Most footballers are a superstitious lot and a select few manage to play with the same shirt number throughout their entire careers. For some, it is sacrosanct. For others, it is a trademark of sorts. Mario Balotelli was no exception – until he joined Nice this summer for free.
The Italian has worn the no.45 shirt wherever he has played – be it Inter Milan, Manchester City, AC Milan or Liverpool. With no real takers for the no.45 shirt, it was easy to give it to the temperamental striker.
“When I first played three or four games with Inter Milan, when I was young, I had no.45 because the numbers for young players were from no.36 to no.50,” Balotelli had explained once upon a time. “I took no.45 because I was joking that four plus five is nine – and I scored in all four games. It brings me luck and that's why I've always kept no.45.”
But when he moved from Liverpool to the Ligue 1, he was in for a surprise. He was told he could not take his favourite no.45 shirt. Fans who watched him play would have been surprised to see him playing in a no.9 shirt.
Ligue 1 rules explicitly prohibit players from choosing their own numbers and generally do not allow players to pick a number higher than 30. Such novelty numbers are prohibited and only in a few exceptional cases have players been allowed to pick a number higher than 30. For example, David Luiz wore no.32 at Paris Saint-Germain.
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The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) have specific rules regarding this. Here’s the rule (translated):
Every Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 club must establish the number assignment list 72 hours before the start of the competition. This list can not exceed 30 names, the number 30 is the last in the list may be supplemented and updated with every movement in the club.
If a club justifies employ over 30 professional players under contract, the board may grant an exception to the preceding paragraph. Whimsical dials are prohibited (example: 45 – 82).
The numbers 1, 16 and 30 are exclusively and necessarily reserved for goalkeepers. Ultimately, the number 40 can be assigned. All teams must have a jersey with number 33 that is not assigned to a player and reserved for breaking replacements.
A directory is established early in the season and available to referees and delegates by the LFP.
Balotelli’s career has reached a crossroads and he is in danger of losing his way as many other promising players have done. The winner of the Golden Boy award in 2010, an award given to promising U-21 players, his career graph has shown a downward trend and hit a new low when Liverpool let him go for free after paying £16m to secure his services.
However, things are starting to look up after he grabbed a brace on his Ligue 1 debut as Nice came from behind to beat Marseille 3-2. Balotelli only needed seven minutes to open his Ligue 1 account.
Who knows, the number 9 may help him get his career back on track. It did the same for Hatem Ben Arfa who was also struggling to find a club willing to take him. He scored 17 goals for Nice last season and earned himself a move to PSG in the process.
