5 football players with the best headers right now

'Is it a bird? Is it a plane
'Is it a bird? Is it a plane?'

#3 Olivier Giroud

Olivier Giroud
Olivier Giroud

One of the most underrated players of his generation, Olivier Giroud often slips under the radar when the top strikers of our times are discussed simply because his game is not as flashy as most players we love to shower praises on.

Giroud is not a striker who scores a lot of goals. He is a great technical player who can be such a menacing presence in the final third thanks to his sheer physicality and ability to hold up the ball. In addition to that, at 192 cms, he is a tall customer and packs an incredible header.

A great share of his goals at Arsenal and Chelsea have come from headers. In fact, not only does Giroud offer more stability to his team in the final third, he can also be a great Plan B (read: Aerial route) home whenever his side is desperate to find a goal. He has scored some thumping headers and continues to do so.

#2 Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos

Well, Sergio Ramos was Real Madrid's second highest goalscorer last season. While most of them came from penalties, he scores an awful lot of incredible headers too. Ramos absolutely relishes set-pieces and it's something he has very clearly worked on.

The Real Madrid captain has a great leap and times his headers to perfection more often than not. One of those players who have exhibited enviable mental strength and focus, you could say that there is a method to Sergio Ramos' madness because of the sheer effectiveness and the consistency with which he has delivered across the years for Los Blancos.

When it comes to attacking set-pieces, he almost always starts at the edge of the area and then uses his powerful neck muscles and the momentum he generates from swiveling into the centre of the box to score thumping headers that almost always nestle in the top corner.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo

Incredible leap
Incredible leap

Was there ever a question? It's one of those rare aspects of Ronaldo's game that Lionel Messi does not even stand a chance of matching. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a lot more than a hundred goals from headers and that's the product of hours spent at the training ground practicing and perfecting his technique.

Now that he has moved into a striker's position after joining Juventus, we have seen a lot more goals coming from headers as opposed to earlier when he would operate in a wider role. There is no player on the football pitch who can leap as high as Cristiano Ronaldo.

It looks superhuman at times and he also times his headers to perfection. When Cristiano Ronaldo is waiting to collect an aerial ball inside the box, there's every reason for the opposition to panic and lose their cool because more often than not, there's usually only one end product. And that's the net bulging and the Portuguese wheeling away in celebration.

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Edited by Shambhu Ajith