Who wore number 53 in football?

There are the numbers that really stretch the upper limits of rosters. In massive clubs they are needed, often for youth players or U21s who are called up.

Joao Carlos Teixera

João Carlos Vilaça Teixeira is a Portuguese professional footballer who is known as a midfielder for Feyenoord Rotterdam.

After developing at S.C. Braga and Sporting CP he joined Liverpool for £800,000 in January 2012. He made eight total appearances for Liverpool, scoring once, and had loans at Brentford in League One and Brighton & Hove Albion in the Championship, winning Player of the Year at the latter. He returned to Portugal in 2016, and made over 50 Primeira Liga appearances for Braga, FC Porto and Vitória de Guimarães.

Wojciech Szczesny

Wojciech Tomasz Szczęsny is a Polish professional footballer who is known as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus and the Poland national team.

After starting his club career at Legia Warsaw, Szczęsny signed for Arsenal in January 2006, where he made his professional debut in 2009. After a spell on loan with Brentford the following season, he later became the capital club’s first choice goalkeeper, winning two FA Cups and being the joint recipient of the 2013–14 Premier League Golden Glove with Petr Čech. He subsequently went on two consecutive season-long loans to Italian club Roma in 2015, where his performances earned him a move to reigning league champions Juventus in 2017. After serving mainly as a back-up to Gianluigi Buffon in his first season, during which he won a domestic double, he inherited the starting spot from the departed Buffon the following season, winning his second Serie A title; his performances also earned him a Yashin Trophy nomination in 2019. He won a third consecutive league title the following season, also winning the Serie A Best Goalkeeper Award.

At the international level, Szczęsny has earned 60 caps for Poland since his debut in 2009, and was included in the nation’s squad as it co-hosted UEFA Euro 2012, also later taking part at Euro 2016, the 2018 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2020.

During his time with Arsenal, Szczęsny earned a reputation as a tall, young, promising, and talented goalkeeper, who possessed significant athleticism, as well as strong reflexes, agility, shot-stopping abilities, distribution, and a good mentality, but who was also inconsistent; as such, he occasionally came under criticism in the media over technical mistakes or errors in judgement, in particular on crosses, and for his lack of development during his time with the club, as well as his lack of discipline off the pitch, including an incident in which he was reportedly fined by the club after being caught smoking in the showers.

Regarding Szczęsny’s error–prone performances during his time in England, former Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman commented in 2013 that the Polish keeper needed to become stronger mentally in order to retain his place in the first team. After losing his place in the starting line-up to David Ospina, due to his negative performances during the 2014–15 season, and following the arrival of Petr Čech in the summer of 2015, Szczęsny was sent on loan to Roma in order to gain playing time, with his Arsenal manager Wenger describing him as a “a top-class goalkeeper” but also commenting that “if he can play somewhere that would be good,” and also stating: “I believe he will have a future at Arsenal. I personally rate him highly – you do not take a boy and put him in the first team at the age of 20 [if you don’t]. He already has huge experience. I don’t want that experience at such a young age to be wasted.” He further added that he contemplated retaining Szczęsny in order for him to learn from Čech, stating: “That is a question that comes to your mind. How much can he grow with Petr [Č]ech next to him, who is happy to share his huge experience, and how much mentally will he be able to live with the fact that he doesn’t play regularly. It is a position that, if you are number two or three, it is more difficult.” Regarding his move, Szczęsny commented: “I had a difficult time last year – I’m the first person to admit that. I didn’t have the best of seasons, that’s why things have turned out the way they have, but I’m grateful because it gives me the opportunity to join Roma this season. If I work hard – and with the help of the coaches – I’ll be able to help the team improve from last season and hopefully challenge for the title.”

During his time in Italy, after producing a series of mixed performances during his first season with Roma, Szczęsny established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in Serie A during his second season with the team, and subsequently also maintained a consistently high level of performance with Juventus. In 2016, Szczęsny’s former Arsenal manager Wenger labelled him a “world-class” goalkeeper. Following his move to the Turin side in 2017, Szczęsny credited the manner in which the role of the goalkeeper is prepared and coached in Italy as one of the reasons for his drastic improvement, citing his Roma manager – Spalletti – and his goalkeeping coach with the club – Guido Nanni – as figures who played a key role in his development and maturation as a goalkeeper.

In a 2017 interview with The Independent, he commented that “the goalkeeping school in Italy is very different, it’s very technical and pays more attention to the details. It’s really made a difference for me because I started playing at a very young age with Arsenal and as you play you gain experience and that’s how you grow.” He also added: “in the two-and-a-half years since I came to Italy, I’ve improved massively which is thanks to the coaches and the way they work. It’s not about improving when you play, it’s every day in training you have to work on every aspect of your game and that’s something I’ve really enjoyed.” Regarding the general approach to training in Italy, he stated: “I think in general, the coaches in Italy are much more tactical, that’s just how the league works. Whether it was [Luciano] Spalletti at Roma or Max Allegri here, the preparation for the game is different to what I was used to in England. You work on the shape of the team for a particular match all week. At Arsenal you’d just prepare physically for it but here you watch film[s] analysing a specific opponent before the game and afterwards we’ll watch again to see what worked and what didn’t.” Upon his arrival at Juventus, his teammate Buffon named him as the best goalkeeper in Serie A during the previous season, while in October of that year, he described him as being “a younger and better goalkeeper” than himself.

Szczęsny’s former goalkeeping coach at Roma, Nanni, praised him in 2017 for his dedication in training, and for his ability to overcome his weaknesses and develop his all–round game, noting that he initially struggled to get to ground quickly to parry the ball and deal with low shots upon his arrival at the club, but that he improved significantly in this area under his tenure; he also lauded the keeper for his intelligence, cool demeanour, and calm composure in goal, as well as his ability with the ball at this feet. In 2020, he labelled him as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, a view which was shared by Juventus’s chief football officer Fabio Paratici. During his time with Juventus, Szczęsny drew praise in the media for his decisive performances; in particular he was singled out for his reflexes, fundamental goalkeeping technique, positional sense, and consistency, as well as his efficient rather than spectacular style of goalkeeping, and his ability to handle the pressure of replacing Buffon as the team’s first choice goalkeeper. However, his ability to come off his line to deal with high balls or collect crosses has still been cited as an area of weakness by pundits.

Brandon Williams

Brandon Paul Brian Williams is an English professional footballer who is known as a full-back for Premier League club Norwich City, on loan from Manchester United. Although he is mainly characterized as a left-back, he has also been used as a right-back.

Williams is a graduate of the Manchester United youth academy and made his first-team debut in September 2019. He has represented England at under-20 and under-21 levels.

Telmo Arcanjo

Telmo Emanuel Gomes Arcanjo is a footballer who is known as a midfielder for Tondela. Born in Portugal, he decided to represent the Cape Verde national team.

Kostas Fortounis

Konstantinos ‘Kostas’ Fortounis is a Greek professional footballer who is known as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Super League club Olympiacos and the Greece national team. He was born in Trikala, Thessaly but comes from the nearby village of Sarakina, close to the town of Kalabaka.

Fortounis’ ability to combine well with his colleagues down the flank, while also being able to drive the net in order to create a goal-scoring opportunity. Fortounis’ speed on and off the ball make him an efficient player to have in the line-up as his time with the ball usually creates an attack for his team. His speed is another factor that is to his benefit, as he is able to burst past markers with flair and trickery. He describes himself as a player who can find gaps in the opposition defence but not particularly good at dribbling or one-on-ones.

Ali Adnan Kadhim

Ali Adnan Kadhim Al-Tameemi is an Iraqi professional footballer who is known as a left-back for Danish Superliga club Vejle Boldklub and the Iraq national team.

Adnan has played at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup, where he was one of Iraq’s star players as the underdogs went on a run to the semi-final. He won the 2013 Asian Young Footballer of the Year.

Adnan is compared to Roberto Carlos or Ian Harte as a left-back with a ferocious set piece accuracy. He is a tall but fast player, which blends well to Iraq’s counter-attack philosophy. Adnan is also an attack-minded left-back, possessing a strong physique and a powerful long-range shooting ability. Adnan bursts from the back straight into the opposite half of the field with some sublime footworks propelling him to go past defenders and midfielders with ease. Always brimming with energy and full of athleticism coupled with his unrivaled strength, opponents find it a tough task taming him who is often than not, seen in the third half of the field entertaining viewers with dazzling skills and screamers from long ranges. Adnan has still managed to stand out on account of his marauding runs down the left wing, as well as his useful habit of popping up with vitally important goals. In spite of his attacking prowess, Adnan serves as a good pillar for his team when defending. He is also very adapted to making long passes and crosses into the penalty area.

Yannick Bolasie

Yannick Bolasie is a professional footballer who is known as a winger for Turkish Süper Lig club Çaykur Rizespor. Born in Lyon, he has played in the Football League for Plymouth Argyle, Barnet, Bristol City, Crystal Palace, Everton and Aston Villa. Bolasie has been capped at international level by the DR Congo national football team.