Who wore number 14 in football?

Strikers or wingers usually wear number 14, famously worn by Thierry Henry, one of, if not the greatest striker of all time.

Thierry Henry

Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional football coach and former player who is also known as an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. He is considered one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of the greatest players in the history of the Premier League. In 2003 and 2004, Henry was the runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year, and was runner-up for the Ballon d’Or in the former year. He was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice, the FWA Footballer of the Year three times, and was named in the PFA Team of the Year six consecutive times. He was also included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI once and the UEFA Team of the Year five times. He was one of the most commercially marketed footballers during the 2000s. Henry, along with Alan Shearer, was one of the inaugural inductees into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021.

Henry made his professional debut with Monaco in 1994 before signing for defending Serie A champions Juventus. However, limited playing time, coupled with disagreements with the club’s hierarchy, led to him signing for English Premier League club Arsenal for £11 million in 1999. Under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger, Henry became a prolific striker and one of the Arsenal’s leading scorers with 228 goals in all competitions. He won the Premier League Golden Boot four times, won two FA Cups and two Premier League titles with the club, including one during an unbeaten season dubbed The Invincibles. He spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. In June 2007, he transferred to Barcelona. In the 2008–09 season, Henry was a key part of the club’s historic treble when they won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League. In 2010, he joined New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer (MLS), but returned to Arsenal on loan for two months in 2012, before retiring in 2014.

Henry enjoyed sustained success with France, winning the 1998 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2000 and 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. He was named the French Player of the Year five times. He was also named to the UEFA Euro 2000 Team of the Tournament, awarded both the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball and Golden Shoe, and was named to the 2006 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. After amassing 123 appearances and 51 goals, Henry retired from international football after the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

After retiring, Henry transitioned into coaching. He began coaching Arsenal’s youth teams in February 2015, in tandem with his work as a pundit for Sky Sports. In 2016, he was appointed as an assistant coach at Belgium, before assuming the role as the head coach at former club Monaco in 2018. He was relieved of his duties at Monaco in January 2019 and returned to MLS less than a year later to manage Montréal Impact. He led Montréal to the playoffs in the 2020 season before stepping down to be close to his children in England.

Johann Cruyff

Hendrik Johannes Cruijff OON was a Dutch professional football player and coach. As a player, he won the Ballon d’Or three times, in 1971, 1973, and 1974. Cruyff was a proponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football explored by Rinus Michels, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, and one of the greatest managers.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dutch football rose from a semi-professional and obscure level to become a powerhouse in the sport. Cruyff led the Netherlands to the final of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. At the 1974 finals, he executed a feint that subsequently was named after him, the “Cruyff Turn”, a move widely replicated in the modern game. After finishing third in UEFA Euro 1976, Cruyff refused to play in the 1978 World Cup after a kidnapping attempt targeting him and his family in their Barcelona home dissuaded him from football. At club level, Cruyff started his career at Ajax, where he won eight Eredivisie titles, three European Cups, and one Intercontinental Cup. In 1973, he moved to Barcelona for a world record transfer fee, helping the team win La Liga in his first season, and was named European Footballer of the Year. After retiring from playing in 1984, Cruyff became highly successful as manager of Ajax and later Barcelona; he remained an influential advisor to both clubs after his coaching tenures. His son Jordi also played football professionally.

Wearing the number 14 jersey since 1970, (except at Barcelona and Feyenoord where he was assigned number 9 and 10 respectively) Cruyff set a trend by players to, if allowed, choose a jersey number outside the usual starting line-up of one to eleven. In 1999, Cruyff was voted European Player of the Century in an election held by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, and came second behind Pelé in their World Player of the Century poll. He came third in a vote organised by the French magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d’Or winners to elect their Football Player of the Century. He was included in the World Team of the 20th Century in 1998, the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and in 2004 was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players.

Considered to be one of the most influential figures in football history, Cruyff’s style of play and football philosophy has influenced managers and players alike. Ajax and Barcelona are among the clubs that have developed youth academies based on Cruyff’s coaching methods. His coaching philosophy helped lay the foundations for the revival of Ajax’s international successes in the 1990s, and Spanish football’s successes at both club and international levels during the years 2008 to 2012 have been cited as evidence of Cruyff’s impact on contemporary football. And in Johan Neeskens’s own words, “If you look at the greatest players in history, most of them couldn’t coach. If you look at the greatest coaches in history, most of them were not great players. Johan Cruyff did both – and in such an exhilarating style”.

Xabi Alonso

Xabier Alonso Olano is a Spanish football manager and former professional player who played as a central or defensive midfielder. He is also known as the manager of Segunda División B club Real Sociedad B.

Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his home province Gipuzkoa. After a brief loan period at Eibar, he was appointed as team captain of Real Sociedad by then-manager John Toshack. He succeeded in the role, taking the club to second place in the 2002–03 season. He moved to Liverpool in August 2004 for £10.5 million and won the UEFA Champions League in his first season, under manager Rafael Benítez, scoring the equalising goal in the Final against Milan. The following season, he won the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield.

He moved to Real Madrid for the start of the 2009–10 season in a deal worth around £30 million. After winning honours including a league title in 2012 and the Champions League in 2014 during five seasons in Madrid, he was signed by German club Bayern Munich on a two-year contract. This was extended by a further year, and he eventually retired from playing in summer 2017, aged 35, having won the Bundesliga in each of his three seasons with Bayern.

He made his international debut for Spain in April 2003 in a 4–0 victory against Ecuador. While playing for Spain, Alonso won Euro 2008, Euro 2012 and the 2010 World Cup, and he also represented his country at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. On 23 June 2012, Alonso won his 100th cap for Spain in the quarter-final of Euro 2012 against France; he celebrated the occasion by scoring both of Spain’s goals to send them into the semi-finals. Following Spain’s failure to progress out of the group stages at the 2014 World Cup, Alonso retired from international football on 27 August 2014. His 114 caps make him one of the most capped players in the nation’s history.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang is a Gabonese professional footballer who is known as a striker and the captain of both Premier League club Arsenal and the Gabon national team. Aubameyang is renowned for his pace, finishing, and off-ball movement.

The son of former Gabonese international Pierre Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick began his senior club career playing for Italian club A.C. Milan, but never appeared for the club as he went on a series of loan spells in France. He moved to Saint-Étienne in 2011. There, he won a Coupe de la Ligue title and joined Borussia Dortmund in 2013. In Germany, Aubameyang finished as the league’s top goalscorer in the 2016–17 season and won a DFB-Pokal. He also ranks as one of the club’s highest all-time goalscorers. In 2018, Aubameyang was the subject of a then-club record association football transfer when signed for Arsenal in a transfer worth £56 million (€60 million), making him one of the most expensive Gabonese players of all time. With Arsenal, he won an FA Cup and finished as the league’s joint-top goalscorer in the 2018–19 season.

Aubameyang is one of the Gabon’s all-time top goalscorers. He made his senior debut for Gabon in 2009 aged 19, and appeared in four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, as well as the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2016, Aubameyang was named African Footballer of the Year; the first Gabonese and second-European born player to win the award.

Trevoh Chalobah

Trevoh Tom Chalobah is an English professional footballer known as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea.

Chalobah joined Chelsea in 2007 at the age of eight, joining his brother Nathaniel in the club’s academy. He spent time out on loan at Ipswich Town, Huddersfield Town and French side Lorient. He made his senior debut for Chelsea in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup, helping the club lift the trophy following a penalty shoot-out win.

He has represented England at various youth levels from U16 to U21 level. In 2017, he helped England win the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.

Andros Townsend

Andros Darryl Townsend is an English professional footballer known as a winger for Premier League club Everton and the England national team.

A graduate of the Tottenham Hotspur academy and featuring in various England youth teams, Townsend was initially loaned out to several League One and then Championship clubs alongside limited Tottenham appearances, before gaining his Premier League debut on 16 September 2012. After further limited appearances and then a half-season loan to Premier League club Queens Park Rangers, Townsend established himself as a Tottenham player for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons. He subsequently fell out of favour at Tottenham, and following a short spell at Newcastle United in the 2015–16 season, he transferred to Crystal Palace in the summer of 2016.

In his senior international career, Townsend earned his first England cap on 11 October 2013, and has gone on to make thirteen appearances, scoring three goals.

Jordan Henderson

Jordan Brian Henderson MBE is an English professional footballer known as a midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team.

Henderson joined the Sunderland Academy at the age of eight, making his first-team debut a decade later in November 2008. He spent six months on loan at Coventry City in 2009, before returning to Sunderland. In 2011, Henderson signed for Liverpool, winning his first trophy with the club, the League Cup, one year later. Appointed Liverpool captain in 2015, Henderson won the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019, and in 2020 led his team to the Premier League title, the club’s first league title in 30 years. For his performances in the title winning season, Henderson was named FWA Footballer of the Year.

An England international, Henderson has made over 60 appearances for his country since his debut in 2010. He has appeared at international tournaments with England, UEFA European Championships, and FIFA World Cups. He has won the England Player of the Year award, both at U-21 and senior level, making him the first English player to do so.

Aymeric Laporte

Aymeric Jean Louis Gérard Alphonse Laporte is a professional footballer known as a centre-back for Premier League club Manchester City and the Spain national team.

When he joined Athletic Bilbao in 2010 at the age of 16, he became only the second player born in France — after Bixente Lizarazu — to play for them, going on to make 222 competitive appearances for the club. In January 2018, he signed for Manchester City. He was part of the side which won the first domestic treble in English men’s football in 2019.

Born in France, Laporte won 51 caps for the country at youth international levels, and was called up to the senior team twice but remained uncapped. In 2021, after receiving Spanish citizenship and approval from FIFA to switch national teams, Laporte was named in Spain’s squad for UEFA Euro 2020.

Jesse Lingard

Jesse Ellis Lingard is an English professional footballer known as an attacking midfielder or as a winger for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team. He has won the UEFA Europa League, FA Cup, FA Community Shield and EFL Cup, becoming one of the few players to score in all of the latter three finals.

Lingard made his senior debut while on loan at Leicester City in 2012, and spent time on loan at Birmingham City and Brighton & Hove Albion during the 2013–14 season and at Derby County in 2015. He broke into the Manchester United first team under Louis van Gaal in 2015, and was a regular in the side until 2018, when he fell out of favour under Ole Gunnar Solskjær and struggled to regain his place in the side. A highly productive loan spell with fellow Premier League outfit West Ham United in 2021 saw Lingard rediscover his form, scoring 9 goals in his first 11 appearances for the Hammers.

He represented England at under-17 and under-21 levels, before making his senior international debut in October 2016 and went to represent his country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a tournament where England finished fourth.

Philippe Coutinho

Philippe Coutinho Correia is a Brazilian professional footballer known as an attacking midfielder or winger for La Liga club Barcelona and the Brazil national team. He is known for his combination of vision, passing, dribbling and ability to conjure curving long-range strikes.

Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Coutinho showed prodigious talent and excelled in Vasco da Gama’s youth system. He was signed by Italian club Inter Milan in 2008 for €4 million and subsequently loaned back to Vasco, where he became a key player. He made his debut for Inter Milan in 2010, and was later loaned to La Liga club Espanyol in 2012. In January 2013, Coutinho joined English club Liverpool for £8.5 million. He flourished at Liverpool, being named in the PFA Team of the Year in 2015. In January 2018, Coutinho signed for Barcelona for a fee reportedly worth €160 million (making him the world’s second most expensive player at the time), and won La Liga titles. However, he was loaned to German club Bayern Munich on a season-long loan ahead of the 2019–20 season, being a part of the team that won a treble including the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and UEFA Champions League.

Coutinho made his senior international debut in 2010. He was part of the Brazilian squad at the 2015 Copa América, the Copa América Centenario in 2016, and made his World Cup debut at the 2018 FIFA World Cup where he scored two goals and was named to the FIFA World Cup Dream Team; he was also a member of the Brazilian team that won the 2019 Copa América on home soil.

Casemiro

Carlos Henrique Casimiro, known as Casemiro, is a Brazilian professional footballer known as a defensive midfielder for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Brazil national team. He is often regarded to be one of the best defensive midfielders in world football.

Formed at São Paulo, where he scored 11 goals in 112 official games, Casemiro moved to Real Madrid in 2013, and also spent a season on loan at Porto. He was part of the Real Madrid squad that won four Champions League titles in five seasons, from 2014 to 2018. He has won multiple major trophies at Real Madrid, including UEFA Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey and FIFA Club World Cup trophies.

A full international since 2011, Casemiro was in Brazil’s squad at the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well as Copa América tournaments, winning the 2019 edition.