There are many important numbers in the football world, one of which is the iconic number 10, and when we talk about the Argentina National Football Team’s number 10, it is known as a very famous and huge number. We all know some great and famous players who walked out on the football field wearing the iconic number ‘10’ and became superstars for their teams.
A few years back, the number TEN jersey of the Argentina National Football Team was worn by a player from Marcelo Bielsa’s team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. At that time, Julio Grondona, president of the Argentina Football Association, wanted to retire that number in honor of Argentine legend Diego Maradona.
But the number ‘10’ couldn’t be retired due to the regulations of FIFA, which stated that teams must use numbers between 1 and 23 in national competitions. Before Messi’s arrival in the world of football, Ariel Ortega was the last player to wear Maradona’s Number Ten in Argentina’s match against Peru. He wore the number ten jersey to pay tribute to Argentine legend Diego Maradona.
In 2009, Lionel Messi was handed the number 10 jersey by Maradona himself, and he wore it for Argentina for the first time in a World Cup qualifier match against Venezuela and continues to don the iconic number ‘10’ till date. He has achieved a lot with the Argentine football team, as he won the 2021 Copa America and even managed to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Argentina Football Association has decided to retire the Number 10 jersey when Leo Messi decides to hang his boots.
According to AFA President Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia, “When Lionel Messi decides to retire from the national team of Argentina, we won’t allow any other player to wear the number ten after him. The number ‘10’ will be retired forever in Messi’s honour. It’s the least we can do for him.”
Messi has appeared in a total of 180 matches for the Argentine football team and has managed to score 106 goals for his national team. Currently, the former Barcelona forward is playing in the Major League Soccer of the USA for David Beckham-owned Inter Miami.
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To know more go to the official website of the AIFF.