I'm old enough to remember when soccer teams handed out the shirts before the game and players lined up at a position based on the number they were given. Yeah, that's a long way from today, where we see players like Jaime Moreno wearing numbers as high as 99 (trivia question: who was the Dallas Burn player who wore number 66 in the MLS inaugural season?), but it did get me thinking toward a First XI list of best players who wear jersey numbers 1-11. Next week, the MLS player who is identified by Nos. 1-11.
11. Terry Cooke, Colorado Rapids. The number 11 was always a winger in my memory, so it's fitting that Cooke, perhaps the best crosser in MLS, gets the nod as the best 11 on the First XI. Cooke gets the nod over Brad Davis of Houston Dynamo because, to be completely honest, I've written too much about Davis in recent weeks and I wanted to throw props in a different direction. Plus, I love the trajectory and curve on Cooke's right-footed crosses.
10. Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Chicago Fire. In my opinion, MLS commentators and fans have always been way too obsessed with "the No. 10 shirt" and expressions like "a true No. 10." Now, I know Landon Donovan wears this number in MLS, but for some reason, I still associate him with the number 21 (maybe it's the USA T-shirts I bought my sons), so I'll give "the No. 10 shirt" to a "true No. 10," Blanco. He gets the selection over recently relocated Christian Gomez.
9. Juan Pablo Angel, New York Red Bulls. Nine will always be the number of the main striker, and MLS seems to stick to this tradition to a degree (for example, Taylor Twellman and Carlos Ruiz both wear No. 20). Angel, who should be even better this season, noses out Ante Razov for this jersey. We will see this season if Fabian Espandola can make his case for the shirt. And, much as I respect the work of Sasha Victorine and Brian Mullan, they're not strikers, and when I think No. 9, I think striker.
8. Diego Gutierrez, Chicago Fire. I issue this shirt to Gutierrez if only for the reason that, after beginning his career and winning a championship with the Fire wearing No. 8, he handed it over to Hristo Stoitchkov in 2000 when the Mad Bulgarian showed up to Chicago with a bunch of Puma shoes emblazoned with the number he made famous during his years at Barcelona and with the Bulgarian national team. Alas, Diego got his No. 8 back when he returned to the Fire, and wears it proudly as his MLS career winds to a classy finish.
7. Fred, D.C. United. When I think of No. 7, I think of an all-purpose player (I'll give you my prototype MLS No. 7 in next week's column), and frankly, I'm surprised that more prominent players in this league to not wear this lucky number. So, the nod goes to Fred over the likes of Mike Magee, who got off to a good start with this shirt back in '03, but is going to have to make a serious recovery to earn it back. Based on what Fred showed in his debut season a year ago, I don't see him giving it up any time soon.
6. Maurice Edu, Toronto FC. While I know Franz Beckenbauer made the No. 5 famous during his years as a sweeper with Bayern Munich and the German national team, my memory is of Der Kaiser wearing No. 6 for the Cosmos, where he was mostly employed as a holding midfielder. Edu earned this shirt with his Rookie of the Year campaign and doesn't appear like he'll be challenged for it any time soon.
5. Kerry Zavagnin, Kansas City Wizards.
Here's one for longevity. While I'd have liked to issue this number to what I consider a classic No. 5 (a libero in the mold of Carlos Alberto), I give it to Zavagnin who has performed his tasks in this number for the Wizards for nearly a decade.
4. Bakary Soumare, Chicago Fire. The number traditionally worn by a holds-no-prisoners defender, Soumare got his career off to a nice start a year ago and therefore gets this shirt ahead of Shavar Thomas and Ante Jazic. Go through the league and, for some reason, it seems the No. 4 shirt is not one that's in high demand on uniform distribution day.
3. Chris Albright, New England Revolution. When I think No. 3, I think center back, but I'm going to throw this shirt to Albright, who will wear this number for the first time as a member of the New England Revolution. Jose Burciaga Jr. will get a chance to distinguish himself in this digit this season and has a good chance to become the league's premier 3 shirt because more than half the teams in the league have this jersey on the shelf in a stock room somewhere.
2. Claudio Suarez, Chivas USA. When Chivas USA made the decision to bring Suarez into the fold in 2006, most figured it would be for one season. Now, with no signs of slippage, Suarez brings his calm leadership to Chivas USA for a third season. He gets my No. 2 over C.J. Brown, who has also worn this number with pride for 10 MLS seasons.
1. Matt Reis, New England Revolution. Number One was always the 'keeper's shirt back in the day, but times have changed and Reis is one of only three first-choice 'keepers (Kevin Hartman and Bouna Coundoul are the others) in the league who wears the 1 on his back. I am curious when high numbers became the norm and not the exception for goalkeepers, or whether this is simply an MLS thing.
Jeff Bradley is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. Send your comments and complaints (200 words or less, please) to Jeff at jbradleyespn2003@yahoo.com and he promises to read (but not respond to) all of them. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
