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Goals, as the obvious saying goes, win you games. In principle, we watch the beautiful game because of the goals. Imagine how it would have been if every team was managed by Jose Mourinho, resulting in every other game ending in an uneventful 0-0 draw. Boring.So, goals are basically what makes the game more appealing to the viewers, in general, and it is for this reason that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the ones who ever challenge for the prestigious Ballon d’Or title. The rest often seem to just fill up the large space on the stage.However, these two goal machines aren’t strikers in the purest sense. It is just the sheer amount of individual brilliance the two possess that enables them to outscore strikers, who are usually the most likely ones on the football pitch to score a goal. The duo have successfully snatched away the apparent monopoly of goal scoring from the conventional strikers or number 9s as they are known popularly.Strikers have traditionally been the most followed, revered and talked about football players. Goal scoring has always been considered an exceptional skill and an art even at times. Some of the best footballers ever to have graced the sport have been strikers such as Pele, Gerd Muller, George Best, Ronaldo(of Brazil). Here we take a look at 5 of the best number 9s in the game of football right now (on the basis of the last couple of seasons)
#5 Robert Lewandowski
The Pole is so good that even Pep Guardiola has a hard time believing his superhuman qualities—a fact that can be testified by watching his reaction after the Polish scored 5 goals in a space of 9 minutes in Bayern Munich’s thrashing of Wolfsburg.
As of now, he has scored 16 goals in merely 11 games in all competition and looks like the only person who can rival Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the European Golden Boot. In the last 2 seasons, he scored 53 goals in 96 games, coalescing a formidable ratio of 0.55 goals-per-game.
His finishing is getting better by the second as the ball is certain to end up at the back of the net if he gets hold of it inside the box. His shots-per-goal ratio is 5.1, which is better than even Lionel Messi’s 5.2 and Cristiano Ronaldo’s 8.6, just goes to show his efficiency in front of goal. Even though the Bundesliga is argued as a relatively easier league, especially for a Bayern player, his numbers—and performances for Poland—gives one a clear indication of the form that he is in.
The reason why he is such a crucial player for the German giants is because of his place in the system. As the number nine, the whole team is setup in such a way that he is almost always the final player in an attacking move, and his insane accuracy means that he never disappoints.
If he keeps this up, it won’t be long before he tops this list from his current position.
#4 Karim Benzema
A lot of thoughts, which lead to an inscrutable dilemma, had to be put in order to choose between Karim Benzema and the player at number 3 for this position. After a lot of battles between thoughts, it is the Frenchman who, on the basis of current form would have been at third, but with the criteria being the last 2 years is ever-so-slightly behind his nearest rival.
With 46 goals in 98 games in the last 2 seasons for Real Madrid, his numbers could be slightly better, but his 25 assists in that period goes on to depict his key attribute within the system.
The France number 10 could be dubbed as the most important player for Madrid in the final third. Without his subtle playmaking skills, both Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale suffer—3 out of Madrid’s 4 draws this season were games where he was subdued, two of which he couldn’t even play due to injury.
He is the man who has provided Cristiano Ronaldo with the most assists for his goals, such is his passing elegance and awareness around the opponent’s box. It is of little wonder, then, as to why the Portuguese suffers in his absence.
As they say, the absence of something provides the best knowledge about its true value. So far, the former Lyon man has scored seven goals in all competitions in just eight games and leads La Liga scoring chart with six goals in six matches.
With Cristiano Ronaldo suffering from an erratic patch, it could be said that Real Madrid would have been closer to the relegation zone had it not been for their number 9’s goals.
#3 Sergio Aguero
El Kun would have been higher up the list some months ago, but constant love affairs with injuries means that the Argentine finds himself at number 3 on this list. However, despite all the niggles in his body, he continues to be one of the most revered forwards in the world.
Constantly working hard on the pitch, Aguero’s best quality is that he can drive his team forward at the time of most need—and what can be a better representative of that than his Premier league winning goal against QPR!
He is what one would call a worker. He rarely stops running till he has the ball. In City’s system, prior to the arrival of the electric Raheem Sterling and the exceptional De Bruyne, the burden of playmaking and creating chances was mostly placed on the shoulders of David Silva.
However, the Spaniard doesn’t always have the best of games. In times like these, Sergio Aguero takes up the responsibility to create something for his team-mates to pounce on. With Sterling bursting from the left and De Bruyne just behind, his best abilities—scoring and making killer passes—could be fully utilized.
With 8 goals in 11 games currently, his stats represent a respectable stature. Add to that the 60 goals in 76 games he scored in the last 2 seasons with the club, and it gives sufficient information about his class. Manchester City might now have Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne as other goal-scoring sources, but Sergio Aguero remains their goal-machine and the 3rd best in the world.
#2 Luis Suarez
Since his explosion onto the scene with 49 goals in 48 games for Ajax, he has been one of the most consistent forwards in the world. At one point, apart from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, there wasn’t a better forward in the world.
At that point, he almost carried Liverpool to an emphatic Premier League trophy before Steven Gerrard unfortunate slip ruined in for the club. He then moved to Barcelona and helped them win a treble in his first ever season.
In the last 2 years, he has scored 56 goals in 80 games with 29 assists to put his numbers at another level altogether. Since joining Barca, he has taken a huge share of the scoring burden off Messi’s shoulder. Though, without the Argentine, he seems to lose the same influence.
However, apart from that, the Uruguayan has been nothing short of spectacular for Barca this term thus far. With 6 goals and an assist in 8 games in all competition this season, he has stamped his authority as a key player in Barca’s system.
His role is somewhat similar to Benzema’s at Real Madrid—to shoot in scoring chances and working as a hub that brings the best out of Neymar’s and Messi’s scoring abilities in Luis Enrique’s 4-3-3.
His shots-per-goal ratio is an astonishing 3.4, a number that is superior to Robert Lewandowski’s. However, in the absence of Lionel Messi, a part of him becomes restrained, something that works as a barrier between him and the spot of the best number 9 in the world.
#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Classic number 9s are unfortunately a dying breed. Players in the mould of Alan Shearer, Didier Drogba, Ronaldo Nazario are rarely found these days. However, Zlatan Ibrahimovic remains one of the few archetypal, yet unique in his own way, forwards that are on the brink of extinction, thanks to the sophisticated evolution of the number 9 role.
He is aerially brilliant, an orthodox bully inside the box, ruthless finisher and can bring his team-mates into play—ticking all the boxes required from a number 9. At 34, he might have lost some of the speed that he possessed in his younger days, but he is getting even better—in his own words, “like wine.”
In his most recent league game for PSG, he scored 2 goals against Bastia—once again proving his authority as their best player. He has now scored 6 goals and has assisted thrice in 8 games in all competitions this season so far, adding to his already mammoth 71 goals in 80 games for PSG in the last 2 years.
His place in the team and system is indispensable. He almost always has an influence in the game, be it scoring or bringing his team-mates in the foray. He is somewhat a tactics aficionado would call a ‘nine-and-a-half’—a role that sees a forward play both as a trequartista in the number 10 mold and a poacher who breathes on the shoulder of the last defender.
And he is bloody good at it.
