WEBVTT - Perfect 10 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:07.960 In the nineteen seventy World Cup, Brazil played England in 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:17.680 the group stages. After the match, Bill swapped shirts with 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:26.160 the legendary defender Bobby Moore, who players, but a few 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:28.840 hours later he almost had to go ask Bobby Moore 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:32.440 for his jersey back. You see, during the game, thieves 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:35.960 had broken into the locker room and stolen all his jerseys. 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:40.200 Back then, in seventy it wasn't that easy to get 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:44.120 official World Cup jerseys mailed to you in a timely fashion. 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:47.120 But perhaps one of the reasons why the thieves wanted 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:51.360 those jerseys was because Bill wore the number ten, a 0:00:51.520 --> 0:00:55.200 number that he made iconic. I think it's probably the 0:00:55.280 --> 0:00:58.640 only number now, not probably, it is the only number 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:03.600 now that's still written haines the weight and still gets 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:08.000 the oo and awe and and still when you say it, 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:10.560 people that are watching the game and people that have 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:14.080 followed the game know exactly what you're talking about. And 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:18.000 more importantly, there is a collective and accepted type of 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:25.680 expectation that comes with that. The number ten has a 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:29.080 special place in soccer. It's an archetype, if you will, 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:32.160 an emblem. What I'm saying is it's the most famous 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:35.800 number in soccer. That's what life is about. Change is constant, 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:39.679 but the ten has endured. It's a legendary number. It's 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:44.080 venerated as being the soul of the team. Really, this 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:47.280 is the savior, this is the hope in Italy. It's 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:50.040 even got a fantasista. I think there's something so irresistible 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:54.160 about the center of gravity and a team. Then there's 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:58.520 the the aura of the number ten. He stepped out 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:02.440 of another dimension, that beautiful arrogance. He was flowing the 0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:07.240 ultimate number ten. He was fragile, the most dominant playmaker. 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:11.639 He was phenomenal, of course, just a phenomenal player. Why 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:13.520 wouldn't you want the ball at the feet of your 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:18.120 best player. There's nobody who epitomized the romance of the 0:02:18.200 --> 0:02:20.320 ten the way he did. And so I guess he 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:23.280 wasn't God. He was human. If that's what makes number 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:27.520 tend the most iconic shirt in football? How did ten 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:31.560 become the most coveted number, so much so that it 0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:35.960 was worth stealing? And if you're listening, you're a perfect 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:40.320 ten to me, because today is all about the number ten. 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:44.280 I'm Nando Vila and you're listening to the best soccer 0:02:44.360 --> 0:03:08.880 podcast in the World goes with the Christiano Ronaldo, Yes, wonderful, 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:23.000 Never to soccer. Players didn't always wear numbers, you know. 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:30.840 The Derby Daily Telegraph called the ninety three f A 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:33.880 Cup Final the most novel cup final in the history 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:37.880 of football. Quote every player for the first time, we'll 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:41.400 have a huge distinguishing number on his back. One team 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:44.840 war one through eleven and the other twelve through twenty two. 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:48.240 So you know they actually we didn't have short you know, 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:50.240 short numbers for the first sort of sixty years of 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:54.320 the game, right, But shirt numbers help you identify the player. 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:57.440 And as a kid, you watch television and you generally 0:03:57.440 --> 0:03:59.480 want to be the most skillful player, and it's generally 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:02.560 the guy with number ten on the back. This is 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:07.240 senior writer for ESPN. But how did the most skillful 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:12.520 player end up with number ten in the first place? Well, okay, 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:17.240 so the a brief history of numbers and soccer. Right 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:21.480 when numbers were first created, teams played a two three 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:26.520 five formation. You had two defenders, you had three midfielders, 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:30.480 and you had five forwards. The English Football Association started 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:34.440 mandating shirt numbers during the nineteen thirties, one through eleven 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:37.680 on each side back. Then, instead of the players keeping 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:40.839 one number that followed them, the position kept the number 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:44.640 number one as a goalkeeper. Two and three are the 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:47.880 two defenders. Four or five and six are your midfielders. 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:52.360 Seven through eleven are your forwards. At this time, tactics 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:56.279 are evolving, a midfielder or two drops into defense, and 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:59.400 they started to drag their numbers along with them. So 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:02.799 once two of those three moved back and one became 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:06.239 the defender, you had the two inside forwards moving back. 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:09.360 And because the forwards were seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:13.400 eight and ten moved into midfield. The number ten is 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:17.800 the guy who facilitated play. This varied by country. For instance, 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:22.680 in England, the ten was a striker. Ten has always signified, 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:26.280 though regardless of where you were, a player who operated 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:29.640 centrally and was an outstanding and was usually your your 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:31.960 most gifted player. Could be a forward, could be an 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:35.599 attacking midfielder, but always central. And then, of course, the 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:38.200 rest of the mythologists to do with the players who 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:42.120 wore from Belle to Maldonna. That's what makes number ten 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:46.279 the most iconic shirt in football. The story of how 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:50.400 ten became the dude dates back three quarters of a century, 0:05:50.760 --> 0:06:00.440 and it was kind of a fluke. It's June. Picture 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:03.080 yourself as you're about to tune in. You're at the 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:06.000 rich kid's house where they have a new fangled television set. 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:10.359 You're using air assault deodorant and fluoride toothpaste fresh on 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:13.279 the market for the first time that year. The polio 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:17.560 vaccine courses through your veins and spot Nick circles the 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:21.760 skies above you. Minimum wages one dollar. Everyone agrees they 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:23.880 wanted to spend it on a hula hoop or barbie. 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:28.240 This Christmas. You turn off Elvis now in stereo long 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:33.880 enough to watch the Big Game. There's a lot of 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:37.200 really big changes happening really quickly in technology and science 0:06:37.240 --> 0:06:39.960 around this time, but none of it has prepared you 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:42.039 for this seventeen and a half year old, thick, thied 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:44.320 kid on the TV who does things with his leather 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:46.680 paneled pick bladder that you didn't know were even possible 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:49.400 within the laws of physics. It feels like your brain 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:52.880 is being pulled apart, segment by segment, like orange slices, 0:06:53.360 --> 0:07:02.480 rearranged and put back into your skull prope That kid 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:08.000 is called Bile real name Edson Arantis Donacimento. He's wearing 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:11.160 the number ten. He scores one more in a five 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:14.880 to win over host Sweden in the World Cup final. 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:24.400 Remember this is the first internationally televised World Cup. In 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:26.840 the grainy black and white footage, you can't see that 0:07:26.880 --> 0:07:29.360 Brazil lost the coin toss and had to wear blue 0:07:29.440 --> 0:07:33.480 jerseys with improvised yellow numbering. Just how did the youngest 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:35.920 player ever to appear in a World Cup final nab 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:43.520 the number ten jersey? Pure dumb luck. When Brazil sent 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:47.320 in their roster paperwork, they hadn't included the numbers. And 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:50.080 when I say sent in paperwork, I mean just that 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:53.960 this was eight years before fax machines were invented. There's 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:58.400 this FIFA stooge, Lorenzo Vilitio. He's from Uruguay and he's 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:01.600 sitting in the FIFA offices checking all the rosters. There 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:04.080 isn't enough time to mail something to the Brazilian federation 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:06.920 and have the mail back squad numbers, which had been 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:10.720 mandatory since the previous World Cup in ninety four. So 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:15.560 what does Lorenzo Elio do? He assigns numbers arbitrarily. Gilma, 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:18.920 the starting goalkeeper, gets the number three very weird for 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:22.360 a goalkeeper, and oh sure, why not? He gets the 0:08:22.400 --> 0:08:25.680 number ten at the insistence of the players themselves. Manager 0:08:25.680 --> 0:08:28.880 of Vigenti Fiola has quoted a bandy leg right winger 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:32.439 named Grincha and a seventeen year old inside left named Pillow. 0:08:33.679 --> 0:08:36.400 The number ten was what Bile was wearing when he 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:40.199 fainted as Brazil won their first World Cup trophy. It's 0:08:40.240 --> 0:08:43.400 the jersey he wore while all his teammates lifted him ugly, 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:56.400 crying onto their shoulders, but I started. That's the same 0:08:56.480 --> 0:08:58.640 number he wore on the jersey he used to wipe 0:08:58.679 --> 0:09:09.400 his tears after scoring his thousandth career goal for Santos. 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:12.000 That's the number burned into our memories of the first 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:17.400 World Cup, televised in color, the number ten standing out 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:24.920 against bright yellow at Briszil take the lead and all 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:30.000 mighty leap by the famous Brazil number. It's at the 0:09:30.080 --> 0:09:34.480 Italian defense appeared to have any danger covered, but Pelle 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:37.760 just seemed to hang in the air. A majestic kenna 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:40.840 for Waldo. That's the jersey the Cosmos retired at halftime 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:43.440 of his farewell match. When he took it off, waved 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:45.600 it to the crowd and handed it to his father, 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:49.400 father and son. Here is the moment. Number ten of 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:53.240 the Cosmos just appears forever. That's the jersey the Cosmos 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.560 retired again for some reason when the club reformed three 0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:59.800 decades later. And that's the jersey number he wore for 0:09:59.840 --> 0:10:03.120 the Allied prisoners against the Nazis. In the movie Victory, 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:08.120 starring Slice Alone and Michael Caine, Slice Alone played goalkeeper cool. 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.600 I have to give me ball here. I do these 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:22.040 these these easy watch billet fer Santos or early black 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:24.600 and white Brazil. And what stands out is the only 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:26.959 thing on his crisp white jersey is the number ten. 0:10:27.559 --> 0:10:33.839 No name, no sponsors, no logos, just ten chased all 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.040 out of the field. There are players on the box, 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:43.280 respectators on the box. He's on the box about wanted 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:46.640 is being mobbed. He's fund of the whole lot of that. 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:51.720 By the time pill joined the Cosmos, he himself was 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:55.679 the emblem. Henry Kissinger of all people, convinced Bills to 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:59.319 move to the United States in order to further American interests. 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:02.400 He was voted the most famous person in the world. 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:06.800 And get this, the athlete of the century. The Brazilian 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:10.760 government passed a bill naming him a national treasure. The 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:14.440 Biafrian war plaguing Nigeria, paused for two days to see 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:18.000 him play. The Pope was nervous to meet him. The 0:11:18.040 --> 0:11:20.320 New York Times called him the Beatles, Babe Ruth and 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:24.840 Billy Graham all rolled into one. His nickname is are 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:30.160 the King or Are de Fucibo, the King of football. 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:36.240 This was all before Jersey has had names on the back. 0:11:36.960 --> 0:11:40.320 Footage was rudimentary, sometimes too grainy to even make out 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:43.960 facial features. It makes sense that fans might instead develop 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:46.920 an affinity for a position, for a thing they could 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:50.800 see a number, So the number ten Jersey and soccer. 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:55.440 I think traditionally it means that this is your and 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:58.120 the word that we we love to use in soccer. 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:02.040 It's probably overused, but this is your talisman. This is 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:05.760 the person that leads you on and off the field. 0:12:05.960 --> 0:12:10.520 This is the person that personifies the way that you 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:14.920 want to play. This is the savior, This is the hope. 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:18.640 This is your creative force on the field. This is 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:22.760 the person that if you need that moment of magic 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:26.199 and greatness. This is the person that you believe is 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:29.440 going to provide it for This is Alexei Lawless. He 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:31.720 marked many a number ten as a defender for the 0:12:31.840 --> 0:12:36.640 USA and in Italy. He's now a commentator for Fox Sports. 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:39.720 So when you're dealing with the number ten of any 0:12:40.040 --> 0:12:42.959 ability or talent, you first have to come to grips 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.439 with the fact that he or she is going to 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:48.880 do damage. So you can't stop it, but you're going 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:51.200 to have to limit that damage. And so how are 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:53.200 you gonna go about doing that? Are you gonna have 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:57.440 somebody that follows the number ten everywhere they go, including 0:12:57.440 --> 0:12:59.400 to the bathroom and back. Maybe you're not going to 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:01.839 do that. Maybe you're gonna buy committee try to shut 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:05.520 them down. Are you gonna do it in a less 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:08.800 than honorable way? Which is certainly an effective way? So 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:12.440 hack a shack or whatever the best players want to 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:16.160 wear number ten. More about what happened next. After the 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:31.760 break in the First World Cup, post pl Argentina came 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:34.920 up with a new numbering system to prevent arguments. They 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:38.720 assigned numbers alphabetically. This led to a weird situation in 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:42.000 a later Copa Medica where the goalkeeper war number ten. 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:46.680 It's just wrong. Argentina kept this system for over a decade, 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:53.160 except there was one permitted exchange numbers. Ten and twelve 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:57.240 swap numbers before the tournament. That's because a skinny twenty 0:13:57.240 --> 0:14:00.760 one year old boy with a poufy fro was already 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:10.840 the dude. Madonna Marivona was captain and maintained the number ten, 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:14.120 and Argentina won the World Cup and the man who 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:18.840 received it is Diego Maradonna of Argentina. The world's greatest 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:23.480 player receives the world most important or bride who wore 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:27.360 it best? I mean for me, it's Diego. I mean 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:32.080 Diego Maradona for me, is still the greatest player ever 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.480 to play the game. I mean, there's no there's no 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:38.400 argum like I'm too young for pet, but there's only 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:40.640 one Marigona. I'm not saying he's the greatest ever, but 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:45.240 I'm saying there's nobody who epitomized the romance of the 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:48.560 ten the way he did. Both Alexi and gab are 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:52.960 sophisticated gentleman of a certain age, which means they were 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:56.440 young and impressionable when Maddona was making an impression. You're 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:59.800 always going to have the baggage of when you grew 0:14:59.880 --> 0:15:03.680 up been time, and there will be someone that didn't 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:07.160 grow up with the Maradona era that will look at 0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:09.960 messy and won't be able to be persuaded other than 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:13.280 it's it's him. I think that you know what, diego 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:17.080 Maradona for me, much more so than Paley or anybody. Well. 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:22.080 First off, the first World Cup I ever saw and again, 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:25.560 I was sixteen years old and I was in the 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:29.120 lobby of the of the Holiday Inn. They set up 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:32.960 a TV. And it was the summer of six and 0:15:33.000 --> 0:15:35.800 I was on I was in Colorado, in Colorado Springs 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:39.240 at the Pike's Peak Invitational tournament with my travel team 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:41.880 from Michigan, and we set up a television in the 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:45.040 lobby of the Holiday in there in Colorado Springs and 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:52.200 we would watch the World Cup. What did teenager Alexey 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:56.600 c well against England in the quarterfinals, he saw two 0:15:56.600 --> 0:16:00.680 of the most famous goals of all times. Gonna has 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:06.120 scored first blood to Argentina. England far from happy. I 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:09.320 think they've seen an infringement. That is why England is 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:13.200 so furious. It's Maradonna has punched it in with his 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:17.080 left hand. Famously said that the goal was scored quote 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:20.240 a little with the head of Maddona and a little 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:23.440 with the hand of God. And just a few minutes later, 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:27.920 Maradonna brilliantly just gets away from Read and now motors 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:30.960 up through the gears and he's beating Butcher, and he's 0:16:30.960 --> 0:16:35.400 beating Fedic. It's Diego Maradonna, and it is quite magnificent. 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:38.560 If there was an element of dad about the first goal, 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:44.840 there's no controversy about that moment of genius from Diego Maradonna. 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:51.560 Touches eleven seconds sixty eight ms. FIFA voted it the 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:54.360 goal of the century. He's a man, but he was 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:58.600 doing things that I had never seen be done, and 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:01.200 and I loved that well. I looked at him as 0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:05.440 a god. Even in that tournament, he became human, and 0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:10.159 he wore his passion on his sleeve, and he was 0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:19.080 equal parts saint and sinner. The jersey Manvona was wearing 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:21.880 that day sold at an auction for nine point three 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:27.160 million dollars. Napoli. Maravona's team in Italy retired his number ten. 0:17:27.800 --> 0:17:30.800 Argentina tried to. They submitted a World Cup roster in 0:17:30.840 --> 0:17:34.840 two thousand two without anyone listed at number ten. FIFA refused. 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:38.240 FIFA president, stept Bladder suggested giving the number to the 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:41.919 third string goalie. That way, Argentina's number ten would be 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:45.600 legally permitted to use his hands. Oh that's stept Bladder, 0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:49.280 always with the singers. In two thousand and five, Maravana 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:52.920 hosted a weekly TV show called Ten's Night. It started 0:17:53.119 --> 0:17:56.920 at ten pm. He is the ultimate, the ultimate number 0:17:56.920 --> 0:18:00.960 ten that makes of anarchy, of creativity, of of leadership, 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:03.200 as well the fact that he could be as one 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:07.000 sort of individual and represent the team. All the ingredients 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:10.080 of the perfect time are there. You know, don't one 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.520 upset the Messy fans or the Ronaldo fans, but MESSI 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:15.639 you know, yeah, maybe they're better players. Fine, but the 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:18.919 number ten is Diego. Did he wear it with the 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:21.399 most honor? I guess if you want to say, what 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:23.879 depends you know what you think of it. I just 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:29.080 think that he was the most interesting and the most 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:33.399 human of the ten gods out there, and so I 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:36.560 guess he wasn't a god. He was human. By now, 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:39.560 it was sealed, not one, but two of the greatest 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:42.320 to ever pull out a soccer jersey had the number 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:45.439 ten stitched on the back. The number ten was an 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:50.520 icon everyone had to have one. It's our old paleln 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:55.160 Salez called better than Bill or himself Fast, the team 0:18:55.200 --> 0:18:58.720 he always played for, retired Machico's number ten jersey after 0:18:58.760 --> 0:19:07.439 he finally quit. France has produced two great number ten's. 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:13.960 My personal favorite number ten is welcome Michael Jakin, the 0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:18.040 number ten of Contrarians. Well, he was just one of 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:23.520 the most elegant and dominant playmakers ever, made them most 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:29.200 dominant playmaker ever. Between three six Latini won the Ballonda 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:33.359 or three times, the City Are, twice, the European Cup, 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:36.639 the Cup Winners Cup, the Euros and got third in 0:19:36.680 --> 0:19:40.639 the World Cup. He was just a phenomenal player and 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:47.400 I enjoy watching his highlights more than I enjoy watching Maradonna. 0:19:47.440 --> 0:20:00.840 For example, go back, what let we go? Number ten 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:03.480 tend to be associated with the big moments in the 0:20:03.480 --> 0:20:07.200 big tournaments where they provide the difference. There are stories 0:20:07.240 --> 0:20:13.400 about tournaments being dominated by players at times just run perception, 0:20:13.840 --> 0:20:19.000 you know, because for example, Didan was poor, he was 0:20:19.080 --> 0:20:32.040 outright paw during the ninety eight World cuple yourself breath 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:37.399 to badger. You had a poor tournament and four Italy 0:20:38.040 --> 0:20:45.320 throughound this tournament. But in Europe eighty four when France 0:20:45.600 --> 0:20:50.639 won and Michelle Platiny scored in every game and was 0:20:50.720 --> 0:20:54.200 the top score of the tournament. From mid field, he 0:20:54.280 --> 0:21:00.879 scored two hatricks. It's probably the best tournament by any player, really, 0:21:00.920 --> 0:21:05.159 by any player ever. The guy scored nine goals in 0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:10.119 five matches from midfield and led his team to their 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:15.360 frost ever gold medals. That was for me, the greatest 0:21:15.480 --> 0:21:25.160 performance by a single player in a single tournament. Of course, 0:21:25.359 --> 0:21:29.200 Zidan went and did what Platini couldn't, winning France's first 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:33.840 World Cup wearing the number ten. Saddan was the quiet 0:21:34.000 --> 0:21:37.679 or silent assassin, and it was almost as if he 0:21:37.800 --> 0:21:41.040 played with a belief that it was almost beneath him 0:21:41.040 --> 0:21:44.240 to even be there with you. And you know that 0:21:44.320 --> 0:21:48.920 beautiful arrogance all the world traffias on the brush lights, 0:21:48.960 --> 0:21:54.000 around the stud brows. There were times where his fury 0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:57.199 and his anger on the field was because it was 0:21:57.320 --> 0:22:01.720 so easy for him and that he was operating on 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:05.760 a different plane, and so that you know, that's that's 0:22:05.760 --> 0:22:09.160 how good he was. More about what happened next after 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:23.400 the break. Besides, when you grew up the number ten, 0:22:23.440 --> 0:22:26.080 you most venerate depends on where you grow up. Well, 0:22:26.440 --> 0:22:29.120 it's blue and it's fluttering in the wind, and fluttering 0:22:29.160 --> 0:22:32.040 on top of it is a crinkly ponytail. Oh, what 0:22:32.080 --> 0:22:33.760 do you mean? What does it mean? I think, men, 0:22:33.800 --> 0:22:36.000 what does it mean to me? Of having raptures about 0:22:36.359 --> 0:22:40.240 Davino Cordinot. But you're saying, what does the number ten 0:22:40.359 --> 0:22:43.320 jersey mean? In Italy? And I think everywhere, but particularly 0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:47.680 in Italy, it's venerated as being the soul of the team. Really, 0:22:48.080 --> 0:22:54.040 James Richardson hosted the Totally Football show Everybody the Divine Ponytail. 0:22:54.560 --> 0:22:57.720 That's his nickname. That's what his Netflix biopick is called 0:22:58.320 --> 0:23:01.000 for all of us who had our regretted rat tail phase. 0:23:01.440 --> 0:23:05.120 Baggio made it cool. He won two city our titles, 0:23:05.359 --> 0:23:08.280 the Blunder and finished second and third in the World Cup. 0:23:08.880 --> 0:23:19.320 Bricia retired the number ten jersey after he left. I 0:23:19.440 --> 0:23:22.360 was blessed to be living in Italy, not just a lie, 0:23:22.359 --> 0:23:24.000 but living in Italy at the time when you had 0:23:24.240 --> 0:23:26.720 three of the greatest number ten's ever soon to be 0:23:26.760 --> 0:23:30.119 followed by another Francisco Totti, because you had Zola and 0:23:30.200 --> 0:23:33.480 Badjo and Robetto Mancini, all doing their thing in number 0:23:33.480 --> 0:23:36.399 ten jerseys and city at the same time, and that 0:23:36.480 --> 0:23:38.959 was extraordinary. But there was something about bad Joe, and 0:23:39.000 --> 0:23:41.399 I can't put my finger on it. There was just 0:23:41.440 --> 0:23:53.120 something about him that he'd stepped out of another dimension. Okay, well, 0:23:53.200 --> 0:23:56.200 so Banco, how did he play? I mean, first of all, 0:23:56.200 --> 0:23:58.560 he kind of defied description because he was so good. 0:23:58.600 --> 0:24:02.400 And nowadays we have players with incredible armories of skills 0:24:02.400 --> 0:24:04.520 and flicks and tricks and their names for a lot 0:24:04.520 --> 0:24:06.560 of them. But Badger didn't really do those things. Sure, 0:24:06.720 --> 0:24:09.280 he famously scored a Rabona goal, and he would do 0:24:09.320 --> 0:24:11.960 stupid stuff like that, but generally speaking, he was a 0:24:11.960 --> 0:24:17.320 lot more essential than that. He was flowing, he was fragile. 0:24:18.119 --> 0:24:21.440 He was phenomenal, of course, but he seemed the way 0:24:21.480 --> 0:24:22.879 that he moved on the field for me was a 0:24:22.880 --> 0:24:25.880 little bit like a leaf skipping along on an autumn breeze. 0:24:26.280 --> 0:24:28.680 He would just seem to glide along, and there wasn't 0:24:28.720 --> 0:24:31.440 any much as a leaf. There wasn't any great kind 0:24:31.440 --> 0:24:35.760 of directness necessarily to the movement. But there wasn't anything 0:24:35.800 --> 0:24:37.440 that you could put your finger on. You couldn't pin 0:24:37.560 --> 0:24:45.720 him down. And yes, he was gone, and there's just 0:24:45.800 --> 0:24:49.400 something about him and the way that he the dignity 0:24:49.480 --> 0:24:52.960 that he always had, and the grace he had. And yeah, 0:24:53.200 --> 0:25:07.880 for me, he's the greatest number ten we got. FIFA 0:25:07.960 --> 0:25:11.520 made changes to uniforms. They added squad numbers to the 0:25:11.560 --> 0:25:15.639 front and put player names on the back. Commercial sponsors 0:25:15.640 --> 0:25:19.119 threatened to crowd out any blank space, but cluttered as 0:25:19.200 --> 0:25:22.400 uniforms have become. That number ten is still special when 0:25:22.440 --> 0:25:28.880 you see it. So maybe it's all for the best 0:25:28.880 --> 0:25:32.040 that Argentina couldn't retire in Maritona's jersey. I don't think 0:25:32.080 --> 0:25:36.160 you can talk about the ten without talking about Argentina. 0:25:36.680 --> 0:25:40.160 And there you have, of course Madelona, of course Messi 0:25:40.760 --> 0:25:44.400 and one Romano Gillman as someone who's seen Messy play 0:25:44.440 --> 0:25:49.520 in person and sees the highlights of Madonna. For me, Messi, 0:25:50.600 --> 0:25:52.600 we'll go down in history as the best ever time. 0:25:53.119 --> 0:25:56.120 And um, John, where should we forward our hate mail? 0:25:56.320 --> 0:25:59.520 I'll take you this fine. I'm John Arnold, journalist who's 0:25:59.520 --> 0:26:02.320 been covering US soccer for more than a decade. You know, 0:26:02.480 --> 0:26:05.639 little Leo Messi, he just won his first World Cup 0:26:05.720 --> 0:26:09.359 and has won every single other trophy and award multiple times, 0:26:09.840 --> 0:26:13.840 setting all sorts of scoring and assisting records, crowd standing 0:26:13.920 --> 0:26:19.439 as one. It is Bess searching for with real menace 0:26:19.520 --> 0:26:23.920 here for Messy. Oh what a go? This is a 0:26:24.080 --> 0:26:29.119 gorgeous one and Messi will not be denied this time. 0:26:29.560 --> 0:26:31.120 I think he'll be looked at as the best tent 0:26:31.280 --> 0:26:34.879 and the best player we've ever seen. I hope he 0:26:34.920 --> 0:26:38.480 gets surpassed, because that's what sports is about, that's what 0:26:38.640 --> 0:26:42.240 life is about. Change is constant. We want to see 0:26:42.240 --> 0:26:45.800 our greats surpassed. And I think people who always stumped 0:26:45.840 --> 0:26:48.639 for the guy that they watched, right, because it's always 0:26:48.640 --> 0:26:50.640 going to feel like the best when you were watching 0:26:50.880 --> 0:26:53.800 and you saw it, and that's your guy. But to me, 0:26:54.359 --> 0:26:56.200 I think Messi will go down as the best ten 0:26:56.320 --> 0:26:59.720 and I'd make the case. It's a tired debate in 0:26:59.760 --> 0:27:11.680 the low out of ways, I think. But the number 0:27:11.720 --> 0:27:16.440 ten isn't any particular guy. It's an idea. It's an archetype, 0:27:17.040 --> 0:27:19.960 and there's unwritten rules about who is allowed to wear 0:27:20.000 --> 0:27:23.359 the number ten jersey. When the number ten goes to 0:27:23.520 --> 0:27:28.840 someone less talented, it's funds don't like, it's the press doesn't. 0:27:29.359 --> 0:27:33.359 It's considered a big problem. For example, Italy at the 0:27:33.400 --> 0:27:38.000 Sultan stage gave thember ten shots to Thiago Mota, who 0:27:38.000 --> 0:27:42.200 actually is a very good player. He's a very intelligent player, 0:27:42.280 --> 0:27:45.480 but he's a defensive midfield and given him the number 0:27:45.520 --> 0:27:50.680 ten shots was considered a cry by the tenants. William Gallas, 0:27:51.000 --> 0:27:54.720 a French defender war number ten at Arsenal, people still 0:27:54.720 --> 0:27:58.879 talk about how dumb that was. Goalkeeper Castello got the jersey, 0:27:58.920 --> 0:28:01.359 yet give An. He did it to win a bet 0:28:01.440 --> 0:28:09.480 with his friends. There's this Latani Bradaimovich quote that I 0:28:09.520 --> 0:28:13.000 think about a lot. This big Norwegian striker named John 0:28:13.040 --> 0:28:16.199 Carew that one day made fun of latan S excessive flicks. 0:28:16.720 --> 0:28:19.920 So Latan says, what John Carew can do with a football, 0:28:20.320 --> 0:28:23.120