation for two legends: Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. The lads who not only were honest and loyal servants but also amazing ambassadors for club and country. However I doubt if that will happen. You can’t retire a number like 7 or 10 because it carries a Legacy but one can always create an exception for the less fancy numbers like 18.

In English football, the numbers aren’t retired that easily but there are examples where numbers have been retired: Baggio (10), Maldini (3), Moore (6), Baresi (6), Cryuff (14), Larson (17), Pele (10) etc. are the best examples of retiring a number as a token of appreciation by the club or country to the respective player.

Responsibility

No matter how much I want those numbers to be retired, I believe that a number also brings along with it an added responsibility and it is that responsibility which makes a player perform.

Cristiano Ronaldo: “After I joined, the manager asked me what number I’d like. I said 28. But Ferguson said ‘No, you’re going to have No. 7,’ and the famous shirt was an extra source of motivation. I was forced to live up to such an honour.”

Wayne Rooney: After he joined United, he played in 146 games in 3 seasons and scored a total of 59 goals in all competition. However, after he was handed the No 10. Jersey from Van Nistelrooy in 2007, he played a total of 220 games and scored a total of 123 goals in all competitions.

After seeing the stats I too started believing that may the players too understand the weight and expectation they have on their shoulders. May be it is the number that changes an ordinary into an extraordinary. That is why I have convinced myself by believing that A Legendary Number is something that turns a boy into a man!