"What's in a number?"
The 2025 FC Dallas season officially kicks off this Saturday. Before tuning into the Season Opener on MLS Season Pass, let's find out why each FC Dallas player picked (or didn't) the number they'll wear on the back of their shirts.
Some numbers carry personal sentiment for their wearers, some are just standard for the player's position, and some are completely random. Regardless, here are the players' explanation for their choices.
#1 - Maarten Paes
Up first is goalkeeper Maarten Paes who swapped his previous #30 shirt for the traditional #1 this season.
The #1 jersey is customary for a team’s starting goalkeeper. And even though Paes has been FCD’s primary starter for three seasons now, he wore the #30 during that time as the #1 was taken by Jimmy Maurer, the previous starter. Now that Maurer has moved on (to the Houston Dynamo as a free agent), Paes will be the No. 1, just as he is for the Indonesia National Team.
"When I came here, Jimmy had number one and I had a lot of respect for him so I basically just waited for it to open up and felt it was the right time to take it."
#2 - Geovane Jesus
Brazilian defender Geovane Jesus (who's currently rehabbing from an ACL injury) wears the #2 jersey in honor of his idol, Cafu. A retired legend of the game, Cafu was a world-class right back known for his contributions to the attack. He won two World Cups with Brazil and was a mainstay in the great AC Milan teams of the mid 2000s. As far as idols go, Geovane picked a good one.
#3 - Osaze Urhoghide
Defender Osaze Urhoghide joined FC Dallas this offseason from French side Amiens and chose the number three to mark his new North American adventure.
"Three is a new number for me. Dallas is a new experience for me so I want to create a new history and new memories with #3 so that's it really."
#4 - Marco Farfan
Reliable defender Marco Farfan has worn the No. 4 jersey since joining the club in 2022.
"I used to always be #32 from my academy days at Portland and then LAFC. But I thought when I joined a new team I'd go ahead and pick a new one so I went with #4."
#5 - Lalas Abubakar
New signing Lalas Abubakar chose the number 5 for his first season in Dallas after spending six seasons with the Colorado Rapids.
"It's a center back's number. I used to wear #6 but it wasn't available and the closest one was number 5 so I went with that."
#6 - Patrickson Delgado
Ecuadorian midfielder Patrickson Delgado will wear the #6 jersey, the number he wore for Dallas while on loan from Independiente del Valle last season. After signing with FCD permanently this offseason, Delgado will keep #6 as a tribute to French World Cup winner Paul Pogba, who Delgado sees as one of the best midfielders in the world.
#7 - Léo Chú
The No. 7 will have a new wearer this season. Brazilian winger Léo Chú (who arrived from Seattle in the trade involving Jesús Ferreira) has inhrited the coveted number from Paul Arriola, who also joined Seattle this offseason.
"The number 7 means a lot to me, I played with it since I was young. But it will be the first time I've played with #7 at the professional level so I'm very happy to have it."
#8 - Sebastian Lletget
Midfielder Sebastian Lletget swapped his previous #12 for #8 at the start of the 2024 season season. It's traditional for a box-to-box midfielder to wear #8 but there's also a deeper meaning: a tribute to his late sister.
"It's the first time in my career that I've had the chance to wear a single digit number so picked #8 since it was my sister's favorite number."
#9 - Petar Musa
Petar Musa will once again don the No. 9 jersey, the customary number for a club's first-choice striker. The Croatian wore it to great effect in his first season, scoring 16 goals en route to the most prolific debut campaign in Dallas history.
#10 - Lucho Acosta
To no one's surprise, Lucho Acosta was given the #10 upon arriving in Dallas from FC Cincinnati. Ten is traditional for a club's primary playmaker and the most coveted number in soccer, and was previously worn by Jesús Ferreira who departed to Seattle Sounders a few weeks before Acosta joined. It's also a familiar number for Acosta as the Argentine wore 10 at his previous three clubs (FC Cincinnati, Atlas, DC United).
#11 - Anderson Julio
Forward Anderson Julio was able to snag his first-choice number 11 after previously wearing #29 at Real Salt Lake. The number is special to the Ecuadorian because he was told to wear it at his first team L.D.U. Quito by Franklin Salas, his head coach and a club legend.
#13 - Antonio Carrera
Homegrown goalkeeper Antonio Carrera picked his number 13 to follow in the footsteps of one of his idols, Mexico international goalkeeper Memo Ochoa.
"Ever since I was little, I grew up watching Ochoa play and he was number 13. So, when I joined FC Dallas at the age of 10, I had the chance to pick #13 so I took it. And I've been #13 since then on."
#16 - Tsiki Ntsabeleng
Tsiki Ntsabeleng was given the #16 after signing with the team via the MLS SuperDraft in 2022. The South African says he likes the number despite having no prior ties to it.
#17 - Ramiro
Versatile midfielder Ramiro will wear No. 17 in his first season in MLS since joining from Brazil this offseason. He was originally given #22 but decided to switch to #17 once it was vacated by Nkosi Tafari upon his trade to LAFC.
"I played with this number at my last three clubs. It's a sentimental number because I had it at my first professional club and whenever I can wear #17 I choose it."
#18 - Shaq Moore
Defender Shaq Moore joined FCD in the offseason via a trade from Nashville SC. The 28-year-old right back decided to take #18 as a nod to his career with the U.S. Men's National Team.
"For the National Team I played a lot with the number 18 so I thought it would be nice if my club number was the same. Having the same for club and country sounded nice."
#19 - Paxton Pomykal
The number 19 is special in Dallas. It's the number late club legend Bobby Rhine wore during his decade playing for the club. The number was quasi retired following Bobby's tragic passing in 2011 but Paxton Pomykal asked the Rhine family if he could wear the number in Bobby's memory after signing his first pro deal.
#20 - Pedrinho
Brazilian playmaker Pedrinho, who recently signed with FCD after an outstanding campaign for North Texas SC, will wear number 20.
"I like 20 even though I'd prefer number 10 (the number he wore for North Texas). But it's also my brother's birthday so it worked out."
#21 - Show
Midfielder Show Cafumana will continue to wear #21 as he has since joining on loan from Maccabi Haifa. Show typically wore #23 for his national team (Angola) and at previous clubs but the number was taken by Logan Farrington in Dallas.
#22 - Álvaro Augusto
Another new signing, defender Álvaro Augusto was assigned #22 (from the limited options). Once he arrives in Dallas, we'll found out whether the number has any additional meaning to the 19-year-old Brazilian.
#23 - Logan Farrington
Last year's third overall SuperDraft pick Logan Farrington didn’t have many numbers to choose from. Still, he wound up with an iconic one: #23.
“Out of the options I had, I liked it the best. Michael Jordan’s number, so that’s basically the reason.”
#25 - Sebastien Ibeagha
Sebastien Ibeagha will once again wear his second-choice number, #25. Although he'd prefer #5, Ibeagha did wear #25 to good effect when he played for LAFC and won the 2022 MLS Cup.
#27 - Herbert Endeley
We're in the mid 20s so we're at the point where many of these numbers are just assigned to the player when they joined. That’s the case for wingback Herbert Endeley, who was given #27 when he joined via the 2023 MLS SuperDraft.
#29 - Enzo Newman
Like Endeley, Enzo Newman was given his No. 29 (previously worn by fellow fullback Sam Junqua) after joining Dallas from the SuperDraft.
"It's my first number in the league so I'm excited to have it, no matter what."
#30 - Michael Collodi
Goalkeeper Michael Collodi will wear No. 30, recently vacated by fellow net-minder Maarten Paes.
"I was number 30 back at North Texas SC as well and I know Maarten was wearing it before and he kind of made the number what it is, so it's an honor of mine to be able to wear it this year."
#32 - Nolan Norris
Homegrown midfielder/defender Nolan Norris will wear #32 in his third pro season, a number he's worn many times in FCD colors:
"When I joined the Academy, they gave me number 32 and I had it all the whole way through. So, when I signed with the First Team I chose to keep 32."
#34 - Alejandro Urzua
Alejandro Urzua signed as FCD’s 36th Homegrown player during last offseason and was assigned #34. According to him, "it's just a number."
#35 - Malachi Molina
Like Urzua, Homegrown Malachi Molina was assigned his number upon signing.
"It was just assigned to me, to be honest, but I do like the number"
#36 - Daniel Baran
Another Homegrown, Daniel Baran wore #33 in the Academy but was given the #36 after signing his first pro contract.
#41 - Tarik Scott
Much like fellow Homegrown Nolan Norris, Tarik Scott chose the No. 41 jersey because it was the number he wore throughout his FCD Academy days.
"It was really convenient for both of us that our options had to be over 30."
#50 - Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia decided to "stick with" the #50, a number he's worn for various clubs over his youth career.
#51 - Anthony Ramirez
Homegrown Anthony Ramirez will wear #51, a number he became accustomed to over his FCD youth career.
"It's the number I've been wearing since the Academy so I just got used to wearing it from U12 and up."
#77 - Bernard Kamungo
Bernard Kamungo's journey to the pro level is widely agreed to be the best story in Major League Soccer. The story behind his jersey number is a little less exciting, though. Bernie wears #77 because his first-choice, the #7, was taken by originally by captain Paul Arriola and now Léo Chú.
