What Do Soccer Jersey Numbers Actually Mean?

Why does the number on a player's back already tell you something before he's touched the ball? For most of football's history, shirt numbers weren't names, they were jobs: 1 for the goalkeeper, 2 and 3 for defenders, all the way up to the 9 who scored and the 7 and 11 out on the wings. Then in the early 1990s squad numbers arrived, letting a player keep one number all season regardless of position. Cut loose from the pitch, numbers like 10, 7 and 1 became identities, carrying the legacy of everyone who wore them before. #OscarExplains #Football #Soccer #JerseyNumbers #SportsHistory #Explainer