This is one part in our series looking at the best players to wear (almost) every number in MLS history. To read the other stories, click here.



Everywhere in the footballing world, from Rio de Janeiro to Rome, Liverpool to Los Angeles, the No. 10 is less of a number than a piece of iconography. It’s a symbol of Messi, Maradona and Pele — the most revered and romanticized shirt in the sport, typically reserved for only the most gifted attackers, the players who, no matter the league or the game, you know to watch from the opening whistle.



While the respect for the No. 10 is universal, it does, as Michael Cox recently explained in his excellent piece on the subject, mean different things in different places. In Argentina, the No. 10 is a conquering hero, the legendary “pibe” — ball attached to foot, dribbling through a maze of clumsy defenders. In Italy, the No. 10 is a visionary artist, the “trequartista” with the...