🧐 You don’t see this every day: BVB’s opponent wears shirt number 204 | OneFootball

Jersey numbers are a thing of their own. While they were completely generic for some players and only served to let the referee know who to give the yellow card to, they are the trademark of other players. A CR7 would only be a mobile game developed by Supercell without his number, for example. And what would you rhyme "Half human, half animal" with if Heiko Westermann hadn't worn the number 4 on his back?

In the jersey number game, there are a few rules that are more or less strictly adhered to. The goalkeeper usually wears the 1, the defenders usually have low single-digit jersey numbers, the 10 wears the 10, and so on. However, one rule is set in stone: players can only choose jersey numbers between 1 and 99. Where would we be otherwise? Well, with the round of 16 opponent of BVB.

📸 Stu Forster - 2025 Getty Images

If you take a look at the squad of CF Monterrey on relevant portals, one name immediately catches the eye - Iker Fimbres. The 20-year-old offensive midfielder usually wears the number 204 on his back. Why didn't anyone notice this at the Club World Cup?

Well, because he doesn't wear it there. In the group stage, the youngster had to switch to the number 37. And that has a simple reason. In the FIFA rules, it is also forbidden to use a three-digit jersey number, just like everywhere else in the world. So how does it come about that Fimbres plays with the 204 in the LIGA MX?

📸 Agustin Cuevas - 2025 Getty Images

The reason is simple and ingenious. In the Mexican league, it happens again and again that young players (U23, U20, etc.) are drawn into the professional squad without having a professional contract. While in Germany you would simply be assigned the 45 or some other high number, it's quite clear in Mexico: no professional contract, no professional jersey number. Only when the player signs the contract that officially makes him part of the first team can he indulge in the two-digit number salad.

The first two digits of the three-digit jersey number are based on which U-year the player was last in. There is a player named Alexéi Domínguez from the already eliminated Club World Cup participant CF Pachuca, who comes from the U18 and plays with the number 187 in everyday life.

And although the BVB will not be confronted with this multi-number confusion due to the FIFA ban on Wednesday, the Club World Cup has to be given this point: you always learn funny stories from other football spheres at this tournament.

Now it's your turn: How would you find it if there were also three-digit jersey numbers in Germany? Feel free to write your opinion in the comments!

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 Stu Forster - 2025 Getty Images