In the superstitious sphere of professional football, squad numbers are an easy gateway to omens good and bad.
At the start of the 2022/23 season, Thomas Tuchel revealed that "nobody wants to touch" the number nine shirt for fear of inheriting the goal drought that its previous owners have suffered.
Other numbers on Chelsea's roster have been avoided out of respect rather than reticence. Here are some of the most iconic digits in the club's history for all the right reasons.
Chelsea's number 26
There had been a compromise with Antonio Conte and David Moyes had been convinced. In his final Chelsea appearance, on the last day of the 2016/17 Premier League season against Sunderland, John Terry would be subbed off in the 26th minute as a nod to the shirt number which he had worn since breaking into the first team in 1998.
However, after all the applauding and back slapping, Terry didn't make it off the pitch until the 28th minute.
Nevertheless, Terry's association with the 26 was so strong that Kalidou Koulibaly felt compelled to call the former Chelsea captain and ask permission to wear his number when he joined the Blues in 2022. Terry (reluctantly) agreed but Koulibaly only lasted one undistinguished season in west London.
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Chelsea's number 25
Before a Coppa Italia match against Pisa, Diego Maradona famously lent his number ten shirt to Gianfranco Zola while the pair were at Napoli, wearing number nine that night. Mark Hughes wasn't so generous when Zola arrived in west London, forcing the pint-sized playmaker into number 25.
However, Zola's infectious zeal in Chelsea's colours made the number one of the most iconic of the club's modern era. While Terry's digit was reprised for Koulibaly, no one has dared take Zola's 25 since Maradona's protege left Chelsea in 2003.
Chelsea's number 11
While the number 11 shirt evokes a sense of flair and flamboyance, the player that has spent the most years wearing that digit for Chelsea in the modern era was famous for the less glamorous side of the game.
"Dennis Wise was unbelievable with what he used to get away with," former Manchester United defender Gary Neville remembered. "He’d gouge your eyes out."
Fittingly, Wise spent 11 years in Chelsea's number 11, earning more enemies than trophies as he would pinch and pull hair as well as ploughing into full-blooded tackles.
Didier Drogba became the scourge of opposition teams for what he did on the ball rather than what went on off it. With a quick flick of his forehead, Drogba flashed in arguably the most important goal in the modern history of Chelsea to haul Bayern Munich level in the 2012 Champions League final, teeing up a penalty shootout which he won with the final kick.
Chelsea's number ten
Once Eden Hazard permanently switched to the number ten shirt in 2014, he reached such a consistent level of excellence that Jose Mourinho would play down the strengths of opposition players by explaining that they were "no Maradona, no Messi, no Hazard".
Hazard only got the ten after Juan Mata became an opponent, joining Manchester United midway through the 2013/14 campaign. Yet, Mata had ended his first two seasons in west London as Chelsea's Player of the Year. Alongside a consistent flood of assists domestically, Mata created goals for his teammates in the final of the FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League.
Chelsea's number eight
Had Jimmy Greaves opted against an ill-fated move to AC Milan, there's every chance that the most prolific goalscorer in English top-flight history would have ended up as Chelsea's leading goal-getter.
In any case, it was another number eight that snatched that mantle half a century later. Unlike Greaves, Frank Lampard's number of choice reflected his position in midfield, making his scoring feats all the more impressive.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Chelsea's most iconic shirt numbers.
