Who wore number 29 in football?

As squads around the world are bigger, and as players move more frequently, the higher numbers are being used more and more. Here are the few players to wear the “29” jersey.

Robert Huth

Robert Huth is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is a three-time Premier League winner and has made one of the highest appearance numbers in the Premier League (322) as a German player.

Huth was signed for Chelsea from the youth system of German club 1. FC Union Berlin in 2001 by Claudio Ranieri. He struggled to establish himself in the Chelsea first team and with the likes of John Terry, William Gallas and Ricardo Carvalho ahead of him in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, he joined Middlesbrough in August 2006 for a fee of £6 million. He spent three years at the Riverside and after the club was relegated in 2009, Huth signed for Stoke City for a then-club record fee of £5 million.

After a successful 2010–11 season for Huth which saw him play in the FA Cup Final, he was named as Stoke’s Player of the Year. Under the management of Tony Pulis, Huth remained a vital member of the Stoke squad in 2011–12 and 2012–13. He also played regularly under Mark Hughes in 2013–14 before he suffered a knee injury which ruled him out nearly a year. He was unable to force his way back into the team and he joined Leicester on loan in February 2015, helping them avoid relegation from the top flight. Huth then joined Leicester permanently, helping them to win the Premier League title in 2016.

Huth was also a German international, earning 19 caps and scoring two goals between 2004 and 2009. He was part of the German squads which came third at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, both on home soil.

Mads Bech Sörensen

Mads Bech Sørensen, sometimes known as Mads Bech, is a Danish professional footballer who is known as a central defender for Premier League club Brentford. Sørensen began his career in his native Denmark with AC Horsens and has been capped by Denmark at youth level.

Sørensen won his maiden call into the Denmark U18 squad in September 2016 and made 7 appearances during the 2016–17 season, captaining the team and scoring once in a 4–2 friendly victory over Belarus U18 on 18 October. He was promoted into the U19 squad in January 2017 and made two appearances during the remainder of the 2016–17 season. In mid-August 2017, Sørensen was named as captain of the Denmark U19 squad for the 2017 Four Nations Tournament, in which he made two appearances. Sørensen appeared in six of the 10 matches during the U21 team’s successful 2021 European U21 Championship qualifying campaign and he was named in the squad for the tournament finals. He started each of Denmark’s group matches and scored in a 2–0 win over Iceland U21 on 28 March 2021. Injury saw Sørensen replaced in the squad for the knockout stages, though his group stage performances were such that he was named in the Squad of the Tournament.

Kai Havertz

Kai Lukas Havertz is a German professional footballer who is known as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea and the Germany national team. Having graduated from Bayer Leverkusen’s youth academy in 2016, Havertz made his senior debut with the club at the same year.

Upon making his debut for the latter in 2016, Havertz became one of the club’s youngest debutants in the Bundesliga, and he became one of their youngest goalscorers when he scored his first goal the following year. He is also one of the youngest players to reach the milestones of 50 and 100 league appearances in the German top flight. With Chelsea, he won the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, scoring the only goal in the final against Manchester City.

Patson Daka

Patson Daka is a Zambian professional footballer who is known as a forward for Premier League club Leicester City and the Zambia national team.

Coming through the youth system, Daka played for local club Kafue Celtic, who sent him on loan to Nchanga Rangers and Power Dynamos. In January 2017, Daka joined Red Bull Salzburg’s reserve team Liefering in Austria, and was then made part of the first team in summer 2017. He helped Red Bull Salzburg win four Austrian Bundesliga titles and three Austrian Cups. In summer 2021, Daka joined Leicester City in the Premier League.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Aaron Wan-Bissaka is an English professional footballer who is known as a right-back for Premier League club Manchester United.

Wan-Bissaka began his career with Crystal Palace and was named as the club’s Player of the Year for the 2018–19 season. In 2019, he moved to Manchester United for an initial fee of £45 million, with another £5 million due in potential bonuses.

He is of Congolese descent and made one appearance for DR Congo under-20s in 2015. He has gone on to represent the country of his birth, England, at under-20 and under-21 levels.

Oliver Skipp

Oliver William Skipp is an English professional footballer who is known as a central midfielder for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.

Skipp has represented England at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 levels.

On 30 August 2019, he was included in the England U21 squad for the first time. He eventually made his U21 debut on 11 October 2019 as a substitute during a 2-2 draw against Slovenia in Maribor.

Skipp is characterized as a defensive midfielder, and is known for his ability to break up play and win the ball.

Then-teammate Grant Hanley said of Skipp in January 2021 that “he has experience beyond his years,” and praised his ability to read the game and make decisions under pressure.

Cucho Hernández

Juan Camilo Hernández Suárez, known simply as Cucho Hernández, is a Colombian professional footballer who is known as a striker or winger for Premier League club Watford and the Colombian national team. Hernández moved to Watford in 2017 after spending some of his career with Colombian and Spanish clubs, where he also have some loan spells up to 2021.

After representing Colombia at under-20 level in the 2017 South American U-20 Championship, Hernández received his first call up to the senior side on 29 September 2018, for two friendlies against the United States and Costa Rica. He made his full international debut on 17 October, replacing Carlos Bacca and scoring a brace in a 3–1 win over the latter at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

Hernández also played for the under-20s in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, scoring a hat-trick against Tahiti.

Marcel Schmelzer

Marcel Schmelzer is a German professional footballer who is known as a left back for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, serving as captain from 2016 to 2018. He has been capped by Germany at international level. Schmelzer has spent most of his entire professional career at Dortmund.

Jesper Lindström

Jesper Grænge Lindstrøm, commonly known as Jobbe, is a Danish professional footballer who is known as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and the Denmark national team.

Lindstrøm made his full international debut for Denmark on 11 November 2020 against Sweden. He has also represented Denmark at under-19 and under-21 levels.

Joe Scally

Joseph Michael Scally is an American professional soccer player who is known as a right back for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Scally is a youth international for the United States, representing the United States under-15s and the United States under-17s despite being three years younger than his teammates.

In October 2019, he was named to the squad for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil.

Robert Skov

Robert Skov is a Spanish-born Danish professional footballer who plays for Bundesliga club 1899 Hoffenheim and the Denmark national team. With 29 goals in the 2018–19 season, he broke the record for most goals scored in a single Danish Superliga campaign.

Skov is two footed, although his left foot is his main scoring weapon. He is a skilled winger who is renowned for taking on defenders and dribbling past them. He is also well known for scoring many goals and creating numerous assists. He is especially making a name for himself as a free kick specialist, by blasting in goals on a regular basis. So much so that Danish international player Christian Eriksen suggested that Skov would overtake him as being the number one free kick taker for the Danish national team.

Lucas Tousart

Lucas Simon Pierre Tousart is a French footballer who is known as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Hertha BSC. He has also represented the France national youth teams starting from France U19, and also the France Olympic football team.

Manuel Lazzari

Manuel Lazzari is an Italian professional footballer who is known as a right midfielder or right-back for Serie A club Lazio and the Italy national team.

Lazzari was given his first senior international call-up for Italy in September 2018, by manager Roberto Mancini, for Italy’s opening UEFA Nations League matches against Poland and Portugal later that month. On 10 September, Lazzari made his debut for Italy in the 1–0 away loss to Portugal.

Lorenzo De Silvestri

Lorenzo De Silvestri is an Italian professional footballer who is known as a defender for Bologna. He is an offensive full-back with an imposing physique; although naturally a right-back, he is capable of playing on either flank as well as in the middle.

Álvaro Odriozola

Álvaro Odriozola Arzalluz is a Spanish professional footballer who is known as a right-back for Serie A club Fiorentina, on loan from La Liga club Real Madrid, and the Spain national team. Mainly a full-back, he can also play as a winger.

Odriozola was first selected to play for Spain under-21s by Albert Celades, helping the squad reach the final of the 2017 UEFA European Championship. He earned his first full cap for Spain on 6 October 2017, in a 3–0 win over Albania for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers; he played the entire match, and also provided an assist for Thiago Alcântara’s goal as the team reached the finals as group winners.

Odriozola was named in the 23-man squad for the finals in Russia. He scored his first goal for his country on 3 June 2018, in a 1–1 friendly draw with Switzerland in Villarreal.