FCBARCELONA.CAT

26.06.2007 11:00

The number 14

Jesús Carrillo

Thierry Henry has chosen the number 14 shirt at FC Barcelona and he will don the jersey that Johan Cruyff made famous in Ajax, although there is not as much history linked to it at Camp Nou.

The number 14 has always been associated with Cruyff, but the former Barça player and coach only wore it on very few occasions during his playing days with the Blaugrana. Now Henry will use the shirt on a full-time basis after taking the number that he wore at Arsenal when he officially joins the squad on July 21.

Until the 1995/96 campaign the number 14 was used only by substitutes as squad numbers were not assigned pre-season. The shirt saw several players wear it each year. From the middle of the last decade several players at Barça have chosen the shirt.

Jordi Cruyff was first

The first was Jordi Cruyff, who asked for the number as a gesture to his father and he began to play in it during the 1995/96 campaign, but after leaving the club the shirt remained vacant the following year.

Amunike takes over

Nigerian defender, Emmanuel Amunike, was the next to take the number as he played in it during the 1997/98 before passing it on to Gerard López. The Catalan midfielder kept the unmber for five seasons (2000/01 until 2005/06).

Ezquerro was last

After moving on to Monaco, Gerard left the shirt to Santi Ezquerro who arrived to help the team to the Spanish title and the Champions League trophy in the 2005/06 season. Last term no player wore the number 14 as Ezquerro opted to change to number 17.