Some clubs have no No.13 squad shirt (Liverpool and Arsenal, for example), but not all players believe it’s bad luck. Here’s our list of ten players who aren’t triskaidekaphobics:
Michael Ballack
Wears the No.13 for Chelsea and sometimes Germany. Indeed, Ballack has worn the number 13 shirt for every team he has played for, with the exception of Kaiserslautern.
Alessandro Nesta
The veteran Milan defender has also sported the No.13 for Italy.
Park Ji-Sung
The South Korean is Man Utd’s No.13, but he usually wears No.7 for his country.
Danny Murphy
Fulham’s skipper is not superstitious, clearly.
Maicon
Inter’s brilliant full-back is perhaps the highest-valued No.13 in the world right now.
Colin Doyle
Birmingham’s reserve keeper is in good company. And goalies don’t seem to mind wearing No.13 anyway.
Zurab Khizanishvili
Blackburn’s Georgian defender = a good Scrabble score. He wears 13 for Georgia too.
Luis Boa Morte
West Ham’s journeyman winger wore No.11 at his previous club, Fulham.
Marco Motta
The Roma defender has been a key member of Italy’s U21 team.
Kristine Lilly
The women’s football legend has worn the No.13 for the US national teams for years. She also sports it for Boston Breakers in WPS (Women’s Professional Soccer).
[Photos: PA]