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The number 9 jersey has an illustrious history in football. The number is generally handed to centre-forwards or basically the target-man. The one who dons the number has to take up the responsibility of scoring goals, and sometimes hold up and assist the striker. Everton's Dixie Dean was the first to wear the number 9 jersey, when numbers were introduced in the 1933 FA Cup final. Since then, there has been several footballing wizards who have sported this number. Here's a look at 10 of the best players to have donned the number 9 jersey.
#10 Fernando Torres
Country: Spain
International Caps: 110
Goals: 38
Clubs: Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Chelsea
His time at Chelsea has never been witness to the goalscoring machine that Fernando Torres used to be. Since his move to Stamford Bridge in 2011, Torres has just netted 20 goals in the Premier League. But his days at Liverpool, Atletico Madrid and his heroics with Spain earn him a place in this list of finest number 9's. A product of the Atletico Madrid academy, Torres moved up the ranks and soon grabbed headlines with his poaching skills. After seven years and 91 goals at Atletico, Liverpool came calling for him. At Anfield he enjoyed the most prolific goalscoring spell of his career, becoming the fastest player in Liverpool history to score 50 league goals. A two-time European and once World chamion with Spain, Torres continues to be a mainstay for La Roja. With 38 goals, he is currently the country's third-highest goal-scorer, behind leader David Villa and Raul.
#9 Andy Cole
Country: England
International Caps: 15
Goals: 1
Clubs: Arsenal, Bristol City, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Nottingham Forest
Andy Cole's England career may not paint an apt picture of his prowess. The Nottingham-born striker was overlooked by managers like Glenn Hoddle, Terry Venables and Kevin Keegan who robbed the national team of one of the EPL's finest strike force. For Manchester United, Cole was a fan-favourite winning over Old Trafford with his exploits. The Englishman was instrumental in guiding the Red Devils to their historic Champions League triumph in 1999. The Arsenal youth player is still the Premier League's second-highest goal scorer.
#8 Hernan Crespo
Country: Argentina
International Caps: 64
Goals: 35
Clubs: River Plate, Parma, Lazio, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Genoa, Parma
Hernan Crespo was once the world's most expensive player. The Argentine was snapped by Lazio from Parma for a then world-record €56 million in 2000. For Argentina, Crespo took over the number 9 shirt from Gabriel Batistuta, and he quite lived up to the billing. The 39-year-old is their third-highest goalscorer, just behind his number 9 predecessor Batistuta and Lionel Messi. His awards include three Serie A scudetti, a Copa Libertadores, a Premier League title and an Olympic Games silver medal.
#7 Patrick Kluivert
Country: Netherlands
International Caps: 79
Goals: 40
Clubs: Ajax, AC Milan, Barcelona, Newcastle United, Valencia, PSV, Lille
Patrick Kluivert used to be Netherlands' all-time record goal-scorer before Robin van Persie took over in October 2013. The peak of his club career was with Barcelona and his pairing with Brazil star Rivaldo. The duo's goal-scoring exploits helped Barcelona defend the La Liga title in 1999. A part of Ajax's golden generation of the 1990's, Kluivert was the winner of the Golden Boot at the 2000 Euros.
#6 Robbie Fowler
Country: England
International Caps: 26
Goals: 7
Clubs: Liverpool, Leeds United, Manchester City, Cardiff City, Blackburn Rovers, North Queensland Fury, Perth Glory, Muangthong United
Robbie Fowler was named 'God' by Liverpool fans, enough said. His local roots along with deadly left foot and goal-scoring abilities established him as an Anfield legend. He went on to score 183 goals for the Reds, and also was instrumental in setting up many others. These qualities and numbers personify what an ideal number 9 should be. His latter career was plagued by a series of injuries that robbed him of his brilliance and cut short his England career. The Liverpool lad is still the Premier League's sixth-highest goal-scorer.
#5 Gabriel Batistuta
Country: Argentina
International Caps: 78
Goals: 56
Clubs: Newell's Old Boys, River Plate, Boca Juniors, Fiorentina, Roma, Al Arabi
Gabriel Batistuta is the most prolific striker to come from Argentina. The 6 feet 1 poacher still stands as the highest goalscorer for the Albiciestes, with 56 goals. His time at Fiorentina established him as a god-like figure amongst fans. When Fiorentina were relegated to Serie B in 1993, Batistuta instead of fleeing ship, decided to stay on and help them come back. In 1996,the Viola fans erected a life-size bronze statue of him. In 2004 he was named in the FIFA 100 list of the Top 125 greatest living footballers.
#4 Filippo Inzaghi
Country: Italy
International Caps: 57
Goals: 25
Clubs: Piacenza, Parma, Atalanta, Juventus, AC Milan
One look at Filipo Inzaghi's trophy cabinet, would be enough to figure out the reason why he was modern football's greatest strikers. He has three Serie A titles, two Champions League titles, three Italian Supercoppa, two UEFA Super Cups and the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup. In Italy colours, Inzaghi was part of the team that under Fabio Cannavaro went on to win the 2006 World Cup. Other than setting Serie A on fire, Pippo also had a certain fondness for shining at Europe's biggest stage, the UEFA Champions league. With 70 goals, Inzaghi is the second-highest goalscorer in European competitions, just behind Real Madrid and Spain legend Raul.
#3 Alan Shearer
Country: England
International Caps: 63
Goals: 30
Clubs: Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United
Six years after he bid adieu to the English Premier League, Alan Shearer still has his name registered as the EPL's highest goalscorer. A product of the Southampton academy, Shearer broke into the first team in the 1988 season. He grabbed headlines in his very first start for the Saints. The 17-year-old netted a hat-trick against Arsenal in a 4-2 home win, becoming the youngest to score a hat-trick in the English top-flight. In 1992, he thwarted interest from Manchester United to join Blackburn Rovers in a British transfer record-breaking £ 3.6 million move. In 1996, persuaded by his boyhood hero and Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan, Shearer again turned down Manchester United to join Newcastle for another record-breaking £ 15 million move. Playing for his hometown club, he plundered 206 goals in 404 outings.
#2 Alfredo Di Stefano
Country: Argentina/Spain
International Caps: Argentina (6), Spain (31)
Goals: Argentina (6), Spain (23)
Clubs: River Plate, Milonarios, Real Madrid, Espanyol
RIP Alfredo Di Stefano. The footballing wizard passed away on Saturday, July 5, at the age of 88 after suffering from a heart attack. 'The Blond Arrow' as he was dubbed as is an iconic figure at Real Madrid. The Buenos Aires-born forward was instrumental in Real Madrid dominating Europe in the 1950's. Aided by Stephano's goalscoring prowess, Real won five consecutive European Cups from 1956 onwards. His international career though had to face controversies. While 24 years of age, Argentina refused to participate in the 1950 World Cup. Even for the 1954 edition Argentina pulled out, and Di Stefano missed out another chance. By this time he had featured in a few games for Colombia, which FIFA didn't agree to recognise. Also he was deemed inelegible to play for Argentina by the national FA for this. Di Stefano already playing for Real Madrid, acquired Spanish citizenship in 1956. Unfortunately Spain didn't qualify for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. His last chance at playing a major international tournament came in the 1962 Euros, but fate again turned cruel to him. A muscular injury ruled him out just before the tournament started. Aged 36 then, Di Stefano announced his international retirement.
#1 Ronaldo
Country: Brazil
International Caps: 98
Goals: 62
Clubs: Cruzeiro, PSV, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Corinthians
No it's not Cristiano. For anyone growing up in the 90's, there's always just one Ronaldo, Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima. 'The Phenomenon' is arguably the greatest striker to have graced the game. The Brazil legend is one of only three men to have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times or more, along with Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi. A two-time FIFA World Cup winner (1994, 2002) Ronaldo seemed to net goals for fun, at his own will. He set goalscoring charts on fire for several clubs in his long career, netting 352 goals in his entire club career. The 37-year-old was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest players compiled by Brazil legend Pele in 2007.
