Interestingly, numbers weren’t always worn on shirts in soccer. They were first used in 1928 in a match between Arsenal and Sheffield. From about 1932 they became universal. However, there is no unified system for the assignment of jersey numbers in soccer.
Some professional athletes are superstitious about what number they wear, and many people have lucky numbers. In this article, I will look specifically at the number 20, and provide a list of the most outstanding soccer players to have worn the number 20. Here’s a short list of the 10 most incredible soccer players to wear the number 20.
- Xavier Hernández Creus
- Hossam Hassan
- Ahmed Hassan
- Jari Litmanen
- Vinicius Junior
- Daniel Alves
- Gonzalo Higuain
- Dani Carvajal
- Deco
- Bernardo Silva
Below is a summary of why these players stand out as the most incredible players in soccer to have donned the number 20.
Table of Contents
- 1. Xavier Hernández Creus (Xavi)
- 2. Hossam Hassan
- 3. Ahmed Hassan
- 4. Jari Litmanen
- 5. Vinicius Junior
- 6. Daniel Alves
- 7. Gonzalo Higuain
- 8. Dani Carvajal
- 9. Deco – Anderson Luís de Souza
- 10. Bernardo Silva
1. Xavier Hernández Creus (Xavi)
Xavier Hernández Creus known by his nickname ‘Xavi’ stands out because of the sheer number of appearances he has made in professional soccer.
He is about 3rd overall for the most international club appearances. And has made an impressive 178 appearances for F.C. Barcelona, in La Liga, where he is now the head coach.
However, normally he doesn’t wear the number 20 jersey when he plays. He only wore the number 20 for two seasons over his long career, and this was for the Spanish national team in 2003 to 2004 season, and the 2004 to 2005 season.
Xavi is considered by most to be one of the best midfielders to ever play soccer. His read of the game, and individual skills made him one of the best midfielders of his time. He was particularly adept at changing direction instantly as soon as he received the ball, putting himself into space, and allowing him to make excellent through balls.
Another amazing accomplishment is that Xavi is one of only a few players that have achieved a 100% pass accuracy record in the Champions League.
2. Hossam Hassan
Hossam Hassan was one of the best finishers to ever play for the Egypt national team, and for clubs in the Egypt domestic competitions. He played from 1984 to 2007. And holds the record for the most decorated player in domestic soccer.
He won 13 domestic cups, and 4 league cups, where he was a solid mainstay of the team. He has exceptional finishing abilities, and could score from virtually anywhere in his opponent’s half. He was also perfectly at home scoring with bicycle kicks.
Hossam Hassan’s normal jersey number was 9. But, wore jersey 20 for the Egypt national team in the 1985 to 1986 season. He is so well recognized in soccer that he and his brother Ahmed, have a full article written about them on Fifa.com. They argue he’s possibly the best African soccer player to ever do it.
3. Ahmed Hassan
Ahmed Hassan, the brother of Hossam Hassan mentioned above, is in the top 10 for the most soccer appearances for a national team.
He appeared in 184 international games for the Egypt national soccer team. Only, 20 to 30 games behind the leader, and arguably the most well-known sports player Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal.
He wore the number 20 for the Egypt national team in the 2011 and 2012 season. As well as, for the Portuguese club team S.C. Braga that plays in the Portuguese professional soccer leagues such as Primeira Liga.
While playing for S.C. Braga, he wore the number 20 in the 2015 to 2016 season, and in the 2016 to 2017 season. While his brother Hossam is more decorated, Ahmed also won an impressive 4 domestic cups, and 3 league titles.
4. Jari Litmanen
Jari Litmanen is in the top 10 players of all time for the most consecutive international appearances. He appeared in the Finland international team for 22 straight years, showing his incredible discipline, consistency, and dedication to the game.
Though not the flashiest and most impressive player, he was more than capable of finishing when the opportunity presented itself, and had a scissor kick that was second to none.
On more than one occasion he has shown individual brilliance to beat all of the defenders, and then the keeper. As well as, scoring from long range.
Jari Limnanen wore a number 20 jersey for AFC Ajax, in the 2002 to 2003 season, and the 2003 to 2004 season. Also, while playing for Ajax he gained the club record for the most goals per match, where he scored 26 goals in 54 matches.
5. Vinicius Junior
Vinicius Junior is one of the stars of the modern game. He scored 1 goal in the 2022 World Cup against the Republic of Korea, but consistently shows amazing individual skill to beat defenders, and plays his role exceptionally as a left-winger.
He plays at an incredibly fast pace which often leaves the opposing team just behind the play enough to allow his team to score goals.
Vinicius Junior wore the number 20 for the Brazilian national team in the 2021 to 2022 season, and the 2022 to 2023 season. He also wore the number 20 while playing for his club team Real Madrid in the 2020 to 2021 season, the 2021 to 2022 season, and the 2022 to 2023 season.
Unlike the other incredible players on this list, his career is still early. Time will tell what records and achievements Vinicius Junior may achieve.
6. Daniel Alves
Daniel Alves, is a stand-out because he is the oldest player to ever play for the Brazil national team. As you may know, Brazil is talent rich in soccer, and therefore getting selected for the Brazil national team is no easy feat.
Not only because it has a huge population, but also because soccer is the national sport, and extremely popular.
Daniel Alves typically does not wear the number 20, and only wore it once in the 2008 to 2009 season when he was playing for F.C. Barcelona. He holds the record for the most goal assists to the superstar Lionel Messi while he was playing for F.C. Barcelona.
Daniel Alves has incredible ball skills and frequently ‘nutmegs’ players by passing the ball in between their legs and running around them. And is a great finisher from close range or long distance.
7. Gonzalo Higuain
Gonzalo Higuain is an Argentine soccer player who played for 9 years for the Argentina national team, and played in the European soccer leagues for over 16 years.
Gonzalo Higuain wore the number 20 jersey for 7 years straight from 2006 to 2013 when he was playing for Real Madrid.
Over his career, he has amassed numerous awards, and his play style is very unpredictable, specializing in one-touch moves that catch defenders off guard and set him up for powerful and accurate shots on the goal.
He also has deceptive shots from close range that do just enough to fake out the goalie, and excellent shot placement putting the ball out of reach of the goalies’ hands.
He has some impressive awards such as:
- Winning the Seria A twice – at Juventus F.C. – in the 2017 to 2018 season, and the 2016 to 2017 season
- Top goal scorer in the Serie A league in the 2015 to 2016 season.
8. Dani Carvajal
Dani Carvajal is an amazing defender, and his ability to fraught the opposing teams attacks has allowed him to win an impressive number of cups and league cups.
Dani Carvajal has an excellent read of what the opposing team is going to do, and has an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. He also has solid skills to get his team out of danger.
Dani Carvahal wore the number 20 jersey on many occasions. First for the German club side Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Bayer Leverkusen) in the 2012 to 2013 season, and in the same year for the U21 Spanish National team. After being promoted from the U21 team to the Spanish national team he wore the number 20 jersey for Spain in the following seasons:
- 2016 to 2017
- 2020 to 2021
- 2021 to 2022
- 2022 to 2023
Some of the impressive achievements he has made during his career thus far are:
- Champions league winner – 5 times
- FIFA Club World cup winner – 5 times
- UEFA Super cup winner – 5 times
9. Deco – Anderson Luís de Souza
Anderson Luís de Souza, known as Deco, is now retired. However, he amassed a huge number of cups and awards over his career. He had exceptional ball-handling skills, juggling long passes out of the air to beat defenders, and scoring goals by shooting long passes out of the air.
He was born in Brazil but played all of his international games for the Portugal National team. He played in the number 20 jersey for 8 club seasons, and 6 times for the Portugal national team. The years he wore it were:
- FC Barcelona – 2004 to 2005
- FC Barcelona – 2005 to 2006
- FC Barcelona – 2007 to 2008
- Chelsea FC – 2008 to 2009
- Chelsea FC – 2009 to 2010
- Fluminense FC – 2010 to 2011
- Fluminense FC – 2011 to 2012
- Fluminense FC – 2012 to 2013
And for the Portugal national team:
- 2009 to 2010
- 2007 to 2008
- 2006 to 2007
- 2005 to 2006
- 2004 to 2005
- 2003 to 2004
Over his career he earned a huge number of awards, the most notable are:
- Portugal player of the year – The 2004 season and 2006 season
- Champions League Winner – When playing for FC Barcelona and FC Porto
- FC Porto Player of the year – 2003 to 2004 season
- UEFA best player of the year – 2004
- 2 times Brazilian Champion – Both for Fluminense FC – 2010 to 2012
- Portuguese Super Cup Winner – 5 times, all 5 for FC Porto
- Spanish Super Cup Winner – 3 times for FC Barcelona
Truly an impressive career.
10. Bernardo Silva
Bernardo Silva is arguably one of the most recognized players to wear the number 20 in recent times. He wore the number 20 for Manchester City from 2017 to 2023. During that time he won a fair number of individual and team awards.
He also wore the number 20 for the Portugal national team. Bernardo Silva is a midfielder so does not score as many goals compared to a striker. But, his skills are second to none, and has a highlight reel that rivals that of any of the worlds best players.
The awards he has won thus far in his career are:
- Footballer of the year – Portugal 2019
- English Champion – 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022 all for Manchester City
- UEFA Nations League Winner – Portugal – 2019
- English Super Cup Winner – 2 times for Manchester City in 2019 and 2020
- English FA Cup – 2019 – Manchester City
- Portuguese Champion – 2013 to 2014 for SL Benfica
Portugal has yet to make a FIFA World Cup final. Bernardo Silva played in the most recent FIFA World Cup final but wore the number 10 jersey, where they narrowly lost to Morocco in the quarter-finals.
