How important are shirt numbers?

Seeing the new shirt numbers for various European NTs, and some of the fuss made over them, made me wonder about how important these really are to many people. Its true they're nice and symbolic, and some of them carry huge amounts of history, responsibility even. Certain positions have traditional numbers, each player their preferred #. But then again, its the player who is remembered, the name not the number.

Also, back to NT shirt numbers. Is it important to have the same number on the back for club and country, or completely irrelevant? Should certain shirts be retired in honour of legendary players (this applies to clubs too)?

Discuss.

Well, I need the shirt numbers to better recognize the players, especially from teams I don't know too well as the names are often less easy to read. As long as I have a list which number is which player, I'm fine. Other than that, the numbers don't really interest me.

When i play myself, I feel a big importance in having the number 9 since i feel more confident when having "my lucky number" on the back. I think that is what the numbers mean for the players, they feel more confident when wearing a specific number, and thus they play better in it

The number just indicates the position of a player and should have no effect on their performance.

Idk if I'd agree with its the name that people remember, not the number. To a degree its true but some players are known for their numbers as well. Off the top, I always hear Messi referred to as "El Diez", just as a nickname and we always use R9 or CR7 when distinguishing Ronaldos. Or R10 as well and even though its not football, the number 23 is synonymous not just with Jordan but with Basketball period. So numbers are of some importance, at least to me.

Well some of the numbers are just mythical so important. Players like lassana diara shouldn't wear n10 again , never

Bénin wrote:Well some of the numbers are just mythical so important. Players like lassana diara shouldn't wear n10 again , never

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LOL, I agree there. Also for NTs, I think it shouldn't be as big a deal as clubs since players are always getting called up or dropped from the team, and form fluctuates as well. I think NT numbers are fine the way they are, in the sense that they are given to players reflecting on their form.

very important. My confidence and concentration improve tremendously if i do remember that i'm wearing the classic #7 shirt. It's the best number for me and remind who i am