The goalscoring ability one of the most important factors to rate any football time and strikers are the ones who relentlessly perform this very job. The position of a striker has been evolved from only scoring attributes to more creative and decisive roles.
There have been some legendary players that have exceeded as strikers, scoring goals with extreme ease on a routine basis, most of the time humiliating rivals with their scores.
The football fraternity has been graced with some of the legendary strikers who were just phenomenal in front of the goal.
(The present list consists of the hall of fame strikers only and not the current ones)
(Honorable mentions: Thierry Henry, Ian Rush, Bobby Charlton, Raul Gonzalez, Alan Shearer, Klose, Uwe Seeler, Gunnar Nordahl, Eusebio, Romario )
#5 Marco van Basten
Marco Van Basten is considered one of the finest goalscorers and played a starring role in UEFA Euro 1988 scoring 5 times which included a hat-trick against England, a memorable goal in the semi-final against bitter rivals Germany and the stunning volley against the Soviet Union in the final. With one of history’s most memorable touches, he smashed a great volley in with all of his goalscoring proficiency and supremacy and grace to score the greatest goals anyone has ever seen. His nation, Netherlands won 2-0, and they have not had anyone who could affect a final like that ever since, or ever before.
After a greatly successful spell at Dutch giants Ajax, Van Basten moved to Milan where he showed his knack of finding the back of the net in crucial fixtures once again when two goals in the European Cup final against Steaua Bucharest in 1988/89. Van Basten’s career was tragically cut short due to an unfortunate injury at the age of 28, but the two-time Ballon d’Or winner gave us plenty of moments to cherish.
Having netted an amazing 277 goals in his club career, Van Basten is still fondly remembered at Ajax, Milan, and Netherlands and is considered to be one of the most gifted strikers to ever grace this beautiful game
#4 Alfredo Di Stefano
Di Stefano is a complete legend; even if you hate the club he represented the most, Real Madrid. Alfredo became a myth playing for Los Blancos, where he helped the team to win several titles, including the five consecutive European Cups Real Madrid won through 1955-1960.
Undoubtedly he was the player who redefined Real Madrid’s legacy as one of the greatest teams teams in the world. Alfredo Di Stefano is arguably the greatest Real Madrid player of all time.
Not many people know that Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano had initially signed for arch-rivals Barcelona in the year 1953 after a dispute over his signature with Real Madrid. The Spanish federation came up with a strange solution where Di Stefano would play alternate seasons at both clubs, however, Barcelona withdrew from the agreement in protest leaving Di Stefano free to sign for their great rivals Real Madrid.
. Di Stefano scored an incredible 307 goals in 396 appearances and won an amazing amount of trophies. Di Stefano is also the only player to score in 5 European Cup finals, an insane stat.
8 La Liga titles, 5 European Cups, 1 Copa Del Rey, and 1 Intercontinental cup won during Di Stefano’s tenure at Madrid show what a huge impact the Argentine had.
#3 Gerd Muller
Gerhard “Gerd” Muller was a decorated striker and still nowadays recognized as one of the best strikers produced by Germany. Thanks to his performances and scores with both the German national side and Bayern Munich – where he spent most of his career, he gets considered as one of the finest goalscorers of all time.
Muller’s gifted abilities and eye-catching technique made him a feared striker who didn’t have doubts in front of the net. He was known to trouble opposition’s rearguard. He was so prolific, had a very good finish in him when shooting the ball and was really dangerous both inside and outside the box as well. Throughout his career, he was awarded European Player of the Year (1970), German Player of the Year (1967 and 1969) and also was the Bundesliga top scorer in more than five years. Muller was the top scorer in World Cups until Ronaldo Nazario broke his record in 2006
#2 Ronaldo Nazario
Ronaldo Nazario is, without a shadow of a doubt, the prime example of the perfect striker. He was such a glorious striker. Pace, finish, technique; he had everything which a perfect striker should have in the kitty. The Brazilian striker wasn’t scared of trying new things on the pitch, was extremely talented, skillful and one of the best players ever to play the game. With stints in Inter and Barcelona during his youth, Ronaldo knew how to rattle the headlines and became the next big thing in the football world.
Aged 16, he made his professional debut on 25 May 1993 against Caldense in the Minas Gerais State Championship. Ronaldo came to national public attention on 7 November 1993, scoring five goals in the game against Bahia.
He endured a Real Madrid spell where even though he didn’t perform the same way he used before his tragic knee injury, O Fenomeno (The Phenomenon) didn’t disappoint at all and increased his legendary status both in the club and the Brazilian national team.
The striker was the top scorer of the World Cups until Miroslav Klose broke his record, won two FIFA World Cups (1994 and 2002) and was a recipient of the Ballon d’Or twice, among other prizes.
#1 Pele
There is no surprise to see Football’s legend Pele to grab this spot on our list.
When a thought of World Cups comes in mind, Pele is the first name to come. Throughout his career, Pele racked up impressive numbers, setting plenty of records during that time. He is Brazil’s top scorer as well as Santos’ top scorer; he has the most league goals with 541, scored an impressive amount of goals.
Pele had defined the art of scoring and put forth a blistering football career.
Albeit he didn’t have any competition in America with his Santos, nobody can doubt that Pele was simply the best and that he remains like that today, as there hasn’t been anyone better than the King Pele.
