Football's Famous Retired Shirt Numbers
After Schalke made the quite momentous decision to retire the number '7' shirt, following Raul's announcement to leave the club, we thought we'd take a look at some of football's most famous shirt numbers to have been retired in honour of their playing heroes...
etiring a shirt number is the ultimate honour to a loyal servant of a football club, a player who has made a huge impression in their playing time and become a fans favourite. We've selected probably the ten most famous names to have their shirt retired, and we're sure there are plenty more players fans could think of to be bestowed the same honour. Of course, there are plenty who oppose this act, as let's not forget if Manchester United had retired the number '7' shirt following George Best's departure, it wouldn't have been worn by Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham or Cristiano Ronaldo.
Schalke 7. Schalke have demonstrated the remarkable status Raul has at the club, and after just two seasons are retiring his number '7' shirt. It's been quite a controversial decision, with two of Schalke's legendary players Olaf Thon and Ingo Anderbrugge speaking out to criticize the decision. But Raul has had a huge impact, and after scoring 19 goals in his first season has already scored 20 goals this term, which will be his last as he announced he will leave the club at the end of the season.
NY Cosmos 10. The only surprise about the retirement of a shirt for Pele, is that it's not Santos the club he spent almost 20 years with and scored over 500 goals! Pele finished his playing days with New York Cosmos, and was the main attraction in a star studded Cosmos team. Pele brought a huge following, and in honour his shirt number was retired at half-time in an exhibition game against Santos, for whom Pele played the second half for.
AC Milan 3. A servant of the club for over 25 years, it's fair to say Paolo Maldini earned the honour of keeping his number. Which is exactly what he's done, because although the number '3' has been officially retired, Maldini does have the right to re-instate it if any of his sons play for Milan. During Maldini's Milan career he notched up seven Serie A titles, and a quite astonishing five European Cups.
Napoli 10. What Maradona did at Napoli was quite amazing, as fans got to see one of the games greatest ever players at the peak of his career. In the space of just four years Maradona won Napoli their only Serie A championships (1986/87 1989/90), along with the Coppa Italia, UEFA Cup and Italian Super Cup. Acknowledged as almost single-handedly delivering the club's most successful period, Napoli duly retired Maradona's famed number '10' jersey to become a Naples legend.
Ajax 14. Think Cruyff, think Cruyff-turn and total football. The Dutch master is one of the games greatest players and his allegiance to Ajax has remained ever since making his debut in 1964. Cruyff joined Ajax at the age of just 10 years old, and during his playing career won the Eredivisie title 8 times and the European Cup 3 times. After his playing career Cruyff's love affair with Ajax continued, returning to manage the team for three years during the 1980's.
AC Milan 6. Franco Baresi is one of the games greatest defenders, and perhaps set the path for Paolo Maldini to follow (who he mentored from a young age), as Baresi was a loyal patron of Milan for twenty years from 1977-1997. Winner of 6 Serie A titles with the club, he also won 3 European Cups and made over 700 appearances for Milan, whilst also being voted Milan's player of the century.
Brescia 10. The 'Divine Ponytail' had a long and glittering career, and earned legendary status at various clubs including Fiorentina, Juventus, Milan, Bologna and Brescia. But it was Brescia he finished his career with and who honoured their number '10' by retiring his shirt, after scoring 45 goals in just 95 appearances. Baggio is one of football's cult heroes, but widely acknowledged as one of the games finest footballers.
Helsingborgs 17. One of football's prolific strikers, Larsson had success with Celtic and Barcelona, but these were sandwiched between spells at Helsingborg. Larsson was a great scorer with great pace and one of Sweden's most famous footballers, domestically he is best remembered for his first stint at Helsingborg when he hit 50 goals from just 56 appearances.
West Ham 6. England's greatest defender and the only England captain to lift the World Cup, Bobby Moore is a hero to West Ham fans in particular after spending 16 years with the club and making over 500 appearances. Moore was famed for his reading of the game and the oppositions movements, and his service at the heart of The Hammers' defence led to West Ham United officially retired his number 6 shirt as a mark of respect 15 years after his death in 2008.
LA Galaxy 13. Despite LA Galaxy only being founded in 1995, the club has had one outstanding servant who made over 300 appearances spanning over 11 years. Cobi Jones will be remembered as one of the US players who returned from playing abroad, to help the development of the MLS. A midfielder, Jones was instantly recognisable due to his dreadlocks, and in 11 years managed to score 70 goals for the Galaxy.
Do you think the retirement of a shirt number is a fitting tribute to a player? Do you agree with the players how have been honoured by having their numbers retired and are there more players you'd like to see honoured in the same way? Share your opinions and join the conversation online, on Twitter and on Facebook.
