Who's Behind the Shirt? - Fc Barcelona No.10.

Inspired by a post by @The-gorilla and his comment regarding Cristiano Ronaldo (and subsequently seeing the long line of Great united No. 7's - Eric cantona, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Micheal Owen, Antonio Valencia, Angel di maria, Memphis Depay), it got me thinking about the shirt numbers at each club that have some historical significance (or not).

Squad numbers were introduced into Spanish football in 1947, first appearing in a Madrid derby between Real and Atletico.

Initially, numbers weren’t assigned to individual players. They generally denoted a position on the pitch, assigned 1-11 on any given match

In some clubs, a shirt number is more than just a shirt number. It's symbolic of the greats players that have worn the shirt before.

And at Fc Barcelona, the number 10 shirt has been worn by some of the club's greats going back to the days of Kubala.

Barcelona and the number 10. Right from the start, it has been a match made in heaven.

The Catalans’ love with the shirt number has reached its apex in recent years with Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho, but some of the all-time greats have donned the No.10 at Camp Nou over the years.

Kubala, Maradona, Guardiola, Romario – Has worn this shirts and made wonders with it.

So with a focus on the La liga era, who has worn Fc Barcelona's legendary number 10?

The early years of 50's: Kubala, Suarez, Evaristo

The first player to wear the No.10 on a regular basis may have been:

Laszlo Kubala-Who won four Spanish titles and five Copas del Generalisimo during his time at the club, and was a key figure in the club's growth in the 1950s.He scored 281 goals in 357 games between 1950 and 1961.
Among Kubala's later team-mates were Brazilian forward Evaristo also wore the don no 10's Jersey.

The 1980s and 1990s: Maradona, Stoichkov, Romario

The No.10 moved from player to player through the 1960s and 1970s.
Ramon Villaverde
Fernand Goyvaerts
Hugo Sotil
Juan Manuel Asensi
Diego Maradona

From Maradona, the No.10 took the natural next step onto the back of

Steve Archibald
Robert Fernandez
Pep Guardiola
Hristo Stoichkov
Romario
Gheorghe Hagi
Roger Garcia
Giovanni
Jari Litmanen

The modern era: Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Messi

Rivaldo 2000-2001
Juan Roman Riquelme 2002-03
Ronaldinho 2003-2008
Lionel Messi 2008-till date

Wow! What a list that is. Some of the greatest players of all time have worn the shirt so it's understandable what an honour it is.