This is the final player poll in the "greatest ever" sequence, and it is a good one to finish with. I don't believe there is any player head and shoulders above the rest, but some incredible players all the same.
Hush Teso, don't be ruud For most of these, given the choices provided, I've gone with a best available upon first glance...without regard to overall team make-up. However, for this choice I'm leaning towards not picking who I think is the best pure centerforward, but instead one who has the the quickness of thought, the speed, the versatility and improvisational ability to play the final leg of a three legged attack that includes Maradona and Pele.
Tough poll. So many players with different characteristics. How do you possibly compare, for example, a Romario to a Muller? Great ball control and creativity or clinical effectiveness? Impossible. Anyway, it was very tough to pick from that group, but my top three, in order: Puskas, Eusebio, Muller.
Van Basten for me. Shame his career was shortened by injuries. Oh well, I guess he'll just have to win the world cup as a manager.
No question about it, Ger Muller without a doubt, nnot only has he accomplished more than any other player on this poll he simply scored more goals than all of them. On a side note, I don't think its fair to compare Muller to Ronaldo, The Brazilian is nowhere near Muller's status.
I believe Puskas and Romario may actually have scored more goals than Mueller. On the other hand, IIRC Mueller is still the all-time leading scorer in european club competitions and the all-time leading scorer at World Cups.
http://www.rsssf.com/players/players-in-ec.html#goals He is indeed, although there are a few players with a good shot at breaking the record (Van Nistelrooy, Shevchenko, Henry and Raul) - of those Van Nistelrooy's goal per game ratio is the only one comparable to Muller's (Van Nistelrooy 0.86 goals/game, Muller 0.89).
I think Uwe Seeler should have been included in this poll. I would have swapped him with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who could have been placed in the right wings poll (although Rummenigge was very versatile, that was the position he played the most). Uwe Seeler played in four World Cups (1958-70), scored in each one of them (only Pelé accomplished that), played for West Germany from 1954 to 1970 and for many years was the player with the most World Cups games under his belt (21).
Without a doubt it is Gerd Muller. The job of every striker is simple, score goals. Nobody has ever done it better and more than Gerd Muller at the highest level. Many strikers have scored more spectacular goals than Muller but in the end they all count the same.
müller is one of only 4 players worldwide with more than 25 goals in caps since WW2 where has a GPG ratio above 1.00 (1.10...68 goals in 62 games)....the other players are fontane,nordahl,kocsis.............. in his career he never did loose a final with bayern munich or the german nationalteam..... 4 german cup finals 4 wins 5 europeancup finals 4 wins,1 draw.... 1 worldcup final win 1 europeanchampionship win... in qualifycation and worldcupgames for worldcup 1970 he has scored goals in 11 straight games for team germany,in his last game for wc 1970 he has assistet the gamewinner for the third place match..., so he had a perfect goals/assist streak in all 12 possible games ...in 8 of this 12 games he has scored the gamewinner...
Well, I would;ve waited till Ronaldo broke his record, but that won't happen till next year and the poll is on now.
Hahahaaa!!!! A two-time world champion (one golden all, one golden boot), three-time world player of the year, two-time Copa America winner is nowhere near Muller's status...now that is FUNNY enough to be prodromal of a hysterical laughter.
Yea, is it just fashionable to be melancholic and not select active players? I can't get my head around how Van Basten can be ahead of Ronaldo in this poll. Muller or Puskas I can understand, but Van Basten? All the Dutch must have come out to vote.
Ronaldo's individual awards as well as his outstanding achievements with Brazil probably qualify him to be very seriously considered to be the best striker of all time. However, the question is if Ronaldo's record in club competions isn't perhaps too poor -- compared to somebody like Mueller's -- to be the best. IIRC Ronaldo has never won the European Champions League/Cup, and his strike rate in european competition is not all that outstanding either. Moreover, it would seem that Ronaldo has won only one league title in his entire career. So while it's certainly an exxageration to say he is "nowhere" near Mueller I can well see why somebody mightn't be all that impressed by Ronaldo's entire record despite the outstanding achievemts you cited.
From the Stats alone I would have voted for 'der Bomber'. But as I've said already, I wouldn't vote in these polls I've never seen Puskas Play, how can I rate him compared to someone whome I have seen play. Ronaldo pre-injuries has Amazing though, What a pity.. he's still a good striker still but never on that same level.
When it comes to Football, I prefer some qualitative analysis, not just quantitative analysis. Being a fan of the jogo bonito I initially selected the following players from the list as potential contenders for the title of the Greatest Striker Ever: Puskas, Eusebio, Ronaldo, Romario and Van Basten (admittedly, I haven’t seen enough of Leonidas and some of the other players on the list). From this list of five great players, it is still relatively easy to dismiss Van Basten, but how the hell would one decide between Puskas, Eusebio, Ronaldo and Romario? Corpulent Puskas would not be suited for today’s game? Being confronted with this perplexing predicament, I decided to base my judgement on the peak performance achieved by each. Based on such (and personal triumphs) Ronaldo assumes top spot rather easily.
Van Basten had a _fabulous_ club career. Much better than Ronaldo's. On the other hand, Van Basten's national team career was less great. His strike rate of 24 goals in 58 matches is not all that outstanding, for once. And while he played great at Euro 88 he -- and the Netherlands -- disappointed at the World Cup 1990, failing to win a single game despite having a great team on paper. Personally, I would be rather uncomfortable to say that a striker who never won a game and never scored a goal at the World Cup is the greatest striker of all time.