It was certainly weather for ducks when Fernando Torres finally broke his goal drought.
In pouring rain on a pitch more suited for water polo Torres scored his first ever goal for Chelsea.
The £50 million man danced through the West Ham defense, made a pirouette worthy of Swan Lake, and then steered the ball past West Ham goalkeeper Rob Green.
Chelsea were clinging on to a 1-0 lead, courtesy of Frank Lampard, when Torres came on as a substitute in the 77th minute. Seven minutes later Torres made the run through the West Ham defense, played through by Nicolas Anelka. Any football fan, not only the Chelsea supporters, would have enjoyed Torres’ delight in displaying he still has his magic touch. Into injury time, seven minutes later, Torres made the assist when Florent Malouda made it 3-0 for Chelsea.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Welsh winger, Gareth Bale, has been named PFA Players’ Player of the Year.
The award has been presented since the 1973/74 season and Bale is the fourth Spurs player to win it (after Pat Jennings 1975/76, Clive Allen 1986/87 and David Ginola 1998/99). This particular award is highly regarded as it is chosen by the fellow players of the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association). Another top award is the FWA Footballer of the Year (picked by the Football Writers’ Association). That award has been running since 1947/48 and had Wayne Rooney as last season’s winner. Rooney also won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year last season.
Gareth Bale won this season’s award ahead of Arsenal’s Samir Nasri and Manchester City’s Carlos Tévez. Other nominees were Blackpool’s Charlie Adam, West Ham’s Scott Parker, Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidić and Bale’s fellow Hotspur Rafael Van der Vaart.
Bale is also the fourth Welshman to be honoured with the award, after Ian Rush, Mark Hughes and Ryan Giggs. At the ceremony Gareth Bale said; “It is not just for me, it is for all my team-mates that have helped me through the season”.
PFA Young Player of the Year is Jack Wilshere of Arsenal.
Premier League Team of the Year:
Van der Sar (Man Utd), Sagna (Arsenal), Cole (Chelsea), Vidic (Man Utd), Kompany (Man City), Nani (Man Utd), Nasri (Arsenal), Wilshere (Arsenal), Bale (Tottenham), Tevez (Man City), Berbatov (Man Utd).
Tottenham Hotspur travel to Estadio Santiago Bernabéu for the first leg of the QF against Real Madrid on Tuesday. The spaniards have won the Champions League a record nine times but this is the first time in 7 years that they have reached the last eight. Tottenham last played in the competition in the 1961/62 season. (They were knocked out in the semi-finals by Benfica, who went on to beat Real Madrid in the final.) Both teams struggle with some injuries but Tottenham look likely to have Gareth Bale available and Real Madrid will have Gonzalo Higuaín and possibly Christiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema back. They are unlikely to have Marcelo back, while Spurs are likely to miss the experienced William Gallas in central defense.
Tottenham and Real Madrid have met once before in a European competition. Tottenham were the defending champions in the 1984/85 UEFA Cup and met Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. In the home leg at White Hart Lane Tottenham lost 0-1 after an own goal by captain Steve Perryman. The return leg at Bernabéu ended 0-0 and with Perryman sent off with a red card. Real Madrid went on to win the UEFA Cup title (beating Internazionale in the semis and Hungarian side Videoton in the final).
The other match Tuesday night have Internazionale kick off at San Siro against Schalke 04. The defending champions just lost to their archrivals AC Milan in the Italian Serie A and have to concede that they can’t catch them in the title race. Internazionale have on the other hand found new hope in the Champions League. Schalke 04 haven’t had a good season in the German Bundesliga and might struggle to fight off the Italian champions with an in-form Samuel Eto’o on top. Schalke will be without Mario Gavranović and midfielder Peer Kluge due to injuries, while Cristoph Metzelder might play despite having suffered a broken nose. Their Spaniard Raúl González (ex Real Madrid) will be looking to add to his tally as all-time top scorer (70 goals) in the Champions League.
On Wednesday night Chelsea will host Manchester United in an all-English quarter-final. Three years ago these two teams met in the Champions League final, with many of today’s players also featuring then. After ordinarie time they were stalled at 1-1, after goals from Christiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard. In extra time Didier Drogba was sent off and Manchester United went on to win 6-5 in the penalty shoot-out.
Manchester United beat Chelsea at the opening of this season in the Community Shield match at Wembley. Recently Chelsea beat United at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. However United have so much striking power that they would be regarded as narrow favourites, with Rooney and Hernandez in form and the likes of Berbatov and Nani there to contribute as well. Chelsea fans would hope this to be the right timing for Fernando Torres to show his worth, since the £50 million move from Liverpool.
Last but not least Barcelona take on Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk. Barcelona are by all means the popular favourite to win the Champions League, like they did in 2009, 2006 and 1992.
Barcelona have an exceptional squad, fronted by Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Villa but Shakhtar have proved a difficult team to deal with, especially in Ukraine. They have shown signs of making a mark in European football for a few years, winning the UEFA Cup in 2009. Not only do they have several of Ukraine’s best talents, they also have half a dozen Brazilian players including Willian, the Brazilian-born Croatian Eduardo (ex-Arsenal) and the Croatian captain Darijo Srna. In fact in the 2008/09 group stages Shakhtar beat Barcelona 3-2 at home (and lost 1-2 away) but failed to qualify for the last 16 and instead had to continue in the UEFA Cup. Barcelona went on to win the Champions League while Shakhtar went on to win the UEFA Cup. They then met again in the European Super Cup, which Barcelona eventually won 1-0.
Again Barcelona are huge favourites but still can’t take anything for granted. The expected semi-finals would be Barcelona – Real Madrid and Internazionale – Manchester United. However Shakhtar, Tottenham, Schalke and Chelsea will all do their best to upset the favoured four.
This is Soccer Photos Base’s overview of all the players who have scored 40 or more goals.
Please notice: This is at present the only correct published statistic. Other publications, like Wikipedia, have so far been found to be incorrect/incomplete.
UPDATED: 4 FEBRUARY 2012
Robbie Keane has added two more goals to his tally, in Ireland’s play-off match for Euro 2012 away against Estonia. Ireland won 4-0 and secured qualification to the tournament. Keane has now reached 53 international goals.
Eight currently active players are in this list of players with 40 or more international goals.
35 year old Stern John is in 7th place with an amazing 70 goals for Trinidad & Tobago, while Landon Donovan and Andriy Shevchenko both have 46 goals and Carlos Ruiz has 45 goals.
In between the latter three and Stern John are four players in tough competition climbing the list: Samuel Eto’o currently on 54 goals, Robbie Keane on 53, Didier Drogba on 52 and David Villa on 51 goals.
1. Ali Daei, Iran 109 goals (in 149 matches).
The Iranian striker topping the list had the advantage of staying on with his national team for an exceptionally long time. Many of the goals were scored against lower ranked teams, with the better exceptions being against teams like South Korea, Paraguay and Mexico. Ali Daei did spend five years of his career in the German Bundesliga, playing for Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern München and Hertha Berlin before moving to Dubai in 2002. He retired from the Iranian national team in 2006.
2. Ferenc Puskás, Hungary 84 goals (in 85 matches).
Puskás was Europe’s biggest star in the 1950s and the all-time international top scorer of the 20th century. He was the most prolific player in Hungary’s exceptional team at the time. At age 31 he joined Real Madrid and enjoyed several successful years teaming up with the likes of Alfredo Di Stéfano, winning five La Liga titles and three European Cup titles.
3. Pelé, Brazil 77 goals (in 92 matches).
Arguably the best player the world has seen, Pelé starred in four World Cups with Brazil, winning three of them. The first as a 17 year old in 1958, the last aged 29 in 1970. He became known as O Rei do Futebol (The King of Football).
4. Sándor Kocsis, Hungary 75 goals (in 68 matches).
The famous Hungarian team, known as Magical Magyars, won the 1952 Olympics and were runners-up in the 1954 World Cup. The biggest profile, next to Puskás, was Sándor Kocsis. His goals/game ratio was outstanding and beaten by nobody at this level. He scored 7 hat-tricks for Hungary and was the 1954 World Cup’s top scorer with eleven goals. He joined FC Barcelona in 1958 and won the La Liga in his first two season with them.
4. Kunishige Kamamoto, Japan 75 goals (in 76 matches).
4. Bashar Abdullah, Kuwait 75 goals (in 134 matches).
8. Kiatisuk Senamuang, Thailand 69 goals (in 130 matches).
8. Hossam Hassan, Egypt 69 goals (in 169 matches).
10. Gerd Müller, Germany 68 goals (in 62 matches).
“Der Bomber” is together with Sándor Kocsis the only two players, having played more than 40 matches, who have averaged over 1,1 goal per match. In 1970 he was the World Cup top scorer (Germany came third) and also European Footballer of the Year. His exceptional goal scoring helped Germany winning Euro 1972 and the 1974 World Cup. With Bayern München he won four Bundesliga titles and four German cups.
11. Majed Abdullah, Saudi Arabia 67 goals (in 142 matches).
12. Jassem Al-Houwaidi, Kuwait 63 goals (in 74 matches).
13. Ronaldo, Brazil 62 goals (in 97 matches).
In 1994, the year Ronaldo turned 18, he both moved to play in Europe and made his debut for the Brazilian national side. He won his first Ballon d’Or (as European Footballer of the Year) in 1997 and the next in 2002. He and Zinedine Zidane are the only two players to three times have been voted FIFA Player of the Year. With Brazil Ronaldo won two World Cups (1994 & 2002). Ronaldo is the leading World Cup goal scorer with a total of 15 goals (one more than Gerd Müller and Miroslav Klose).
13. Miroslav Klose, Germany 62 goals (in 112 matches).
15. Hussein Saeed, Iraq 61 goals (in 126 matches).
16. Imre Schlosser, Hungary 59 goals (in 68 matches).
17. Gabriel Batistuta, Argentina 56 goals (in 78 matches).
17. Carlos Pavón, Honduras 56 goals (in 96 matches).
19. Romário, Brazil 55 goals (in 70 matches).
19. Kazuyoshi Miura, Japan 55 goals (in 89 matches).
19. Jan Koller, Czech Republic 55 goals (in 91 matches).
19. Joachim Streich, East Germany 55 goals (in 102 matches).
19. Bum-Kun Cha, South Korea 55 goals (in 121 matches).
24. Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon 54 goals (in 109 matches).
25. Robbie Keane, Ireland 53 goals (in 114 matches).
25. Adnan Al Talyani, United Arab Emirates 53 goals (in 164 matches).
27. Didier Drogba, Côte d’Ivoire 52 goals (in 79 matches).
27. Zico, Brazil 52 goals (in 72 matches).
27. Poul Nielsen, Denmark 52 goals (in 38 matches).
27. Jon Dahl Tomasson, Denmark 52 goals (in 112 matches).
Poul Nielsen played for Denmark between 1910-1925 and was part of the silver medal winning Danish team of the 1912 Olympics. Jon Dahl Tomasson played for Denmark between 1997-2010.
31. Lajos Tichy, Hungary 51 goals (in 72 matches).
31. David Villa, Spain 51 goals (in 82 matches)
31. Hakan Şükür, Turkey 51 goals (in 112 matches).
31. Thierry Henry, France 51 goals (in 123 matches).
35. Karim Baheri, Iran 50 goals (in 87 matches).
36. Bobby Charlton, England 49 goals (in 106 matches).
Manchester United’s legendary player performed as a midfielder for England betweeen 1959-1970, winning the World Cup in 1966. That year he was also awarded the Ballon d’Or. As England’s all-time top scorer he is closely followed by Gary Lineker (48 goals/80 matches), Jimmy Greaves (44 goals/57 matches) and Michael Owen (40 goals/89 matches).
Sir Bobby Charlton is also Manchester United’s all-time greatest goal scorer with 249 in 758 games. (Twelve more than Denis Law.)
36. Sven Rydell, Sweden 49 goals (in 43 matches).
Rydell played for Sweden between 1921-1932 and they won the bronze medal at the 1924 Olympics.
38. Włodzimierz Lubański, Poland 48 goals (in 75 matches).
38. Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgaria 48 goals (in 77 matches).
38. Gary Lineker, England 48 goals (in 80 matches).
Dimitar Berbatov is of course still active playing for Manchester United but he decided to retire from his national side in May 2010.
41. Rudi Völler, Germany 47 goals (in 90 matches).
41. Jürgen Klinsmann, Germany 47 goals (in 108 matches).
41. Pauleta, Portugal 47 goals (in 88 matches).
41. Hristo Bonev, Bulgaria 47 goals (in 96 matches).
41. Rolando Fonseca, Costa Rica 47 goals (in 107 matches).
46. Jared Borgetti, Mexico 46 goals (in 90 matches).
46. Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine 45 goals (in 108 matches).
46. Landon Donovan, USA 46 goals (in 138 matches).
49. Davor Šuker, Croatia 45 goals (in 69 matches).
49. Carlos Ruiz, Guatemala 45 goals (in 92 matches).
49. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Germany 45 goals (in 95 matches).
49. Grzegorz Lato, Poland 45 goals (in 100 matches).
Lato was the 1974 World Cup’s top scorer with 7 goals.
53. Toni Polster, Austria 44 goals (in 95 matches).
53. Raúl, Spain 44 goals (in 102 matches).
Raúl has been surpassed by David Villa as Spain’s top scorer but he is still superior as top scorer of the UEFA Champions League. Raúl has scored 70 goals in European club football’s premier competition. (Messi has by comparison so far scored 33 goals…). Raúl is also Real Madrid’s all-time leading goal scorer having netted 323 times for the club before moving to Schalke 04.
55. Gunnar Nordahl, Sweden 43 goals (in 33 matches).
55. Uwe Seeler, Germany 43 goals (in 72 matches).
55. Baichung Bhutia, India 43 goals (in 109 matches).
58. Alexander Frei, Switzerland 42 goals (in 82 matches).
58. Lukas Podolski 42 goals (in in 85 matches).
58. Michael Ballack, Germany 42 goals (in 98 matches).
58. Oleg Blokhin, Soviet Union 42 goals (in 112 matches).
Blokhin was a feared striker in the 1970s and early 80s. In 1975 he won the Ballon d’Or as European Footballer of the Year ahead of Beckenbauer and Cruyff.
62. Mágico González, El Salvador 41 goals (in 48 matches).
62. Eusébio, Portugal 41 goals (in 64 matches).
62. Michel Platini, France 41 goals (in 72 matches). (PICTURED ABOVE)
62. Kazimierz Deyna, Poland 41 goals (in 97 matches).
62. Hao Haidong, China 41 goals (in 115 matches).
Mágico González was a superb midfielder, who many thought would have been a superstar of the game had he been from a bigger footballing nation.
Eusébio was one of Europe’s greatest players in the 1960s. He was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 1965 and he was top scorer at the 1966 World Cup with 9 goals. Eusébio led Benfica to eleven Portuguese league titles and the 1962 European Cup. He is also the club’s all-time top scorer.
Michel Platini led France to the Euro 1984 title as a top goal scoring midfielder and Player of the Tournament. Just like he led Juventus to triumphs in Italy and Europe. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1983, 1984 and 1985. In 2007 he was elected as President of UEFA, a position he still holds today.
Kazimierz Deyna went down in history as one of the best marksmen in world football. However he still managed to also be his country’s third highest goal scorer from his midfield position.
67. Patrick Kluivert, Netherlands 40 goals (in 79 matches).
Kluivert played for the Dutch national team between 1994-2004 and is their all-time top scorer. He leads the list ahead of Dennis Bergkamp’s 37 goals (also in 79 matches). Players like Ruud van Nistelroy is currently 4th, Johan Cruyff 5th, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar 8th and Marco Van Basten 10th on the Dutch list.
David Luiz is a defender who plays for English side Chelsea and the Brazilian national team. Luiz joined Sao Paolo, one of Brazil’s great clubs, as a nine year old. Aged fourteen he was released to Esporte Clube Vitória, of lesser stature but with a very successful youth system. Five years later, in 2006, Luiz made his senior debut for Vitória. The 2006-07 season saw them earn promotion from the Serie C. Luiz contributed with several good performances but also had the season plagued by injuries.
In January 2007 Luiz moved to Portugal, on loan to Benfica. That move was made permanent ahead of the 2007-08 season. Luiz settled quickly at Benfica and was an important part of the team winning the Portuguese league cup in 2008-09 and again in 2009-10. The 2009-10 season Benfica also won the Portuguese league again for the first time in five years.
Luiz played his first match for Brazil in August 2010, in new coach Mano Menezes first match in charge.
On the last day of the January 2011 transfer window Luiz signed for Chelsea in a €25 million move from Benfica. He has been an instant favourite with the Chelsea fans. In his first five Premier League starts he has already been Man of the Match twice, against Fulham and Manchester City. He has also scored both against Manchester United and Manchester City. David Luiz turns 24 in exactly one month and the future looks bright for him, as part of the creation of a new Chelsea and a new Brazil.
