The players wearing No.11 in the 2020/21 LaLiga Santander season

Luis Rioja (D. Alavés), Iñigo Córdoba (Athletic Club), Thomas Lemar (Atlético de Madrid), Ousmane Dembélé (FC Barcelona), Jorge Pombo (Cádiz CF), Emre Mor (RC Celta), Rafa Soares (SD Eibar), Tete Morente (Elche CF), Unoccupied (Getafe CF), Darwin Machís (Granada CF), Javi Galán (SD Huesca), José Luis Morales (Levante UD), Kike Barja (CA Osasuna), Cristian Tello (Real Betis), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Pablo Hervías (Real Valladolid), Munir El Haddadi (Sevilla FC), Rubén Sobrino (Valencia CF), Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal CF)

The No.11 is often worn by the speediest and most direct players in the game and there are several current LaLiga Santander No.11s who fit this description. That’s the case with Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembélé, Sevilla’s Munir El Haddadi, Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze, Real Betis’ Cristian Tello and with many others.

At Levante, for example, the No.11 shirt is worn by the star man José Luis Morales. El Comandante – or ‘The Commander,’ in English – is capable of the sublime and of the hard work needed to compete week in and week out in Spain’s top division. He embodies the main characteristics of the No.11 with his dribbling on the flanks and his scoring ability.

Another No.11 who knows how to put the ball in the back of the net is Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio. The Spaniard burst onto the scene in 2016 with his long-range goals and his dribbling ability and, after coming back from a serious knee injury last year, he has inherited the No.11 shirt at Real Madrid from Gareth Bale.

He may not always receive the praise his play deserves, but Adnan Januzaj is another of LaLiga Santander’s top-quality No.11s. The winger is one of the key reasons for Real Sociedad’s excellent start to the 2020/21 campaign and he has been performing his magic with the No.11 on his back.

Ten LaLiga legends who wore the No.11

Mágico González (Cádiz CF, Real Valladolid), Paco Gento (Real Madrid), Rivaldo (RC Deportivo, FC Barcelona), Renato (Sevilla FC), Txiki Begiristain (FC Barcelona), Laurie Cunningham (Real Madrid), Magno (D. Alavés), Romário (Valencia CF), Jorge Valdano (D. Alavés, Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid), Enrique Collar (Atlético de Madrid)

Over the years, several of the beautiful game’s best No.11s have strutted their stuff on the pitches of LaLiga, from creative Brazilians like Rivaldo, Romário and Magno to Spain internationals like Txiki Begiristain and Enrique Collar.

Paco Gento played for the Spanish national team too and wrote history with Real Madrid as the only player to feature in all six of Los Blancos’ European Cup winning squads in the 1950s and 1960s, doing so with the No.11 on his back. He also holds the record for the most LaLiga Santander titles won, with 12. Years later, Laurie Cunningham and Jorge Valdano inherited that shirt and made plenty of history of their own at the Bernabéu.

Then there’s Mágico González. He may not have achieved the success of Gento in terms of trophies, but this Salvadoran achieved legendary status in Spain and, particularly, in Cádiz because of his style of play the way he made football fun. Even today, there are tributes all around the city of Cádiz to this special player and to his No.11 shirt.