Gerd Müller picks up a few more
points on his way to topping the list of big-game goal scorers. Photograph:
Staff/AFP/Getty Images
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| Gerd Müller |
Whose
goals have most changed the course of football history? Lionel Messi scored 91
goals in 2012 to beat Gerd Müller's record of 85 in a calendar year set back in
1972. Messi seems to break records every time he plays. Putting five goals past
Bayer Leverkusen in last season's
Champions League was a remarkable achievement
but, for all his heroics, Messi still lags some way behind Müller when it comes
to changing games on the grandest stages.
Sportswriter
Liam Corbett of the
Average Opposition blog has analysed all the
goals scored in the world's biggest competitions since 1950 – that's 1,931
goals by 1,071 different scorers in 63 years – and complied a list of
football's top 50 big-game goal scorers. This exercise is about the goals that
have shaped matches at the very pinnacle of the sport. And Gerd Müller has
scored more that anyone.
Müller
scored 68 goals in 62 internationals for Germany and another 398 in his 453
appearances for Bayern Munich. The numbers are staggering, but his consistency
is even more impressive. He was no flat-track bully. Müller scored in the
finals and semi-finals of the World Cup, European Championship and European
Cup. His last goal for Germany was the winner in the 1974 World Cup final,
played in his club's stadium in Munich.
He's
the clear winner on a list that throws up a few intriguing insights. Bobby Charlton
is the highest placed English player, with Geoff Hurst also making the top 50
thanks to three goals scored on the same afternoon. Nine Brazilians make the
list, while Argentina has seven representatives.
Diego
Forlán, the best performer at the last World Cup and Uruguay's top scorer and
cap-holder, is the only man in the top 20 still playing. Messi has plenty of
time to rise up the list, but he's currently sitting in 39th, just below Jari
Litmanen.
The top 50 big-game goalscorers
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| Rank |
Player |
Country |
Career |
Goals |
Points |
1
|
Gerd Muller
|
Germany
|
1963-1981
|
16
|
51
|
2
|
Alfredo Di Stefano
|
Argentina
|
1945-1966
|
19
|
45
|
3
|
Pele
|
Brazil
|
1956-1977
|
13
|
40.5
|
4
|
Ferenc Puskas
|
Hungary
|
1943-1966
|
15
|
40
|
5
|
Zinedine Zidane
|
France
|
1988-2006
|
10
|
33
|
6
|
Ronaldo
|
Brazil
|
1993-2011
|
9
|
32
|
7
|
Alberto Spencer
|
Ecuador
|
1953-1972
|
13
|
27.5
|
8
|
Vava
|
Brazil
|
1949-1969
|
6
|
27
|
9
|
Mario Kempes
|
Argentina
|
1970-1996
|
6
|
24
|
10
|
Eusebio
|
Portugal
|
1957-1979
|
9
|
23
|
11
|
Marco van Basten
|
Holland
|
1981-1993
|
8
|
21
|
12
|
Ademir
|
Brazil
|
1939-1957
|
6
|
21
|
13
|
Dieter Muller
|
Germany
|
1972-1989
|
7
|
20.5
|
14
|
Paul Breitner
|
Germany
|
1970-1983
|
6
|
19.5
|
15
|
Diego Forlan
|
Uruguay
|
1997-2013
|
6
|
19
|
16
|
Johan Cruyff
|
Holland
|
1964-1984
|
6
|
18.5
|
17
|
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
|
Germany
|
1974-1989
|
6
|
18.5
|
18
|
Paolo Rossi
|
Italy
|
1976-1987
|
5
|
18.5
|
19
|
Bobby Charlton
|
England
|
1956-1976
|
6
|
18
|
20
|
Michel Platini
|
France
|
1972-1987
|
6
|
18
|
21
|
Romario
|
Brazil
|
1985-2009
|
6
|
17.5
|
22
|
Alessandro Del Piero
|
Italy
|
1988-2013
|
7
|
17
|
23
|
Hector Rial
|
Spain
|
1947-1964
|
7
|
17
|
24
|
Juan Roman Riquelme
|
Argentina
|
1995-2013
|
8
|
16.5
|
25
|
Cristiano Ronaldo
|
Portugal
|
2002-2013
|
7
|
16
|
26
|
Juan Alberto Schiaffino
|
Uruguay
|
1943-1962
|
6
|
16
|
27
|
Marcelo Delgado
|
Argentina
|
1990-2010
|
6
|
15.5
|
28
|
Hernan Crespo
|
Argentina
|
1993-2013
|
6
|
15
|
29
|
Rob Rensenbrink
|
Holland
|
1965-1982
|
6
|
15
|
30
|
Sandro Mazzola
|
Italy
|
1960-1977
|
6
|
15
|
31
|
Sandor Kocsis
|
Hungary
|
1943-1961
|
5
|
15
|
32
|
Geoff Hurst
|
England
|
1959-1979
|
3
|
15
|
33
|
Kurt Hamrin
|
Sweden
|
1952-1972
|
6
|
14
|
34
|
Chico
|
Brazil
|
1939-1956
|
4
|
14
|
35
|
Johan Neeskens
|
Holland
|
1968-1991
|
4
|
14
|
36
|
Zico
|
Brazil
|
1971-1994
|
5
|
13.5
|
37
|
Jonny Rep
|
Holland
|
1971-1987
|
4
|
13.5
|
38
|
Jari Litmanen
|
Finland
|
1987-2011
|
6
|
13
|
39
|
Lionel Messi
|
Argentina
|
2005-2013
|
5
|
13
|
40
|
Andreas Brehme
|
West Germany
|
1978-1998
|
3
|
13
|
41
|
Gabriel Batistuta
|
Argentina
|
1988-2005
|
4
|
13
|
42
|
Coutinho
|
Brazil
|
1953-1972
|
5
|
12.5
|
43
|
Jairzinho
|
Brazil
|
1959-1982
|
3
|
12.5
|
44
|
Santillana
|
Spain
|
1970-1988
|
6
|
12
|
45
|
José Águas
|
Portugal
|
1948-1964
|
5
|
12
|
46
|
Amancio Amaro
|
Spain
|
1958-1976
|
5
|
12
|
47
|
Fernando Torres
|
Spain
|
2001-2013
|
4
|
12
|
48
|
Horst Hubresch
|
Germany
|
1971-1986
|
4
|
12
|
49
|
Ruud Gullit
|
Holland
|
1979-1998
|
4
|
12
|
50
|
Karl-Heinz Riedle
|
Germany
|
1983-2001
|
4
|
12
|
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| The Source of the Information is Guardian.co.uk/football/blog |
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