Hoops play numbers game

FRISCO, Texas -- In any sport, uniform numbers can be a funny thing. For some players, the digits they wear mean everything, and some will do anything humanly possible to secure their preferred number. However for others, the numbers on the back of their jersey are nothing more than another part of the kit.

For the 2009 season, a number of FC Dallas players have switched numbers. Fans better make sure they grab a program -- or at least check the team roster on the club's website -- before the March 21 opener at Pizza Hut Park.

For example, last year as an MLS rookie, midfielder Eric Avila was a second-round steal in the 2008 Super Draft. When he joined the Hoops, he was given No. 24, and played in 14 games as a rookie and registered two assists. When Arturo Alvarez was traded last July, "Avi" saw a chance to lower his number, but knew he had to wait until 2009 to do so and he now wears Alvarez's old No. 12.

"It's a lot closer (to the number and I like) and a lot lower (than 24)," he said. "My real number is No. 15. I love that number but unfortunately, Adrian (Serioux) has that number. I tried to go down to a lower number. It was an open number, I asked for it and they gave it to me. Unfortunately (No. 12 doesn't have any special meaning yet), but hopefully this year, it could become a good number for me."

With FCD since 2005, defender Drew Moor is one of the two longest-tenured players in Hoops. The Dallas native has worn No. 14 since his hometown side took him in the first round of the 2005 SuperDraft. Just after the end of 2008, Moor got a multiple-year contract extension to remain in Frisco and decided to change his number to coincide with his new deal, switching to No. 3.

"I signed the new contract near the end of last year and I just kind of wanted to change," he said. "I had been No. 14 since my sophomore year of college and before that I was No. 3 as a youth player and a club player. I just wanted to go back to that time for a little bit when it was just as much fun as it was now but it wasn't my job then. I was just out there because I wanted to be out there. I think it will hopefully help me remember my youth a little bit and more energized. I just happened to be handed No. 3 as my first jersey and wanted to go back to it."

Moor is considered one of the candidates to be named FCD's captain during preseason. Should that happen, that would make his number change all the more significant.

The week of the draft, FCD signed center back Steve Purdy, who had been playing for second-division German side 1860 Munich. He already has a number in mind for his first season in MLS.

"I'm trying to go for No. 25," he said. "It's been a lucky number but it's also my birthday, February 5. I have used it a lot of times in e-mails and things like that but this will be the first time I've worn it as a number. I'm trying to make some luck out of it."

A number of other FCD players have special ties to their current numbers. Star forward Kenny Cooper wears No. 33 as a tribute to a friend of his father's who played professionally. Second-year midfielder Bruno Guarda dons No. 8, which was previously worn by two-time all-star Juan Toja before his transfer to Romania. Guarda wore the same number as a collegian at SMU.

Defender Adrian Serioux wears No. 15, a longtime number that he sports as a tribute to his father. Goalkeeper Dario Sala wore No. 48 his first two years in MLS to honor his father-in-law who played college football at Miami. The veteran Argentinean switched to No. 44 last season to signify his 1987 graduating class from a military school (Promocion No. 44) in his hometown of Cordoba. There was a rumor of Sala sporting No. 1 in 2009 but he will remain No. 44.

Throughout his professional career, newly-acquired midfielder Dave van den Bergh has worn No. 11. However, once he was traded to FCD, he saw those digits were already spoken for, belonging to Brazilian midfielder Andre Rocha. So, van den Bergh opted for a pretty significant number in its own right, No. 7.

"It was available and that was nice," he said. "Just look at Man U. No. 7 has been a coveted number over there. I really don't care (what my number is) as long as I'm on the field. I could care less. I just want to be out there on the field. Whether I'm producing with No. 7 or No. 11, it's neither here nor there."

One other change of note was third-year left back Blake Wagner, who has switched from No. 23 to No. 19, which was previously worn by the now-retired Bobby Rhine.

"It's just been a number that I've had since I was a little boy," Wagner said. "So I figured I would give it a shot. Bobby Rhine had it last year and he had it for a while. It was just a coincidence that I ended up getting his old number."