Mario Balotelli's lucky number, Argentina's alphabetical World Cup and Clint Dempsey's rap name... The strangest squad numbers in sport, and the reasoning behind them

  • Mario Balotelli has always worn No 45 because it brings him luck
  • Ivan Zamorano wore eight plus one because Ronaldo was No 9
  • David Beckham reveals his admiration for basketball legend Michael Jordan
  • Clint Dempsey chose Tottenham number based on his rap name 

By Hamish Mackay for MailOnline

Published: 05:14 EST, 26 August 2014 | Updated: 11:56 EST, 26 August 2014

In the early years of shirt numbers in football, a player's position determined what he wore on his back. Defenders had two to six, wingers seven or 11, and strikers either nine or 10.

But recent decades have seen a considerable shift. Goalkeepers with No 9, midfielders with No 1, and even small mathematical sums have made it on to the back of players' shirts. 

With Mario Balotelli moving to Liverpool and wearing his favoured No 45 shirt, Sportsmail looks at some of the strangest choices, and the reasoning behind them.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch Mario Balotelli and Ronaldinho 

Come in, No 45: Mario Balotelli with his new Liverpool shirt and favoured number

Come in, No 45: Mario Balotelli with his new Liverpool shirt and favoured number

Ivan Zamarano 

The Chile forward enjoyed considerable success while in Europe, particularly at Real Madrid where he scored 77 goals in 137 games. But when his form earned him a move to Inter Milan, the No 9 shirt was already taken by Ronaldo. 

With his second choice, No 10, occupied by Roberto Baggio the former Sevilla man was forced to improvise. 

Zamorano went for No 18, but inserted a small plus sign in between the two numbers so that it added up to nine.

Sums: When Ivan Zamorano moved to Inter his favourite N0 9 shirt was taken, so he opted for one plus eight

Sums: When Ivan Zamorano moved to Inter his favourite N0 9 shirt was taken, so he opted for one plus eight

This tactic has been copied since by a number of players including Clinton Morrison at Coventry and Ade Akinbiyi at Crystal Palace.

Ossie Ardiles

At the 1982 World Cup in Spain, Argentina decided to organise their squad numbers alphabetically. For Ossie Ardiles, this meant enjoying the novelty of being one of the few outfield players ever to wear the No 1 shirt.

The only member of the squad that this rule did not apply to was Diego Maradona, who wore his favourite No 10 shirt (he would have been No 12 otherwise).

Pantelis Kafes, who wore the No 1 shirt at Olympiacos, said he did so because of his admiration for Ardiles.

Alphabetical: Ossie Ardiles (left) wears his No 1 shirt but an exception was made for Diego Maradona

Alphabetical: Ossie Ardiles (left) wears his No 1 shirt but an exception was made for Diego Maradona

Lucky: Mario Balotelli has worn No 45 at every club he has played for because it is his 'lucky' number

Lucky: Mario Balotelli has worn No 45 at every club he has played for because it is his 'lucky' number

Mario Balotelli

Liverpool's latest signing has worn the No 45 shirt at Inter Milan, Manchester City, AC Milan and now at Anfield. Although there had been rumours that the Italy forward had chosen 45 because the two numbers add up to nine, Balotelli insisted it was because the number brings him luck.

He said: 'When I first played three or four games with Inter Milan, when I was young, I had No 45 because the numbers for young players were from No 36 to No 50.

'I took No 45 because I was joking that four plus five is nine - and I scored in all four games. It brings me luck and that's why I've always kept No 45.'

David Beckham

A recipient of Manchester United's fabled No 7 shirt for the majority of his career, the former England captain didn't have it all his own way when he moved to Real Madrid in 2003.

His preferred shirt number was then occupied by Real's legendary forward Raul. Unperturbed, Beckham opted for the No 23 instead. The reason, Beckham claimed, was that Michael Jordan had worn the same number at the Chicago Bulls.

Michael Jordan wearing his No 23 short for the Chicago Bulls
David Beckham wore No 23 at Real Madrid because he was an admirer of Michael Jordan

Admiration: When Beckham moved to Real Madrid he chose No 23 because he was a fan of Michael Jordan

AC Milan trio

In 2008, AC Milan signed Andriy Shevchenko, Ronaldinho and Mathieu Flamini. But the preferred squad numbers for all three players were already occupied. 

As a result they chose to be numbers 76, 80 and 84 respectively - the years in which they were born.

Jorge Campos

The Mexican goalkeeper, who played 130 games for his country, opted for the No 9 shirt. Campos had been a striker as a youth player and despite his success at the other end of the pitch he never lost the desire to play outfield.

Birthday: Clarence Seedorf wore Ronaldinho's favourite No 10 at Milan so he chose 80 instead (born in 1980)

Birthday: Clarence Seedorf wore Ronaldinho's favourite No 10 at Milan so he chose 80 instead (born in 1980)

Rogerio Ceni

Sao Paulo's attack-minded goalkeeper has scored more than 100 goals for the Brazilian club. While he normally plays in the No 1 shirt, he has experimented with a slightly more unusual option. 

In 2005 he broke the appearance record for the Tricolor and wore No 618 - the number of matches he had played for them - in a match against Atletico Miniero.

Ronaldo

After an incredible career that took him from PSV and Barcelona to Inter and Real Madrid, Ronaldo moved to AC Milan where he adopted the No 99 shirt. 

After numerous rumours that his new number was born out of his love for 99 Flake ice creams, the Brazilian striker clarified the situation. He said that Pippo Inzaghi was already occupying the No 9 shirt he wanted, so he chose 99 instead.

Ronaldo also played for Corinthians in the No 99 shirt for one match to celebrate the club's 99th anniversary. 

Bixente Lizarazu

When the French full-back returned for a second spell at Bayern Munich he decided to get a new number on the back of his shirt. After some crude speculation the World Cup winner revealed he had opted for No 69 because he was born in 1969 and was 1.69 metres tall.

Speculation: Bixente Lizarazu said he chose No 69 because it was the year he was born and he was 1.69m tall

Speculation: Bixente Lizarazu said he chose No 69 because it was the year he was born and he was 1.69m tall

Alias: As well as being a footballer Clint Dempsey is also a rapper called Deuce, so he chose No 2 at Tottenham

Alias: As well as being a footballer Clint Dempsey is also a rapper called Deuce, so he chose No 2 at Tottenham

Clint Dempsey

After spending the majority of his career in England with the No 23, Clint Dempsey was forced to change when he moved to Tottenham. Instead, the American chose No 2. The reason being that in Dempsey's other career (as a rapper) his alias is 'Deuce'.

Hicham Zerouali

After moving to Aberdeen in 2000, Moroccan striker Hicham Zerouali became the first and last player ever to wear the No 0 shirt in Scottish football history. Zerouali chose the number as he was nicknamed 'Zero'.

Both the Scottish Premiership and Premier League outlawed it the following year.

Nicklas Bendtner

The Danish striker predominantly cause headlines for off-field reasons during his time at Arsenal, and in 2009 his name hit the headlines when he changed his shirt number shortly before the start of the new season.

Bendtner chose the No 52, which he said was lucky for him - although there was considerable speculation that it was linked to his weekly pay packet. He did at least offer to cover the costs for fans who had bought his old shirt.

He said: 'I appreciate that a good number of fans have bought their kits for 2009/10 already with names and numbers printed up so I’d like to personally cover the cost of replacing anyone’s shirt that has my previous number.'

Unique: Hicham Zerouali became the first and last player ever to wear the No 0 shirt in Scottish football

Unique: Hicham Zerouali became the first and last player ever to wear the No 0 shirt in Scottish football

Larry Walker

The right fielder who played for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies and St Louis Cardinals was incredibly superstitious. Walker insisted on having the number 33 shirt throughout his career because three was his lucky number.

He didn't stop there, though. Walker also insisted his phone numbers had as many threes in them as possible and got married on November 3 at 3.33pm. 

Dennis Rodman 

Five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman is far from shy when it comes to making a statement. And the former Chicago Bulls man was no different when it came to his shirt numbers. 

Rodman was the first player in NBA history to wear both the No 91 shirt. Rodman wore it because the two numbers add up to 10, the number he wanted, which was occupied by Bob Love when he moved to Chicago.

Obsessed: Larry Walker wanted is many threes in his life as possible, including on his shirt 

Obsessed: Larry Walker wanted is many threes in his life as possible, including on his shirt 

 

 

 

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