Who wore number 6 in football?

The №6 shirt is also commonly worn by a centre-back, such as England legend Bobby Moore. Celebrated Barcelona midfielder Xavi, however, is a notable exception, as he wore the №6 during his time at Camp Nou. In recent times, the number has come to recognize defensive midfielders as well.

Franco Baresi

Franchino Baresi Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining the club for 15 seasons. He is considered one of the greatest defenders of all-time and was ranked 19th in World Soccer magazine’s list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century. With Milan, he won three UEFA Champions League titles, six Serie A titles, four Supercoppa Italiana titles, two European Super Cups and two Intercontinental Cups.

With the Italy national team, he was a member of the Italian squad that won the 1982 FIFA World Cup. He also played in the 1990 World Cup, where he was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team, finishing third in the competition. At the 1994 World Cup, he was named Italy’s captain and was part of the squad that reached the final, although he would miss a penalty in the resulting shoot-out as Brazil lifted the trophy. Baresi also represented Italy at two UEFA European Championships, in 1980 and 1988, and at the 1984 Olympics, reaching the semi-finals on each occasion.

The younger brother of former footballer Giuseppe Baresi, after joining the Milan senior team as a youngster, Franco Baresi was initially nicknamed “Piscinin”, Milanese for “little one”. Due to his skill and success, he was later known as “Kaiser Franz”, a reference to fellow sweeper Franz Beckenbauer. In 1999, he was voted Milan’s Player of the Century. After his final season at Milan in 1997, the club retired Baresi’s shirt number 6. He was named by Pelé one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at the FIFA centenary awards ceremony in 2004. Baresi was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2013.

Xavi

Javier Hernández Creus, better known as Xavi, is a Spanish footballer, ex-captain of FC Barcelona and vice-captain of the Spanish national team. After completing his professional career, he was appointed head coach of the Qatari club “Al-Sadd”.

A graduate of the Barcelona Football Academy, he made his debut in the first team on August 18, 1998. Since then, he has won 25 trophies with the club, including eight Spanish championship titles, three Spanish Cups and four UEFA Champions Leagues. As part of the Spanish national team, Xavi is a two-time European champion (2008, 2012) and a world champion (2010), as well as a silver medalist at the Olympic Games (2000). He was a member of the symbolic teams of these tournaments.

He was named the best playmaker in the world four times (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). The best player of Euro 2008. He was a member of the symbolic European team according to UEFA (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) and the symbolic team of the world according to FIFA (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013). The third footballer in the world (2010, 2011). Xavi is distinguished by an excellent vision of the field and an unsurpassed passing technique.

Bobby Moore

Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore OBE was an English professional footballer. He most notably played for West Ham United, captaining the club for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in the history of football, and was cited by Pelé as the greatest defender that he had ever played against.

Widely regarded as West Ham’s greatest ever player, Moore played over 600 games for the club during a 16-year tenure, winning the FA Cup in 1963–64 and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1964–65. During his time at the club he won the FWA Footballer of the Year in 1964 and the West Ham Player of the Year in 1961, 1963, 1968 and 1970. In August 2008, West Ham United officially retired his number 6 shirt, 15 years after his death.

Moore was made captain of England in 1964, at age 23, going on to lift the World Cup trophy in 1966. He won a total of 108 caps for his country, which at the time of his international retirement in 1973 was a national record. This record was later broken by Peter Shilton. Moore’s total of 108 caps continued as a record for an outfield player until 28 March 2009, when David Beckham gained his 109th cap. Moore is a member of the World Team of the 20th Century. A national team icon, a bronze statue of Moore is positioned at the entrance to Wembley Stadium.

A composed central defender, Moore was best known for his reading of the game and ability to anticipate opposition movements, thereby distancing himself from the image of the hard-tackling, high-jumping defender. Receiving the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1966, he was the first footballer to win the award and he remained the only one for a further 24 years. Moore was given an OBE in the New Year Honours List. He was made an inaugural inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game as a player and in the same year he was named in the BBC’s list of the 100 Greatest Britons.

Matthias Sammer

Matthias Sammer is a German former professional football player and coach who last worked as sporting director of Bayern Munich. He played as a defensive midfielder and later in his career as a sweeper.

With Borussia Dortmund as a player, Sammer won the Bundesliga and DFL-Supercup in 1995, the Bundesliga, DFL-Supercup, and European Footballer of the Year in 1996, and the UEFA Champions League and Intercontinental Cup in 1997. With Germany as a player, Sammer won the UEFA Euro 1996, where he was named the tournament’s best player, and was subsequently awarded the Ballon d’Or later that year. Sammer retired with 74 total caps, 23 for East Germany and 51 for the unified side.

With Sammer as a manager, Borussia Dortmund won the Bundesliga in 2002.

Ronald De Boer

Ronald de Boer is a Dutch footballer, a flanking midfielder. At the end of his playing career – football coach. He is known for coaching the Ajax youth team. He has a twin brother, Frank, who was also a professional footballer.

As a player, he is best known for his performances for Ajax, as well as the national team of the Netherlands.

Five-time champion of the Netherlands. Three-time winner of the Dutch Super Cup. Dutch Cup winner. Champion of Spain. Twice winner of the Scottish Cup. Twice winner of the Scottish League Cup. Champion of Scotland. Winner of the UEFA Champions League. Winner of the Intercontinental Cup. Winner of the UEFA Super Cup.

Allan

Allan Marques Loureiro, commonly known as Allan Marques, or simply Allan, is a Brazilian footballer who is known for playing as a central midfielder for Premier League club Everton and the Brazil national team.

After starting out in the Madureira youth system in his home country, he joined Uruguayan club Deportivo Maldonado, but later returned to Brazil and made his professional debut with Vasco da Gama in 2009. Allan joined Italian club Udinese in 2012, and subsequently moved to fellow Serie A side Napoli in 2015.

At international level, he was a part of the Brazil under-20 side that won the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and later made his senior debut for Brazil in 2018; he was a member of the team that won the 2019 Copa América on home soil.

Thiago Alcântara

Thiago Alcântara do Nascimento, or simply Thiago, is a professional footballer known as a central midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the Spain national team.

Born in Italy to Brazilian parents, he is the eldest child of former player Mazinho. Thiago joined Barcelona aged 14, and made his first team debut in 2009. After winning honours including four La Liga titles, the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup for Barcelona, he was signed by Bayern Munich for €25 million in 2013. In Germany, Thiago won many trophies, including the Bundesliga multiple times in a row, and the UEFA Champions League as part of a continental treble in his final year at the club. In 2020, he signed for Liverpool in a transfer worth an initial £20 million.

After helping Spain to European Championships at under-19 and under-21 levels, he made his full international debut in 2011. Thiago was part of the provisional squad for Spain in the 2014 World Cup but withdrew due to a knee injury. Thiago was selected for UEFA Euro 2016, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2020.

Oriol Romeu

Oriol Romeu Vidal is a Spanish professional footballer known as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Southampton.

Romeu began his career at Barcelona, playing mainly in its reserves. In 2011, he joined Chelsea for €5 million, spending time on loan at Valencia and VfB Stuttgart before moving to Southampton four years later.

Romeu represented Spain up to under-21 level, and was part of their under-17 team which won the 2008 European Championship. He also played for the country at the 2012 Olympics.

Joshua Kimmich

Joshua Walter Kimmich is a German professional footballer who is known for playing as a defensive midfielder or right-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. He stands out for his versatility, passing, shooting, tackling and aggression.

He is often compared with former Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm and is considered his successor.

Kimmich joined Bayern Munich from RB Leipzig in 2015 for contract lasting until 2020. In the 2019–20 season, after winning the continental treble with Bayern Munich, Kimmich was included in the UEFA Team of the Year, the FIFA FIFPro Men’s World11, and was recognized as the UEFA Champions League Defender of the Season.

Koke

Jorge Resurrección Merodio, known as Koke, is a Spanish professional footballer known as a midfielder and captain for La Liga club Atlético Madrid, and for the Spain national team.

He has spent the entirety of his career with Atlético Madrid since making his debut with the first team in 2009, playing over 500 competitive matches and winning the 2013–14 and 2020–21 La Liga, Europa League titles and UEFA Super Cup trophies, while he was also a Champions League runner-up in 2014 and 2016.

Koke won the 2013 European Championship with the Spanish under-21 team. He also made his debut for the full side that year, and represented the country at two World Cups and as many European Championships.