Top 5 Strikers in European Football

In modern European football, goals are no longer monopolised by Centre-Forwards as they have always been in the past. The arrival of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has caused the goalscoring charts to be utterly dominated by two players who are not technically strikers. Ronaldo likes to play on the left and cut in, and Messi... well Messi plays wherever he wants to play. Strikers may be feeling a little inadequate or under-appreciated, so in this article we give some love to the pure strikers who we believe are the best in Europe right now.

1. Radamel Falcao

Falcao is arguably the most complete Centre-Forward in the World. Ruthlessly accurate, quick and powerful, he scores goals with both feet and is devastating in the air. His goalscoring record in amazing. At Porto, Falcao scored 71 goals in 87 appearances, and since his €40 million move to Atletico Madrid the Colombian has scored 46 times in 56 matches. Falcao has won the Europa League two years in a row and has back to back awards for being the top scorer in the competition.

Last month he helped Atletico win the UEFA Super Cup in Monaco, where he scored a wonderful first half hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Chelsea. In La Liga this season, Falcao is top of the scoring charts, ahead of both Messi and Ronaldo. It is simple really, Radamel Falcao deals in goals, lots and lots of goals.

2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic 

He is Zlatan. Does anymore need to be said?

Bizarrely Ibrahimovic divides opinion somewhat in this country. On this blog however he does not. Ibrahimovic has played for Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Milan and PSG. He has scored goals everywhere he has gone, including 22 goals during his not so happy stay in Spain. He has won 6 Serie A titles with three different Italian clubs, 2 Eredivisie titles and 1 La Liga title. He scores big goals and is capable of carrying a team by himself at times. In the summer he was voted into the Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament, and so far in France this season he has scored 8 goals in 6 appearances for PSG.

Ibrahimovic possesses immense strength, majestic technique and is a clinical and powerful finisher. He is Zlatan.

3. Robin van Persie

Last season’s top scorer in the Premier League is again top of the scoring charts this season. His move to Manchester United is going well so far, and if he can remain fit van Persie will be expecting to match his 37 goals in all competitions last season for Arsenal. The Dutchman has always been an exquisite striker of the ball and a proven goalscorer, but many still worry whether he can steer clear of injury. In 8 seasons at Arsenal van Persie only once managed to play more than 30 games in the league, and that was his last season with the club. During the Netherlands’ terrible Euro 2012 campaign, RvP did manage to score in a 2-1 defeat to Germany and he has scored 30 goals for his country. A classy player, Robin van Persie is one of the best strikers in European football right now.

4. Sergio Aguero 

Sergio Aguero is yet to score this season for Manchester City, but his superb first year in England last season proved to everyone that Aguero can be relied upon when it counts. With seconds left of the 2011/12 Premier League season Aguero kept his composure to score the goal which won the league for Manchester City. In a devilishly difficult Champions League group this season, City will need their main striker to get more crucial goals if they hope to proceed to the knockouts.

5. Mario Gomez 

Mario Gomez is on his way back from ankle surgery and will have to fight his way back into the Bayern Munich team after Mandzukic’s excellent start to his Bayern career. Mandzukic has scored 7 goals in 7 appearances, and it will be interesting to see what happens upon Gomez’ return. Mario Gomez has scored 79 goals in his last two seasons at Bayern, he also scored 3 goals at Euro 2012. Gomez is a predator inside the box, always arriving at the right place at the right time. He is an excellent finisher who thrives off the service from Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.

Honourable mentions 

The season it will be interesting to see which strikers make the biggest impacts across European football. David Villa is fit again and is slowly being worked back into the Barcelona team. If he can get back to his best, Villa is arguably the best finisher in world football. How will Wayne Rooney perform this season alongside Robin van Persie? Will the two compliment each other or will they be unable to make a partnership work? Will Tevez or Balotelli shine at Man City? Will Higuain or Benzema contribute more at Madrid? Will Luis Suarez stop hitting the post at Liverpool? Will Fernando Torres ever be ‘back’? We shall see.

Hotshots: European Football's Best Goalscorers

In football there is one thing we love more than anything else - goals!

I have looked at Europe's top leagues over the last four years and worked out which players have scored the most goals. The statistics below are the total goals scored since the start of the 2008/09 season in all competitions.

Best of the best

It is no surprise that these two are top of the pile, and top by quite a margin. The two best players in the world are not necessarily classed as strikers, but their astonishing goalscoring records put the rest of football in the shade. Last season both players scored 53 goals in all competitions, with Ronaldo scoring 40 in the league. Over the last 4 years, Leo Messi has averaged 45 goals a season. He currently has 42 goals this season and we are still only in February!

One Hundred Club

Mario Gomez has been a consistent goalscorer for a long time now, averaging a goal every 1.4 games for the last 6 seasons. Gomez has scored goals at both Stuttgart and Bayern, and has 21 goals for Germany in 50 appearances.

Atletico Madrid's Falcao has scored 107 goals over the past 4 seasons. His 16 goals for River Plate in 2008/09 maybe stretch the rules of this European centric list a little, but during his 3 seasons in Europe his goalscoring record has been devastatingly good. In 87 appearances for Porto, Falcao scored an astonishing 72 goals.

Luis Suarez has been vitally important for Liverpool since he joined in January 2011, even though he has only scored 14 goals for the club so far. Suarez made his name as a goalscorer in Holland, and in the 2009/10 season he scored an amazing 49 goals in 48 games for Ajax.

Hotshots

The players here specialise in goals. Over the past 4 seasons they have consistently scored goals at some of Europe's biggest clubs.

Incidentally, just missing out on this list is Aston Villa's Darren Bent, who has scored an impressive 72 goals over the past 4 seasons. Generally under-appreciated by fans in England, Bent has scored more goals in the past 4 years than Didier Drogba (70), Klass-Jan Huntelaar (70) and Giuseppe Rossi (69).

Some names are expected, but others are missing entirely. Certain top players at big clubs have figures which don't compare well with the players above. In the Premier League Dimitar Berbatov and Fernando Torres have scored 56 and 53 goals respectively. Also surprising are the totals of Alexandre Pato (52) and Robinho (50).

Bayern Munich 2-0 Manchester City - Germans pass their test

On Tuesday night Bayern Munich beat big spending Manchester City at the Allianz Arena by a surprisingly comfortable 2-0 scoreline. City started well, and while the first 30 minutes were relatively even, two goals from Mario Gomez before half-time sealed the victory. In the second half Man City didn’t put up much of a fight, and with Tevez refusing to come on as a substitute with around 30 minutes still to play, it was a poor night for Mancini’s men.

Manchester City found it difficult to retain possession at crucial times in the game, and Bayern never let them rest, unleashing 24 shots at City’s goal. Joe Hart had an excellent game, but was visibly angry with his defence, who stood almost completely still for both of Bayern’s goals. City struggled to get the ball forward, which meant that Aguero and Dzeko failed to make much of an impact on the match. David Silva was not able to have as much an impact on proceedings as usual, but he was still City’s most dangerous player. Silva completed more passes in the final third than any other City player, creating 3 chances.

David Silva’s commitment to the team couldn't be questioned either. Silva made more tackles than any other Manchester City player, but also committed the most fouls.

Bayern Munich bossed the majority of this match and Manchester City really struggled throughout to deal with Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Ribery was a handful all night for Micah Richards and anyone else who came across to cover. Ribery made more attacking third passes and created more chances than anyone else on the pitch. The Frenchman, who was taking on defenders all night long, was also fouled more than anyone else.

Schweinsteiger and Ribery had a combined 9 shots at goal - the same as the entire Manchester City team.

Mario Gomez once again showed his predatory striking skills, scoring both goals from rebounds off the goalkeeper, in fact all 6 of Gomez’s shots were from inside the penalty area.

Bayern extended their amazing win and clean sheet run to 10 matches. This was meant to be a first real test for both sides, and it was Bayern Munich who passed quite comfortably.

Chalkboards created using the excellent Stats Zone iPhone App from FourFourTwo and Opta - http://fourfourtwo.com/statszone/