Total Football Magazine's Top 100 Strikers, December 2000. Just over a quarter of the selections are from the British Isles. Van Basten Pele Eusebio Puskas Muller Dean Di Stefano Greaves Romario John Charles McGrory Friedenreich Law Bloomer Maradona Cruyff Weah Lineker Ronaldo Rush Dalglish Kocsis Fontaine Riva Vava Best Hidegkuti Zico Kopa Sivori Binder Rummenigge Albert Hugo Sanchez Shearer Kubala Lawton Klinsmann Bastin Jairzinho Lofthouse Gento Hughie Gallacher Meazza Keegan Krankl Roberto Baggio Ian Wright Hurst Lato Batistuta Rossi Papin Francescoli Bettega Bebeto Schiaffino Kempes Careca Sindelar Cantona Milburn Stoichkov Tostao Kluivert Drake Mancini Butragueno Simonsen Cubillas Tommy Taylor Bergkamp Salas Seeler Vialli Blokhin Nordahl Brian Clough Ademir Suker Moreno Yekini McCoist Shevchenko Mortensen McPhail Caniggia Boniperti Aldridge Artime Vieri Boksic Amarildo Milla Leonidas Michael Laudrup Hakan Sukur Crespo Schillachi Zamorano
@peterhrt Interesting. I assume they gave a clarification and stated that they merely wanted to assess someone's capacity to play as a striker? Was it also said who made it or some other clarifying info? They do get it right that Kopa, Laudrup, Francescoli could fill in the striker role in their own way (center forward position). And yes, even Baggio played there sometimes without a striking partner as Vialli. (in the meantime I haven't found something by Guerin Sportivo magazine for specific years or period of years, in the sense of Rothmans yearbook like voting - other than that 1995 booklet where they had organized something) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Football_(magazine) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lad_culture
There were three criteria stated. Must have played as a striker, scored lots of goals, and should have performed at the highest level. Players who spent part of their career in deeper positions are penalised. The list is described as the hundred best "goal-grabbers". Features editor Alex Murphy provides the words. The selectors were the magazine's staff. General editor was Gary Tipp. There are a few brief quoted tributes from other players. Lineker and Weah support van Basten. Cruyff describes Romario as "the only player I know who can dribble within a square metre." Greaves's favourite player was Law.
Another possible idea I might have on this, is perhaps in his prime he concentrated a bit less on his passing than by about 98 (in his WC appearances too, his focus on using vision and clever passing is evident I think), due to lesser individualistic capabilities when older (not ball striking perhaps but in terms of moving with and off the ball etc). Puck said Del Piero was a player of moments recently I remember, and maybe in a sense prime Baggio was similar (also trying things off the cuff can be low percentage in terms of success but can pay off spectacularly on occasions). This video maybe gives that impression for example (vs Portugal 1993): But maybe the games vs Parma in 93/94 and 94/95, more as designated provider perhaps, seem different (also on Youtube) in that respect. Maybe journalists would factor in passing success % etc in effect even in those days before the stats became prominent. Consistency varying depending on it can be feasible too I guess. Without checking stats, I think this can apply today to someone like Alexis Sanchez maybe for example, even when scoring and pre-assisting like last night. On topic his free-kick goal did seem quite Baggio-esque to me btw! There is a nice video of Fiorentina Baggio vs Milan uploaded recently I noticed too btw.
Although, specifically on Asprilla I would have thought he was a typical moments/unpredictable type player actually!
Making other posts featuring Henning Berg, I've checked his DBS Calcio ratings and see interestingly in his final season in 02/03, his 6.59 would put him in as 2nd defender and 9th overall over his 16 games. I think it's probably correct and/or consistent enough with what I did before (picking out the really stand-out ratings, at or near the top, for those with under 50% of games played) in terms of including players in the lists for each season, to not adjust that season to put Berg in but I thought it was notable enough to mention anyway (probably a bit surprising to me too, given I was just posting about him being at his peak in his first Blackburn spell lol!).
I was looking at whether Gazzetta's ratings tend to match my own impression and I see that the top rated players are this time attackers. Only 15+ rated games: Belotti (Torino) 6.97 Mertens (Napoli) 6.95 Alejandro Gomez (Atalanta) 6.89 Dybala (Juventus) 6.85 Insigne (Napoli) 6.82 Dzeko (Roma) 6.75 Immobile (Lazio) 6.69 Nainggolan (Roma) 6.66 Bernardeschi (Fiorentina) 6.65 Donnarumma (Milan) 6.64 Higuain (Juventus) 6.59 Kessie (Atalanta) 6.58 This is pretty remarkable in comparison to the past where goalkeepers, defenders and to a lesser extent midfielders stood out.
1-Lionel Messi 2-Diego Maradona 3-Johan Cruyff 4-Pele 5-Alfredo Di Stefano 6-Franz Beckenbauer 7-Zico 8-Michel Platini 9-Ferenc Puskas 10-Zinedine Zidane 11-Michael Laudrup 12-Ronaldinho 13-Giuseppe Meazza 14-Lothar Matthaus 15-Garrincha 16-Gianni Rivera 17-George Best 18-Marco Van Basten 19-Romario 20-Cristiano Ronaldo 21-Luis Miramontes Suarez 22-Gerd Muller 23-Eusebio 24-Bobby Charlton 25-Franco Baresi 26-Matthias Sindelar 27-Didi 28-Paolo Maldini 29-Lev Yashin 30-Roberto Rivelino 31-Sandor Kocsis 32-Ruud Gullit 33-Jose Manuel Moreno 34-Raymond Kopa 35-Zizinho 36-Stanley Matthews 37-Karl Heinz Rummenigge 38-Juan Alberto Schiaffino 39-Daniel Passarella 40-Ernst Ocwirk 41-Joszef Bozsik 42-Roberto Baggio 43-Paulo Roberto Falcao 44-Frank Rijkaard 45-Dino Zoff 46-Gyorgy Sarosi 47-Gaetano Scirea 48-Peter Schmeichel 49-Josef Bican 50-Bobby Moore 51-Fritz Walter 52-Gianluigi Buffon 53-Uwe Seeler 54-Rivaldo 55-Andres Iniesta 56-Jairzinho 57-Nils Liedholm 58-Dennis Bergkamp 59-Laszlo Kubala 60-Adolfo Pedernera 61-Giacinto Facchetti 62-Thierry Henry 63-Xavi 64-Dragan Dzajic 65-Luis Figo 66-Elias Figueroa 67-Teofilo Cubillas 68-Jose Lenadro Andrade 69-Gunter Netzer 70-Ademir Menezes 71-Gunnar Nordahl 72-Bernard Vukas 73-Willem Van Hanegem 74-Sandro Mazzola 75-Nilton Santos 76-Omar Sivori 77-Francisco Gento 78-Paul Braitner 79-Enzo Francescoli 80-Florian Albert 81-Johan Neeskens 82-Francesco Totti 83-Pavel Nedved 84-Gheorghe Hagi 85-Luis Monti 86-Hector Chumpitaz 87-Julinho 88-Steven Gerrard 89-Zbigniew Boniek 90-Ruud Krol 91-Nandor Hidegkuti 92-Josef Masopust 93-Kenny Dalglish 94-Hristo Stoichkov 95-Hector Scarone 96-Manuel Neuer 97-Gabriel Batistuta 98-Kurt Hamrin 99-Lilian Thuram 100-Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Going back to Premier League ratings on DBS Calcio, here are this season's (I'll check all the squads to make sure no others should be inserted, due to late arrivals or whatever meaning they didn't appear on the results page then if necessary I'll edit/correct this).... *As with other seasons, actual rating shown first and then adjusted rating standardised against overall top 20 averages - albeit in this case they are the same anyway! 2016/17 Eden Hazard (7.00, 7.00) - top rated attacker Sadio Mane (6.83, 6.83) - 2nd rated attacker N'Golo Kante (6.81, 6.81) - top rated midfielder Harry Kane (6.77, 6.77) Diego Costa (6.72, 6.72) Jordan Henderson (6.70, 6.70) - 2nd rated midfielder Dele Alli (6.66, 6.66) Adam Lallana (6.64, 6.64) Raheem Sterling (6.64, 6.64) David Silva (6.62, 6.62) Leroy Sane (6.62, 6.62) Tom Davies (6.60, 6.60) Alexis Sanchez (6.58, 6.58) Philippe Coutinho (6.56, 6.56) Christian Eriksen (6.55, 6.55) Roberto Firmino (6.55, 6.55) Kevin De Bruyne (6.54, 6.54) Sergio Aguero (6.50, 6.50) Georginho Wijnaldum (6.50, 6.50) Seamus Coleman (6.49, 6.49) - top rated defender * 2nd rated defender was Joel Matip (6.47, 6.47) * Top rated GK was Eldin Jakupovic (6.44, 6.44) * 2nd rated GK was Tom Heaton (6.42, 6.42) My own idea about Hazard has on balance stayed similar, but he does have an FA Cup Final to play (I'd be considering all competitions rather than just Premier League like the ratings do). Probably the next 3 I might pick myself might actually be Eriksen, Sanchez and Kante (could even be in that order, although just as easlly the opposite probably and so again the FA Cup Final could easily change my idea there too). So that would leave Hazard (who had a mixed end bar the cup final I think - at times dipping a bit below his previous standard but still adding some more quality moments to his cumulative seasons play) somewhere in the top 40 re: my own idea for PL history. But I'll see where his 7.00 rating puts him according to the ratings since 94/95, after checking like I say that for example Jesus shouldn't be in that list of 20 players above if being consistent with adding players with part seasons and enough games/high enough ratings to be right in the mix near the top.
No, Sakho (Crystal Palace), Jesus, Kompany, Cazorla, Fabregas, Rose & Schneiderlin all have averages to make the top 20, but have only 7-10 registered games or have getting nearer to 20 but would only just squeeze in anyway. So I think it's consistent with what I did before for other years to leave that 2016/17 list unchanged.
Copy and paste of post 628, inserting Hazard 2016/17.... Top 20 adjusted ratings for Premier League excluding the first two seasons (50% rated games required) 1 - Luis Suarez (Liverpool/Uruguay) - 2013/14 - 7.21 2 - Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal/Spain) - 2009/10 - 7.20 3= Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) - 2005/06 - 7.12 3= Frank Lampard (Chelsea/England) - 2009/10 - 7.12 5= Juan Mata (Chelsea/Spain) - 2012/13 - 7.08 5= Jamie Vardy (Leicester/England) - 2015/16 - 7.08 7= Robert Pires (Arsenal/France) - 2001/02 - 7.06 7= Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Portugal) - 2006/07 - 7.06 9= Keith Gillespie (Newcastle/Northern Ireland) - 1997/98 - 7.04 9= Wayne Rooney (Manchester United/England) - 2009/10 - 7.04 12= Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) - 2003/04 - 7.02 12= Yohann Cabaye (Newcastle/France) - 2013/14 - 7.02 13= Patrick Vieira (Arsenal/France) - 2002/03 - 7.00 13= Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Belgium) - 2016/17 - 7.00 15= Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) - 2008/09 - 6.99 15= Didier Drogba (Chelsea/Ivory Coast) - 2009/10 - 6.99 17= Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal/Netherlands) - 1997/98 - 6.97 17= Riyad Mahrez (Leicester/Algeria) - 2015/16 - 6.97 19= Phillipe Albert (Newcastle/Belgium) - 1995/96 - 6.95 19= Thomas Gravesen (Everton/Denmark) - 2004/05 - 6.95 19= Luis Suarez (Liverpool/Uruguay) - 2012/13 - 6.95
And here is this one again too, updated: Top 20 actual ratings for the Premier League excluding the first two seasons and the two outliers (60% rated games required) 1= Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) - 2005/06 - 7.09 1= Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Portugal) - 2006/07 - 7.09 1= Juan Mata (Chelsea/Spain) - 2012/13 - 7.09 4 - Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) - 2003/04 - 7.06 5 - Robert Pires (Arsenal/France) - 2001/02 - 7.05 6 - Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England) - 2008/09 - 7.04 7 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester/England) - 2015/16 - 7.03 8 - Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Belgium) - 2016/17 - 7.00 9 - Patrick Vieira (Arsenal/France) - 2002/03 - 6.97 10 - Luis Suarez (Liverpool/Uruguay) - 2012/13 - 6.96 11= Thierry Henry (Arsenal/France) - 2003/04 - 6.95 11= Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Portugal) - 2007/08 - 6.95 11= Sergio Aguero (Manchester City/Argentina) - 2011/12 - 6.95 14= Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal/Netherlands) - 1997/98 - 6.94 14= Wayne Rooney (Manchester United/England) - 2007/08 - 6.94 16 - Thomas Gravesen (Everton/Denmark) - 2004/05 - 6.93 17= Sasa Curcic (Bolton/Yugoslavia) - 1995/96 - 6.92 17= Mikel Arteta (Everton/Spain) - 2006/07 - 6.92 17= Riyad Mahrez (Leicester/Algeria) - 2015/16 - 6.92 20 - Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers/England) - 1995/96 - 6.89
Jamie Vardy so high is in more than one way surprising given the type of player he was. Take for example Cristiano Ronaldo. 2006-07 is rated way higher as his 2007-08 incarnation.
Yes, Shearer is perhaps the closest comparison in role making the list but interestingly is behind also with adjusted method (maybe the adjustments still don't equalise the rating standards though - 15/16 was a season in the period after the PL fell off a bit ofc, but 94/95 and 95/96 would be deemed pre peak also).
Yeah, I'm confused as to why his 2007-2008 is not ranked appropriately in this methodology when its arguably the best individual season from an EPL player ever...
Maybe the same could be said about Thierry Henry 03/04 or Bergkamp 97/98 for example! I think you probably know Benficafan but just to confirm those numbers are compiled from average ratings handed out after each match of the season by a few English publications. The publications and even the standards applied could vary from year to year or certainly period to period I guess, so that's what the adjusted method calculations were all about (trying to eliminate that - although really they still only factor in how the ratings compare to others from the same season, and some seasons might well claim more top level performers than others). I did find it a bit surprising Rooney was so close to him in 07/08 though to be honest (I think there were at times mixed reviews/opinions about Rooney during that season, although clearly he was also a key part of the attack).
Not what the thread is about, but Dutch mag Voetbal claims these are the best players of all time: 1 Messi 2 Maradona 3 Cruyff 4 Pele 5 Di Stefano I like their list a lot. http://futbol.as.com/futbol/2017/06/08/primera/1496938253_592555.html
@PDG1978 asked me to post VIs top 100 all time. Actually the articles in there and the survey around other continents are more interesting than the list itself.... Including an article on "is Cruijff overrated?". In there also the Uruguayan Andreas Camponar (author of 'Golazo! a history of latin american football') who has him comically as only European in the top 10 (on number two). "Whether Cruijff is overrated? What a ridiculous question. No, he is more often than not underrated! People forget how good he actually was. He did it his own way and stayed true to his beliefs." Also what Fiorentino Perez thinks and expressed in the Spanish media as one of the handful "ultimate tests" they used. Hmmmm difficult to think of an appropriate place for all of this (article on 'the unfortunates', 'the ideal player' with the joy assigned to Pelé, lungs to Kante, left hand of Maradona, right hand of Maradona, charisma to Zlatan etc.). Maybe later, when the thing is out of print. I like those articles and boxes more than the actual list. "The Brazilians let us know they tend to fill their top 20 with 15 Brazilians; a realization that shame for our own subjectivity is misplaced." The current chief editor prefers Maradona (the previous one was devotee of George Best). "It costs me an effort to accept that Lionel Messi is better than Diego Maradona. Only my head can accept this conclusion. [...] To compare different eras is not really appropriate and yet we do, but keep this in the back of your head. [...] Discussions about who is the best ever are always aligned along the same poor and sound arguments." He separates Maradona, Messi, Cruijff, Pelé and Di Stefano from the rest. Here is their subjective top 100. 100. Cantona 99. Stoichkov 98. Matthaus 97. Van der Sar 96. Neymar 95. Leonidas 94: Preud'homme 93. Van Hanegem 92. Facchetti 91. Giggs 90. Krol 89. Hugo Sanchez 88. Robben 87. Luigi Riva 86. Paolo Falcao 85. Fontaine 84. Rijkaard 83. Dzajic 82. Hagi 81. Denis Law 80. Sivori 79. Jose Andrade 78. Duncan Edwards 77. Masopust 76. Allan Simonsen 75. Bergkamp 74. Sandro Mazzola 73. Florian Albert 72. Teofilo Cubillas 71. Jimmy Johnstone 70. Neeskens 69. Gerson 68. Banks 67. Dixie Dean 66. Schmeichel 65. Keegan 64. Pedernera 63. Passarella 62. Rummenigge 61. Zoff 60. Nordahl 59. Jairzinho 58. Scirea 57. Roberto Baggio 56. Roberto Carlos 54 (joint). Iniesta 54 (joint). Xavi 53. Nilton Santos 52. Rivellino 51. Laudrup 50. Schiaffino 49. Blokhin 48. Kempes 47. Didi 46. Thierry Henry 45. Sindelar 44. Walter 43. Baresi 42. Maldini (yes, intentionally one spot higher) 41. Gianluigi Buffon 40. Dalglish 39. Djalma Santos 38. Hidegkuti 37. Neuer 36. Rivera 35. Gullit 34. Luis Suarez (Spain) 33. Gento 32. Matthews 31. Ibrahimovic 30. Netzer 29. Paolo Rossi 28. Kopa 27. Moreno 26. Socrates 25. Moore 24. Valentino Mazzola 23. Eusebio 22. Carlos Alberto 21. Giuseppe Meazza 20. Charlton 19. Yashin 18. G. Muller 17. Ronaldinho 16. Platini 15. Zico (Zico > Platini not without debate in the mag) 14. Puskas 13. Romario 12. Best 11. Garrincha 10. Van Basten 9. Beckenbauer 8. Zidane 7. Cristiano Ronaldo 6. Ronaldo ("he was really better than Zidane") 5. Di Stefano 4. Pelé 3. Cruijff 2. Maradona 1. Messi
Don't know the specifics of their reasons nor the panel of voters but they decided to rank the best in chronological order from newest star to oldest legend. Surprisingly Christiano Ronaldo, probably the eventual ballon d'Or winner this year which would level him with Messi, does not make the top 5. Also surprising to see how the first place chosen player gets the nod over most of the others which were artífices in major national team titles. I can't recall a top 10 legend losing in 4 major finals (being heavy favorite in 3 of those 4) for his country and considered the greatest of all time.
Althought it is refreshing to see someone new crack into a top 5, it does beg some serious questions: If Cristiano Ronaldo lands his 5th ballon d'Or this year, how is it possible that there is such a distance between him at 7th and Messi at number one? How is it possible that the greatest ever on this list can go 0 for 4 in major national team finals (being favorite in 3 out of 4) when this never was an issue with the other top 10 on this list? What made Di Stefano categorically so superior to Moreno or Pedernera? Playing in Europe is my only guess... How can Rummenigge be at number 62 and Zico and Platini in the top 20 when Rummenigge was at certain stages considered better then them ? Why such disparity if Rummenigge himself was a contender for the world throne with Maradona in the early 1980s ? How is it also possible that Blokhin be rated higher when in their era Blokhin had really no edge over the German ? The Argentine turned Italian, Sivori, is rated in this list but for old timers and experts of Argentina they would never have him above Antonio Sastre, a player that could perform multitasks over the field and rated as one of the top 5 all time in Argentina by el gráfico in 1980. But Sastre is not even mentioned. Evidently his move to Europe propelled him to make this list. The Brazilian Ronaldo was a prodigious footballer from an early age and for a brief period of time in the mid to late 90s was one of the most sensational things we had seen in the modern era but injuries and other issues derailed his career, so how is it possible he finished at number 6 over other all time greats that had a more successful and consistent career spanning 20 years ? How is it possible that Ronaldinho made this list but the partner in crime of Ronaldo that helped win titles for Brazil is not mentioned? I'm talking about Rivaldo... a player that was more influential for Brazil than Ronaldinho ever was. The same for Romario, without Bebeto I doubt he wins CA 89 or WC 94, but Bebeto is not mentioned. Was there such a disparity between Van Basten and Gullit ? I think not. Gullit in the late 1980s was fighting Maradona for the world throne with Van Basten in the mix. If Van Basten was the complete forward, Ruud was the total footballer. Which brings me to question why is Socrates higher rated than Gullit? Socrates had difficulties in adapting in Italy while Gullit became a sensation in his first season for AC Milan and wrestled the title away from Maradona in 1988 and entered World Cup 90 as one of the top two in the world in many people's minds. When was Socrates ever considered in such class throughout the 1980s? Gullit was part of the only title the Netherlands ever won while Socrates failed with a star studded Brazil in multiple tournaments. So why rated higher? And there are other questions marks. In the end it's a flawed list that only adds the element of surprise in revoking the usual number one spot with a current modern player. The top 5 are practically assigned in chronological order by newest star to oldest legend.
Oh no, dont burst my bubble! Chronological?! I was just happy a respectable source ranked Maradona above Pele, hahaha. Anyways, how many of those top 10 legends reached four major country level finals, three of them consecutive? Some credit there too.
That are some good questions and for many of them there are hints or outright answers in the magazine (without adverts some 150 pages). I'll try to come back to this when it is out of print. For Ronaldo at #6 it was a major consideration that - in the view of some of the editors - he was really that good as a teenager (plus, he was injured at 1995CA) and for a while put in that 'best ever' bracket, since television started. I actually agree with them that Ronaldo is the #2 Brazilian ever and not Zico or Garrincha. I'll try to put all those names in the 'right' era, which is perhaps more insightful than the whole top 100 itself.
1920 - 1930 79. Jose Andrade 1925 - 1935 45. Sindelar 67. Dixie Dean 1930 - 1940 21. Giuseppe Meazza 1935 - 1945 27. Moreno 95. Leonidas 1940 - 1950 24. Valentino Mazzola 32. Matthews 64. Pedernera 1945 - 1955 38. Hidegkuti 44. Walter 60. Nordahl 1950 - 1960 5. Di Stefano 14. Puskas 28. Kopa 39. Djalma Santos 47. Didi 50. Schiaffino 53. Nilton Santos 85. Fontaine 1955 - 1965 11. Garrincha 19. Yashin 33. Gento 34. Luis Suarez 77. Masopust 78. Duncan Edwards 80. Sivori 1960 - 1970 4. Pelé 20. Charlton 23. Eusebio 25. Moore 36. Rivera 68. Banks 69. Gerson 73. Florian Albert 81. Denis Law 1965 - 1975 3. Cruijff 9. Beckenbauer 12. Best 18. G. Muller 22. Carlos Alberto 30. Netzer 59. Jairzinho 71. Jimmy Johnstone 74. Sandro Mazzola 83. Dzajic 87. Luigi Riva 92. Facchetti 93. Van Hanegem 1970 - 1980 49. Blokhin 52. Rivellino 61. Zoff 70. Neeskens 72. Teofilo Cubillas 1975 - 1985 15. Zico 16. Platini 26. Socrates 29. Paolo Rossi 40. Dalglish 48. Kempes 58. Scirea 62. Rummenigge 63. Passarella 65. Keegan 76. Allan Simonsen 86. Paolo Falcao 90. Krol 1980 - 1990 2. Maradona 43. Baresi 89. Hugo Sanchez 1985 - 1995 10. Van Basten 35. Gullit 51. Laudrup 84. Rijkaard 94. Preud'homme 98. Matthaus 99. Stoichkov 1990 - 2000 13. Romario 42. Maldini 57. Roberto Baggio 66. Schmeichel 75. Bergkamp 82. Hagi 100. Cantona 1995 - 2005 6. Ronaldo 8. Zidane 56. Roberto Carlos 91. Giggs 97. Van der Sar 2000 - 2010 17. Ronaldinho 41. Gianluigi Buffon 46. Thierry Henry 2005 - 2015 1. Messi 7. Cristiano Ronaldo 31. Ibrahimovic 54 (joint). Iniesta 54 (joint). Xavi 88. Robben 2010 - 2020 37. Neuer 96. Neymar Feedback on this is welcome. I realize that some players can be shifted to other periods. Keegan and Simonsen can be to 1970 - 1980 too for example, and Blokhin might move to 1975 - 1985. That would go against the textual description by the magazine and funnily some major achievements by him took even place in 1986 and 1987... (#2 in the 1986-87 EC topscorer list). Seen in this way it looks a lot better (imho). 1990 to 2000 and 2000 to 2010 are difficult periods (in part because of rule changes, major structural changes and big alterations in competition set-up) and although they have the order maybe a bit different, they select more or less the same names as a few posters managed to do for these periods. Ibrahimovic at #3 for the 2005 - 2015 period is very well defensible, but not without detractors (similar to Paolo Rossi but good that they challenge the "widespread one month wonder myth").