Top Five: Greatest Strikers
In this series, we have taken a look at the top five players of all-time in their respective positions. In this, the final installment of the series, we look at some of the top strikers to have graced the game.
Ronaldo
Clubs: Cruzeiro, PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Corinthians
Country: Brazil
“The Phenomenon” Ronaldo was the most feared player in the worldduring the late ’90s and early ’00s, and for good reason.He was a key member of Real Madrid’s “Galacticos” and he won a Brazilian Cup, a Dutch Cup, two La Liga titles, a Spanish Cup, a UEFA Cup and a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in his career.
The success continued at international level, where he was part of the Brazil sides that won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. Ronaldo’s lack of fitness, it is widely regarded, was a key factor in Brazil losing the 1998 final such was his importance to the side.He has thrice been named the FIFA World Player of the Year, and two times namedthe European Player of the Year. He is also the record holder for most goals scored in World Cup competition, scoring his 15th during the 2006 tournament.
Gerd Muller
Clubs: 1861 Nördlingen, Bayern Munich, Fort Lauderdale
Country: Germany
“Der Bomber” Gerd Muller was as important to the success of Bayern Munich and Germany as “Der Kaiser” Franz Beckenbauer, his prolific scoring elevating both sides to be the very best in the world. At club level he won four German Cups,four Bundesliga titles, a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and three consecutive European Cups. He scored 582 goals in 669 games in his club career, and 68 goals in just 62 international caps. Those caps included success at the 1972 European Championships and the 1974 World Cup.
He was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 1970, and in 2000 he was named World’s Greatest Goal scorer of All Time.He was the World Cup’s top goal scorer with 14 goals in two World Cups before Ronaldo overtook him in 2006.
Ferenc Puskas
Clubs: Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid
Country: Hungary, Spain
FerencPuskas was part of two of the greatest sides ever assembled: the Magical Magyars of Hungary, and Real Madrid’s all-conquering side of the early ’60s. Throughout his club career, Puskas, or the “Galloping Major” as he was popularly known, won five Hungarian League titles, five Spanish League titles to go with three European Cups.
He scored 514 goals in 529 matches and is widely regarded as the best shooter in world football history. Puskas scored 84 times in 85 matchesFor Hungary, helping them to a gold medal in the 1952 Olympics and taking them to the final of the 1954 FIFA World Cup. He also played four times for Spain.
Diego Maradona
Clubs: Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, Newell’s Old Boys
Country: Argentina
Love him or hate him, you cannot deny the quality Diego Maradona possessed with his pace, dribbling skills, and unpredictability being matched by very few, if any. He helped his club teams to an Argentinian League title, two Serie A titles, a Spanish Cup, an Italian Cup and a UEFA Cup, almost single-handedly turning Napoli into a major European force.
He inspired Argentina to success in the 1986 World Cup, with the infamous “Hand of God” and sublime “Goal of the Century” coming on the way, and ended up scoring 34 times in 91 international appearances. Even though an internet poll conducted by FIFA to determine the Player of the Century saw Maradona claim over 50 percent of the votes, a FIFA panel decided that he should share the title with Pele.
Pele
Clubs: Santos, New York Cosmos
Country: Brazil
The “King of Football” ruled his empire from the second he laced up his first pair of boots to the second he hung them up for the final time.He played for Santos for the vast majority of his career, winning silverware almost every year. He is the only player to have three World Cup winners’ medals, and he played a huge part in 1958 and 1970 World Cups in particular.
He went on to play 92 times for Brazil, scoring 77 goals.His 1281 goals in 1363 games is the highest FIFA recognized tally by any player in history and FIFA warded him the award of Player of the Century along with Maradona. There is little doubt in that Pele is the greatest striker ever!
Please share your views as to who you think is the greatest striker of all-time, or if you think we missed out on someone, in the comments section.
By Shamik Mukherjee