Number ten is the footballer's jersey number that Valera wore before he ruptured a ligament and lost his chance at the big time. He no longer sees a future for himself and this is evident in the choices he makes. He's enrolled in vocational school but not attending, One night when he's out with friends he assaults a man and puts him in a coma, and from that point his life unravels.
I intended to read a few pages of this story but quickly became absorbed and finished it. It's set in the waning days of communism, and there are wonderful details of everyday life: jars of pickles and tomatoes under a kitchen table, a street vendor in a dirty smock selling meat pies (which a neighbor warns is dog meat), boys in a shop class making parts for a trolley company.
Although the novella has been translated, it's clear that Kozlov is a skillful and gifted writer, he knows how to give bare-bones descriptions that are sharp and evocative.
I loved the novella and I'm now looking for more Vladimir Kozlov stories. Kudos to the translator, as well.