10 forwards who have been successful for both club and country in modern day football

Many frontmen have been spot on for their clubs but have been criticized for not turning in equally superlative performances for their nation. Fransesco Totti has been a Roma super-striker for the longest time without finding any kind of consistency in Azzuri colours. Lionel Messi only very recently somewhat rescued his international reputation despite being the all-time highest scorer for Barcelona. On the other hand, Landon Donovan has more than 50 international goals to his name, but has been unable to settle down at any club for too long and has not achieved similar success at the club level. Here is a look at some current footballers who have been equally succesful at both the international and club levels.DISCLAIMER: The views expressed here are of the author’s alone, and are not endorsed or reflect in any way Sportskeeda’s thoughts on the topic.

#10 Pauleta

Pauleta’s international career returned 47 goals in 88 matches, a Portuguese record at the time of his retirement. He was an integral part of the golden generation of Portuguese football, which achieved little despite promising much. He showed scintillating form prior to the 2006 World Cup, but his subsequent failure to perform in the actual tournament led him to announce his international retirement.

Pauleta is a rare Portuguese international never to have played in the Portuguese league, there were none before him who did so. His most significant contribution at the club level was for Paris Saint-Germain, his goal helping them to get their first silverware in six years in the 2004 French Cup final. His last match for the club in 2008 was in a bid to save them from relegation; this was also a successful endeavour, PSG finished 16th. He finished with a total of 245 goals in 477 games in club football.

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#9 Diego Forlan

Diego Forlan led his underdog nation to a successful 2010 World Cup, winning the Golden Ball in the process. He was Uruguay’s highest goalscorer (currently standing at 36) till Luis Suarez overtook him last year. Forlan has featured in 4 World Cups, and is the most capped Uruguayan player (112 caps).

He has been the highest goalscorer in the Spanish league in a single season twice, for Villareal as well as Atletico Madrid and has 246 goals in 609 games in club football.

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#8 Andriy Shevchenko

Shevchenko’s 48 international goals make him the all-time highest Ukranian goalscorer. He captained his nation to the quarter-finals of their maiden World Cup appearance in 2006.

Shevchenko is ranked as the third top goalscorer in all European competitions with 67 goals. With a tally of 127 goals scored in 208 matches for AC Milan, Shevchenko is the second most prolific player in the history of the club. His 14 goals against Inter Milan, the second highest in the history of the Milan derby, was an assured way of making him a favourite at the San Siro. He has a total of 321 goals in 648 matches in club football.

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#7 Luis Suarez

Suarez has played with his heart on his sleeve no matter for which side he has appeared. He is Uruguay’s highest goalscorer, his current tally standing at 40 goals. He turned in a heroic performance for his country during the 2011 Copa America, where he scored 4 goals and was adjudged the Player of the Tournament. Before he chose to riddle the 2014 World Cup with controversy, he was Uruguay’s most important player.

He was at the heart of Liverpool’s unlikely title challenge last season. He played 110 matches for both Liverpool and Ajax, where he scored 69 for the English side and 81 for the Dutch. In total, he has 220 goals in 363 club matches, which will only go up considering he is only 27.

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#6 Henrik Larsson

Henrik Larsson has repeatedly come out of retirement to serve the Sweden football team He has a tally of 37 goals in 106 matches, of which many were scored in crucial moments, such as his last-gasp equalizer against England in the 2006 World Cup that sealed Sweden’s progress to the knockout stages. The goal had also made him the 6th player to score in three different World Cup finals.

Larsson was best known as a Celtic player, where he scored 174 goals in 221 matches and won four league titles in seven years with them. He also spent two very successful years at Barcelona, winning two league titles and a Champions league title. He finished his career with 434 goals in 772 matches.

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#5 Ruud van Nistelrooy

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s international career has earned him 35 goals in 70 matches, a record which could have been stretched if circumstances had not conspired against him. Injuries at crucial junctures and Netherlands’ non-qualification in the 2002 World Cup combined to make van Nistelrooy wait to make his tournament debut for his country in Euro 2004. His troubled relations with Netherlands’ managers also led to him being sidelined prematurely.

His club record (347 goals in 589 matches) on the other hand is hard to match up to. He is the fourth-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 56 goals. He is a three-time Champions League top scorer, as well as a top scorer in three different European domestic leagues. After garnering 62 goals in 67 matches for PSV Eindhoven, he had successful spells for Manchester United (150 caps, 95 goals) and Real Madrid (68 caps, 48 goals).

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#4 Samuel Eto\'o

Samuel Eto’o enjoys a somewhat godfather-ish status in Cameroon. He has an Olympic gold medal, two African Cup of Nations titles, and has participated in three World Cups. He is the most decorated African player of all time, having won the African Player of the Year a record four times. The all-time highest Cameroonian goalscorer (56) has won 118 caps for his nation.

His achievements at club level (303 goals in 608 games) are no less glittering. Eto’o is the only player to have won two European continental trebles, after his back-to-back successes with Barcelona and Inter Milan. Only the second player to score in two different Champions League finals, Eto’o has a staggering goal count of 108 (145 caps) for Barcelona and 33 (67 caps) for Inter Milan.

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#3 David Villa

Villa is the first Spanish player to reach 50 international goals. He retired from internationals after the 2014 World Cup with 59 goals in 97 matches, making him Spain's all-time top goalscorer. The goals-to-games ratio he has achieved for the national team has not been matched by any player since Alfredo di Stefano.

He has also achieved legendary status in the Spanish League, having a combined tally of 297 goals scored for Sporting Gijon, Real Zaragoza, Valencia, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid across a total of 622 appearances.

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#2 Ronaldo

Considered to be one of the best strikers of all time, Ronaldo’s exploits for his nation include winning the Golden Boot in 2002, and being a vital part of the team that went to three consecutive World Cup finals. He scored 62 goals in 98 matches, making him the second highest goalscorer of all time for Brazil.

Ronaldo has an astounding record at the club level, as there simply was no forward who even came close to challenge him in the 90s. He scored at a stupendous rate of almost 1 goal per match from 1993 to 2002, during spells at Cruzeiro, PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona and Inter Milan (165 matches, 137 goals). He spent the next 5 years of his career spearheading the Real Madrid attack, and has a record of 83 goals in 127 matches for the Spanish giants. In total, he scored 352 goals and played 518 matches across all competitions for his club sides.

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#1 Didier Drogba

The impact Didier Drogba has had on the Ivory Coast team was on display in their opening World Cup match in Brazil. They were trailing Japan by a goal, but scored twice within 5 minutes of Drogba’s introduction into the match. He has had this sort of a galvanizing effect on the Ivorian golden generation over the 104 caps he was won for his country, with a return of 65 goals, the highest for his country.

He has also scored 100 goals for Chelsea, and is such a favourite at Stamford Bridge that his return to Chelsea even at 36 years of age has generated considerable excitement.

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