He also captained and led Juventus to multiple scudettos and two Champions League finals, making five UEFA Teams of the Year and being named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a stunning 12 times in his nearly 20 seasons with the Old Lady. Starting in 1997, Buffon has 176 caps with the Azzurri, including the 2006 World Cup when he let in just two goals in seven matches, getting five clean sheets en route to lifting the trophy. Photograph by Biser Todorov (original picture), Mess (derivative work), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Legendary goalkeeper, Buffon, playing for the Italian national team. 1, 13 or 25 for certain competitions, limiting the choices available and perhaps stifling a bit of goalkeeper creativity.
12 (starting over after 1 through 11), FIFA has also stipulated goalkeepers wear No. Over time, more rules and guidelines - from FIFA, the worldwide governing body of soccer, and from certain pro leagues like Spain’s La Liga - emerged to address goalkeeper and outfield numbers. 10 were given to more advanced central midfielders, and No.
6.įrom there, there’s a bit more range as to what players wear No. 5 jerseys, and the defensive midfielder typically gets the No. 3 jerseys, center backs typically wear the No. 1 and the special rules applying only to them, outside backs will typically get the No. Though soccer players are a bit more fluid and creative in how they choose their numbers today, the conventions hold true today.Īs AS explained in an article on the topic, in addition to goalkeepers getting the No. Players were assigned jersey numbers based on their positions on the field. Multiple accounts of soccer’s history pinpoint assigning numbers to soccer players to the 1910s, starting in Australia in 1911 and then to England in 1913. 1 jersey, and some exceptions to the rule - famous outfield players who have worn No. This article will explain more about why soccer players have the numbers they have, why goalkeepers wear the No. While many conventions have developed around which players wear which numbers, one of the first and most consistent conventions is that the goalkeeper is assigned the No. Soccer, as we know it, started up in the late 1800s, and it wasn’t too much later - starting in the early 1900s - that players wearing numbers started being a thing.