Hamer: I’ll keep lucky number 38 for rest of my career
EVER wondered why Gustavo Hamer wears 38 on the back of his Coventry City shirt and on his shorts rather than a more traditional number 6 or 8 for a defensive or box-to-box central midfielder?
Well, the obvious reasons for not taking those two squad numbers are that they were both occupied by other players when the Brazilianborn player signed for the Sky Blues in the summer of 2020, with skipper Liam Kelly firmly in possession of No.6 and Jamie Allen having taken the vacant No.8 the summer after Michael Doyle’s free transfer to Notts County in January 2019.
But even if the numbers had been available, Hamer says he wouldn’t have taken them. Explaining why, he said: “So when I played for Feyenoord I was given number 38. I was from the Academy and you don’t get the biggest numbers when you’re breaking through and I played two games with that number.
“I then went to Dordrecht and they didn’t have 38 so I played with number 6. I then went to PEC Zwolle and got 6 there as well but I didn’t have the season that I wanted. I thought I was a lot better than I played, so it didn’t go that well. “Another midfielder who played with the No.6 came back from injury and he was getting No.11, but I asked him if he wanted his No.6 back and told him he could have it back if he wanted it. And then I asked if 38 was available, and it was, so I took that and had an amazing season. “Then Coventry came for me and I thought I couldn’t ditch the number 38 any more so, yes, it’s my lucky number. And I will keep it for the rest of my career if I can.”
Coventry came for me and I thought I couldn’t ditch the number 38 any more so, yes, it’s my lucky number.
Gustavo Hamer