The green field jersey fluttering, the players galloping fans shouting, when the star carries forward the number printed on the back, the number of the jersey is not just a code name, those familiar numbers, can remind us of a football superstar, the star has achieved the legend of the number, but also created a piece of football good story, the following will recall the legend behind the 23 jersey numbers on the World Cup field.
Number 17: "Grandpa" Mertesack
Mazinjo (Brazil)
Mazinjo was the main player of the Brazilian national team that won the 1994 World Cup, playing as a right forward and building a solid barrier in midfield with captains Dunga, Mauro Silva and Jurzinjo. This average and unpretentious midfielder pair exerted an unexpected amount of energy and was an important factor in Brazil's ability to win the 1994 World Cup. Mazinjo's two sons are Thiago, who now plays for Bayern Munich and Rafinha for Inter Milan, and it is worth mentioning that Thiago chose to play for the Spanish national team, while Rafinha chose to play for the Brazilian national team.
Ilhan Mansis (Turkey)
Ilhan is a legend in the history of Turkish football and a central figure in the Turkish national team that won the 2002 World Cup third place. Ilkhan, a German-born Turkish who became unknown early in his career, chose to play for the Turkish national team after gradually showing his prominence. Ilkhan, who was first selected for the Turkish national team in 2001, was 26 years old, but Ilkhan quickly gained the trust of head coach Güneş with his brave performance and was able to represent Turkey at the 2002 World Cup. In the 2002 World Cup, head coach Güneş reached the superstitious level of every game for Sukh in terms of employment, and because of the outstanding performance of the attacking midfielder Hassan, the first 4 games of Ilhan were substitutes. In the quarter-finals against Senegal, Ilkhan, who came on as a substitute for Sukh in the second half, scored a golden goal in extra time to eliminate Senegal and successfully brought the Star Moon Army to the final four. In the semi-final match against Brazil, Ilhan successfully broke through Roberto Carlos with a rainbow pass, which became one of the most classic pictures of the 2002 World Cup, and it was helpless to defeat Brazil, which has "3R". In the matchup with South Korea for third place, Ilhan scored twice, helping Turkey beat South Korea to win the third place in the World Cup, creating turkey's best record in the history of participating in the World Cup. In 2006, at the age of 31, Ilhan announced his retirement. He then moved to the figure skating arena and became the main player of the Turkish figure skating national team, participating in the Figure Skating Qualifiers for the Sochi Winter Olympics, becoming a legend in football and figure skating.
Holzenbein (Germany)
Horzenbein is a legend in the history of German football and one of the greatest players in the history of Eintracht Frankfurt. In the Bundesliga in the 1970s, Horzenbeyin was the top striker after Gad Müller, and in the 1974 World Cup, Horzenbein and Müller became the forward partner of West Germany, although the limelight was not as strong as the latter, but Horzenbeyin silently served as the wingman of Gad Müller, dedicating his light and heat to West Germany. In the final, it was Hotzenbein's breakthrough that helped West Germany win the World Cup.
Damiano Tomasi (Italy)
Tomasi is a legendary midfielder in the history of Italian football and one of the greatest midfielders in the history of the Roma team. Thomasi has a good defense and assists, has always played the role of the "old scalper" of his team, with tireless scrambling in midfield, making Tomasi an indispensable core player of the Italian national team of his contemporaries. In Euro 2000, Tomasi helped Italy to reach the final with excellent performances, and was helplessly defeated by France led by Zidane. At the 2002 World Cup, Tomasi was one of the best performers in the Italian squad. In 2009, tomasi, who was in the twilight of his career, landed in the Chinese Super League to join Tianjin Teda, and although Tomasi was 35 years old and announced his retirement after one season, Tomasi still conquered the majority of Chinese fans with his superb skills and diligent attitude.
Emmanuel Petit (France)
Petit is one of the greatest midfielders in the history of French football and was a mainstay of the French national team that won the 1998 World Cup. Petit was a hit from the start, being named France's "Best Rookie" at just 20 years old and quickly becoming a key player in the French squad. In the 1998 World Cup, Petit showed great courage, helping France to reach the final, in the final, Petit scored a golden goal, helping France beat Brazil and win the World Cup. In Euro 2000, Petit continued to play as the main player in the French squad, and he performed well to help France pass the barrier to reach the final, France played against Italy in the final, Petit continued to play well, helping France beat Italy to win the European Championship. At the club, Petit was one of the greatest midfielders in Monaco's history, helping Monaco win the 1997 Ligue 1 title.
Per Mertesack (Germany)
Mertsacker is a legendary defender in the history of German football and a mainstay of the German national team that won the 2014 World Cup. Mertesack became famous at a young age, being selected for the German national team at the age of 20 and becoming the main defender of Germany at the age of 21. In the 2006 World Cup, The excellent performance of Mertesack helped Germany win the third place in the World Cup, and in the 2008 European Championship, Mertesack used his heroic performance to help Germany pass the barrier to the final, but lost to the "Armada" Spain in the final. In the 2010 World Cup, Mertesack continued to have a good performance, helping Germany to win the third place in the World Cup again, and in the 2014 World Cup, Mertesack, as an iron gate of the German defense line, helped Germany to break through the barriers to the final, defeating Argentina led by Messi in the final and winning the World Cup championship. After the World Cup, the 29-year-old Mertesack retired from the German national team with Klose and Ram, and Mertesack played 104 games for the German national team and scored 4 goals. In 2018, Mertesack announced his retirement.
(Nankai Shisanro)