The number 11 shirt, which Edin Džeko wore for years for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, will not be retired from use following his retirement from the national team.
The decision to keep the legendary number in circulation did not come from the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina or from Džeko himself. The reason lies in FIFA rules, which do not allow the national teams to retire a specific shirt number permanently.
In major tournaments, as well as in official matches under FIFA’s wing, national teams are obliged to assign players numbers within the range of 1 to 26. For this reason, not a single number from that range can be permanently removed, including Džeko’s 11.
The same rule applies to the world’s biggest national team stars. So, for example, Argentina cannot retire the number 10 worn by Lionel Messi, while Croatia and Portugal won’t be able to withdraw numbers 10 and 7 in honor of Luka Modrić and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Unlike club football, where retiring numbers in honor of legendary players is a relatively common practice, such an option does not exist in international football.
Although many fans from Bosnia and Herzegovina wished for Džeko’s 11 to remain forever tied to his name, it is clear that this number will soon have a new owner. One candidate has already emerged: Jovo Lukić. Lukić wore number 11 on his back in the match against Romania in Bucharest.
