Beckenbauer's World Cup jersey number

[mosler]

I've been enjoying watching the videos available at the Germany 2006 website (http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/video.html#). Simply a great chance to see many of the players that I've read about but seen very little of.

The clips of Beckenbauer from 1966 and 1970 World Cups show him wearing number 4, but the final clip of him raising the Cup in 1974 shows him wearing the number 5.

I'm just wondering if there's any history behind the change in numbers. You would think that the captain would have first choice of number.

Cheers

[KarlMai]

I've been enjoying watching the videos available at the Germany 2006 website (http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/video.html#). Simply a great chance to see many of the players that I've read about but seen very little of.

The clips of Beckenbauer from 1966 and 1970 World Cups show him wearing number 4, but the final clip of him raising the Cup in 1974 shows him wearing the number 5.

I'm just wondering if there's any history behind the change in numbers. You would think that the captain would have first choice of number.

Cheers

I guess that in 1970 it was basically a left-over from 1966, when Beckenbauer was not yet captain, but a bright young talent (and Uwe Seeler was captain). There he got the number 4, and Willi Schulz the 5. Four years later, they obviously just repeated that, when both of them were members of the squad again.

[Gregoriak]

I guess that in 1970 it was basically a left-over from 1966, when Beckenbauer was not yet captain, but a bright young talent (and Uwe Seeler was captain). There he got the number 4, and Willi Schulz the 5. Four years later, they obviously just repeated that, when both of them were members of the squad again.

Indeed.

Since usually the sweeper wore the no. 5 shirt those days, it was reserved for Willi Schulz. Since the shirt numbering was based on the WM-system of the 30s, Beckenbauer got no. 4 in 1966 because he played as a "rechter Läufer" (right half) according to the WM-system (actually he was playing as right midfielder in a 4-2-4 system in '66). In 1971, Beckenbauer started to play sweeper (or more libero) regularly for Germany, since Schulz had quit the NT and Schnellinger (who played sweeper in 1970) couldn`t come to all games because he played in Italy and soon Helmut Schön saw that Beckenbauer was far better playing centreback than any of the other players. He wore the no. 5 shirt for the German NT regularly from then on. Of course having played sweeper for Bayern already since the mid-60s, Beckenbauer wore the no. 5 shirt for Bayern a lot longer than for Germany.

[Gregoriak]

The traditional shirt numbering was based on the ancient 2-3-5 system:

-11 Outside Left-10 Inside Left-9 Centre Forward-8 Inside Right-7 Outside Right

-------------------6 Left Half-----5 Centre Half------4 Right Half

---------------3 Left Full Back-----------------------2 Right Full Back

--------------------------------1 Goalkeeper


Later this was developed into the classic WM-System:

---11 Outside Left------------------9 Centre Forward-------------7 Outside Right

---------------------10 Inside Left----------------------8 Inside Right

----------------------6 Left Half-------------------4 Right Half

--------3 Left Full Back------------5 Centre Back---------------2 Right Full Back

--------------------------------1 Goalkeeper

[mosler]

Thanks for the history/formation lesson. Interesting stuff.

Was this WM-system of position/numbering created in Germany? Did other teams adopt it?

[Gregoriak]

Thanks for the history/formation lesson. Interesting stuff.

Was this WM-system of position/numbering created in Germany? Did other teams adopt it?

There`s a thread about where the traditional numbering came from in the Beautiful Game forum. You may check it out.

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152303

The WM-system was created in England by 1920s Arsenal manager Chapman.

[210597]

I've been enjoying watching the videos available at the Germany 2006 website (http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/video.html#). Here's what I enjoyed on that website:

"Travel from England's hollowed Wembley..."

Idk, that made me chuckle.