Yunus Musah wearing No. 10 for the United States against Peru was enough to reopen football’s old argument about a shirt number that has rarely been just a number. The modern game still treats it as the property of the artist, even though its mythology began with a practical decision at the 1958 World Cup, when Brazil handed out shirts with little ceremony and the youngest member of the squad, Pelé, received 10.
Pelé’s rise turned an administrative accident into a symbol. Later generations made the association stronger: Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Michel Platini all gave No. 10 its familiar creative identity, while Johan Cruyff stood among the great exceptions. Yet football has repeatedly produced holders of the number who seemed entirely outside that tradition.
When the number followed the alphabet
- At the 1978 World Cup, Argentina assigned shirts alphabetically. Norberto Alonso, a midfielder, ended up with No. 1, while Mario Kempes received No. 10 because his surname placed him tenth in the list. In Kempes’s case, the coincidence suited the eventual World Cup-winning forward.
- Daniel Passarella revived the alphabetical system for the 1997 Copa América. This time it created a more striking result: goalkeeper Nacho González was allocated No. 10.
- González started Argentina’s opening match against Ecuador, producing the unusual sight of a No. 10 in goal and a midfielder wearing 12. He kept a clean sheet, but was replaced from the following game by Ojeda, who wore No. 15.
Defenders and goalkeepers in the shirt of playmakers
Arsenal experienced its own No. 10 rupture in the summer of 2006. Dennis Bergkamp retired, taking with him the elegance and technical refinement so closely associated with the shirt. William Gallas, a powerful defender rather than a classic attacking midfielder, claimed the vacant number and kept it for four seasons.
Gallas later explained that No. 13 had been unavailable. He asked for 10 because he had worn it as a midfielder in youth football, adding that Arsène Wenger took some persuading before allowing him to have it. The shirt did not alter his role: Gallas remained a defender, regardless of the number on his back.
Italian football’s most memorable unconventional No. 10 belonged to Cristiano Lupatelli. The goalkeeper, from Perugia, had begun to establish himself at Fidelis Andria under coach Rumignani, whose methods included giving substituted players chocolate money to lift their mood and holding training sessions at motorway service areas.
- Lupatelli won the 2000-01 Scudetto with Roma, making eight appearances as Francesco Antonioli’s deputy.
- He joined Chievo that summer, where friends who knew little about football encouraged him to take No. 10.
- He requested it and wore the shirt for two seasons, turning a goalkeeper’s squad number into one of Serie A’s enduring curiosities.
- When he returned to Roma in 2003, No. 10 was naturally occupied by Francesco Totti. Lupatelli still chose an unexpected alternative, spending a season in No. 3.
Diarra’s unusual place at Real Madrid
Musah belongs to a different version of the same story: an athletic, physical midfielder rather than a player identified with the final pass and the classic trequartista profile. Lassana Diarra was another such case, and his record was more unusual still because he wore No. 10 at two clubs, including Marseille and Real Madrid.
At Real, the number had been carried by players such as Clarence Seedorf, Luís Figo, Robinho, Mesut Özil and Luka Modrić. It had not, however, been worn by Zinedine Zidane, Raúl or Cristiano Ronaldo. Diarra took it in 2009 and retained it for two years, making him an unlikely figure in that particular lineage.
His later squad-number choice at Lokomotiv Moscow was No. 85, reflecting his birth year. His time in Russia ended far less lightly, with a multi-million legal case following the unilateral termination of his contract, a dispute that became significant in sports law.
Baresi’s No. 10 afternoon
There was also one exceptional Milan episode in the 1988-89 season. Milan began that campaign as Italian champions and would later win the European Cup after a route that took in Belgrade, Bremen, Madrid and Barcelona. Their Coppa Italia campaign carried less grandeur, shaped by an unusual summer group-stage format.
- On 21 September, Milan met Verona in Bergamo in a Coppa Italia group match.
- Milan’s line-up included Giovanni Galli, Paolo Maldini, Bianchi, Viviani, Filippo Galli, Alessandro Costacurta, Roberto Donadoni, Frank Rijkaard, Cappellini, Franco Baresi and Mannari.
- Baresi wore No. 10, a reminder of the midfield duties he had performed for Italy under Enzo Bearzot.
- The match finished 1-1. Claudio Caniggia scored for Verona, while Baresi converted a penalty for Milan.
That penalty carries a later echo. A year and nine months afterwards, Baresi and Caniggia were on opposite sides in Italy’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina in 1990. Baresi again scored from the spot, but Italy’s shoot-out defeat meant it was not enough.
Numbers can suggest a role, a status or a tradition, but football has always found room for exceptions. From Lupatelli at Chievo to Baresi for Milan, the Italian game has occasionally reminded supporters that No. 10 is not always reserved for the player expected to make the final pass.
