Football is a team game. A team game of 11 players who work together and have to play together for glory. Out of these 11 there is one breed of players who are more under the limelight than anyone else. No matter what happens, no matter how the game goes even 50 years from now, this will never change and rightly so too. We are talking about the strikers. The big adrenaline players who decide the fate of the game with one good kick.
Everyone talks about how Cristiano Ronaldo won 3 back to back champions leagues with Real Madrid but does anyone ever praise Sergio Ramos for defending three back to back champions leagues in the same team. The answer is a big NO and will always remain so and to be honest, in the greater interest of the game it is rightly so.
Strikers have always been the stars of the game. They have been loved, adored and looked up to more than defenders, goal keepers, mid fielders, defenders. They can decide the game with a single kick or a single moment of brilliance and what the rest of the team did for 90 minutes will not matter.
Today, we look at the top strikers in football or the best strikers in the world as they say.
Be prepared to get blown away -
Cristiano Ronaldo -
Well, if you have read our earlier post on Cristiano Ronaldo you would know that this was a no brainer. Mr Cr7 is the best striker in the world scoring goals for fun and it's as if he has almost hit his prime now at the age of 36 when most people had written him off. He has already scored 5 goals in the Euros and we have just reached the round of 16. If Portugal go forward in the tournament then surely we all know where the golden boot will be headed. He recently matched the record of most international 109 goals too. This man is undoubtedly the no 1 striker in the world.
Lionel Messi -
Cometh the moment, cometh the man. This genius of a man, a 5 ft something football demigod, a genius footballing wizard is our second pick. We know, we know some would put him on the list first, while some would pick Ronaldo. While we leave that debate to you, we focus on Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi has been doing this, doing that and doing everything on the field of football and achieving everything routinely for the past 20 years. Some even pick him as the greatest player to have played the game.
Robert Lewandowski -
A goal scoring machine, a serious match winner Robert Lewandowski is our third pick. 30 goals, 40 goals, even 50 goals in a season is just like a casual walk in the park for this Polish Giant. Some even say that he has not been so well looked upto due to the presence of Ronaldo and Messi yet his records and his brilliance in the field has been at least at par if not more with them. He has won a lot of trophies with German giants Bayern Munich and continues to do so. The man is a serious predator and one of the best strikers of the world.
Harry Kane -
Harry Kane is another big baller who has been breaking records for fun. He is all set to become the all time scorer in the premier league. He has recently won the golden boot for scoring the most goals in the premier league and has also won the award for most assists. With Harry now handing in a transfer request to leave Tottenham Hotspur and joining another big club to win trophies, expect this star man’s goal tally roaring up to the sky.
pic source: twitter.com
Neymar -
Neymar was transferred from Barcelona to PSG for a whooping $ 270 million - the highest transfer fee in the world of football. The brazillian genius has lived up to the price tag and has been a sensational addition to the French Giants Paris Saint German. Not only his goals but also his freestyle way of playing the beautiful game, he reminds us how the beautiful game should be played and a very competitive player too.
Luis Suarez -
They say “Age is just a number baby”. Well this 34 year old baby has done just that. After being humiliatingly sold by Barcelona for a mere $7 million citing age concerns and effectiveness. Mr Suarez grabbed the opportunity literally by the teeth (if you know, you know) and scored a whopping 21 goals for Atletico Madrid in La liga and helped them win the title after 7 long years. The old stallion is still one of the top strikers in the game even at this age.
Romelu Lukaku -
Credit should be given where credit is due and Romelu Lukaku sadly has not been given enough of that. He even went on to say that in a recent interview. After being transferred to Inter from Manchester United in an altogether different country in an altogether different league, Romelu Lukaku was shining as bright as the morningstar. He has scored 24 goals for Inter in Serie A and 4 in the champions league and eventually went on to win the title comfortably with Inter. At 28 years of age he is already proven to be a world class striker and has shone bright even in the ongoing Euros having grabbed a few goals already.
