Gone are days in football where jersey numbers are all about the 1-11 shirt numbering in numerical order for starting XI in a team, majorly with the national team.
The starting XI players wore numbers 1 to 11, starting with the goalkeeper as the #1 and moving from the back to the front and right to left.
However, things have changed drastically and they’ve been more liberty in terms of shirt numbering of the players when the European leagues and some other illustrious divisions abolished the notion that the starting eleven had to don the number 1-11 back in the early ’90s.
But now clubs or players could do what they want in terms of the number they prefer.
According to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, Australia was the proud originator of the use of sports numbers.
As the first formal use of it was during 1911. Australian rules game which was held in Sydney, and since then history has it that in sport, especially football, numbers were used predominantly on player jerseys to identify them from other players, spectators, goal scorer, or officials.
In the early days of its use, there was an order in its implementation, like in football the players were made to wear the number 1-11 from the goalkeeper to the rest of the other players.
So today, players are often times allowed to pick their preferred number as long as the number hasn’t been retired and no one in the team uses that particular number, just like what we see in modern football today.
In fact, in some cases, we’ve seen players choose a strange number and the reason for choosing such a number is best known to them, a typical example of that can be traced back to the Chilean legend Ivan Zamorano who donned the jersey of Inter Milan with a number which carries 1+8.
The Chilean legend wasn’t the only football player that wore the exceptional shirt number on his jersey, there are other players who also donned theirs, without necessarily donning the conventional 1-11 starting eleven numbers.
Cheapgoals will in this piece take a look at John Terry’s Jersey 26
The former Three Lions captain and Chelsea legend John Terry moved to Chelsea at the age of 14, playing for the club youth team, and due to shortage of defenders, he was moved to center-back, the position he went on to carve out a legendary status for himself at Stamford Bridge.
The homegrown Terry led Chelsea out for a Premier League match against Charlton Athletic in the absence of then captains of the team Marcel Desailly and Graeme Le Saux having been temporarily made captain of the team by then manager Claudio Ranieri.
Terry broke into the senior team in 1998 at the age of 17, after having proved to the manager that he can deliver, most importantly in a time when the transfer fees dominated club policy and basically dictated club success.
Terry bucked the trend in terms of bringing in players for a huge amount. However, that was busted when new owner Roman Abramovich came in to took over the club and that starts the genesis of the inflow of big players into the team.
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The former Chelsea captain wasn’t just unique and respected among Chelsea’s faithful because of what he achieved or his ability as a homegrown player. He was unique among them because of his desire to stick with the number 26 jersey he wore with the Blues, Terry was given the squad number when he broke into the team.
During his stint with the Blues, Terry rejected the chance to switch to a lower squad number or the one that is more synonymous with a centre-back, claiming he wanted to sit close to the legendary Gianfranco Zola who wore the jersey number 25 in the changing room so he could tap from his knowledge and experience of the game.
Terry was asked in an interview why 26?
“When I broke into the first team at Chelsea that was my number and I had seen some fans with my name and number on their shirts,”
“I didn’t want them paying out for another shirt.”
He revealed that he kept the number 26 jersey throughout his career so the fans wouldn’t need to buy another shirt. Terry wore the obscure number for his entire Chelsea career. On his final match appearance for Chelsea, he was substituted at exactly 26 minutes and was given a guard of honor by his teammates while the whole stadium celebrated him.
When the former captain was still playing at the highest level, there were stiff arguments for his shirt number to be retired when he eventually hangs up his boots, due to his leadership skills on the pitch and the pivotal role he played in the success stories of the Blues and most importantly because he now ranks among the great legends of the West London side.
Although there are some players that don’t look quite right in their shirt number, even at that some of the numbers on players’ shirts have been engraved into the consciousness of soccer fans.
More reason why if a particular player emblazoned a bizarre number on the back of their jersey the fans often niggles at the number whereas the player in question more often than not usually has a reason for donning that number, just like that of John Terry.
For some of the fans, usually know that some numbers are peculiar to players, but in their curiosity, they often want to know why a particular player opted to don a bizarre number on jersey rather than the normal conventional 1-11 numbers. And in their curiosity, they will get to understand better why some of these players choose to go with a bizarre number and why it is a big deal to them.
Aside from where the origin of jersey numbering started in Australia, credit must also be given to former Arsenal’s legendary manager Herbert Chapman who pioneered the idea of numbered strips in a match with Sheffield Wednesday back in 1928.
Although, in the aftermath of its use the idea was abolished by the English Football’s Governing Body. After various reported instances of teams wearing them, it was also announced that all players should wear numbered shirts in 1939 in English football.
Since Chapman’s idea about shirts numbering for players to maintain an awareness of where they are in relation to their teammates on the pitch, from then on it has set in a motion whereby the classic 1-11 is still very much adhered to with the international teams until date.
But then exceptions were given to football clubs which has given players the opportunity to choose the number they wish to don on their jerseys.
And as such, it wouldn’t be out of place if at the end of player careers the fans or the club felt they want to retire the number with the player after having achieved a lot with the club, just like the case of Diego Maradona at Napoli where his number 10 jersey was retired in respect for the legend, then nobody would fault them.
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With John Terry opting to stick with the number 26, and shy away from the synonymous number for center-backs which oftentimes brings the players in the news with numbers like 7, 9, 10, 11, that are very mythical in nature due to kind of great players that have donned it in the past.
With him deciding to go with a different number because of the fans, such a gesture will probably engrave his greatness into the heart of all Chelsea faithful.
It was as if John Terry knew that wearing the conventional shirt number for centre backs comes with a mysterious persona and immense pressure from experts of the game and pundits.
Even at that, he probably would have gone on to achieved success even while donning the conventional shirt number of centre-backs, but then the former Three Lions captain stock with the number 26 as a defender, and he achieved a lot of success with Chelsea amassing over 717 appearances and scoring 67 times during his time with the London side.
Without a doubt, John Terry remains one of the best players to ever feature for the club, as his jersey number 26 has gone on to become a big brand for him.
