10 best two-footed players in football at the moment
A plethora of fine players have graced the game of football over the years. However, only a select few have been two-footed, an attribute that makes these players truly unique.
While many top football players can score off their wrong foot, most do not prefer to do so, simply because they are not proficient enough. An example in this regard is Argentine maestro Lionel Messi, who is renowned for his magical left foot but rarely scores with his other foot.
Ten best active two-footed players
True two-footed players can not only score but can also produce unerring passes, crosses, and make dribbles with either foot, with no discernible difference. It is an attribute that adds to their unpredictability quotient. On that note, let us have a look at the ten best active two-footed players at the moment.
#10 Santi Cazorla
Arsenal and Villareal legend Santi Cazorla is one of the finest two-footed football players still active at the moment.
During an injury-plagued stint at Arsenal, the player was out of action for large swathes of time. But when he was on the field, he mesmerized with his speed and creativity while also impressing with his crossing and shooting prowess with either foot.
In fact, Arsenal's long-standing manager Arsene Wenger once proclaimed that he had no idea which was Cazorla's stronger foot, he was so strong off both.
"Glenn Hoddle was like that — you could not say if he was left or right footed. And Santi Cazorla is similar on that front — I don’t remember anyone else I have worked with who was two-footed as much as those two. Santi is right footed but when you watch him play you don’t know. It shows how important that is in the modern midfield," said Wenger about Cazorla.
On his return to Villareal in 2018, Cazorla dazzled in the colors of his first professional club, producing ten assists apiece in two seasons while scoring 15 goals before leaving the club this summer to try his luck in Qatar.
#9 Ousmane Dembele
Ousmane Dembele has largely failed to live up to his enormous price tag since arriving at Barcelona in the summer of 2017.
Nevertheless, the French winger can play on both wings due to his proficiency with either foot. That coupled with his speed, technical ability and tactical awareness, ensured that great things were expected of Dembele at the Camp Nou, where he has had an injury-riddled stint.
Widely tipped to leave Barcelona this summer, Dembele managed to stay put at the club and has provided Ronald Koeman a glimpse of his ability with the French international already tripling his goals count from last season.
The player's attributes have helped him earn praise from none other than Barcelona captain Lionel Messi, who opined that Dembele has the wherewithal to be one of the best players in the world.
"On the pitch he's a phenomenon. It's up to him where he ends up, he could be one of the best. He's young and he is adapting," said Messi.
#8 Pedro
Pedro burst through the ranks at Barcelona and made his mark as a precocious player under Pep Guardiola as the then-21-year-old became the first player to score in six different competitions in the same season and also the same year.
Renowned for his speed, versatility and two-footedness, Pedro scored a lot of goals and won a plethora of trophies at the Camp Nou before joining Chelsea in 2016, where he proved to be less prolific, though.
Now at AS Roma, his time coaching Pedro is fondly recalled by Guardiola for his lethal goal-scoring prowess near the penalty box.
"I have to thank him, he made me a better manager. Near the box, he's a killer."
#7 Ivan Perisic
Ivan Perisic, one of the key players of Croatia's second 'golden generation', is renowned for his two-footedness and versatility that allows him to be deployed across a bevvy of positions in the attacking third.
Perisic won the continental treble with Bayern Munich last season, scoring in the Round of 16 win against Chelsea and the 7-1 defeat of Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte has praised Perisic, who has returned to the Nerazzurri at the end of last season, for his professionalism and enthusiasm on the field.
"Now he's back, with great determination to play for Inter and help us out, to put himself at the service of the team, and I am happy that he's got this desire. Also, because when you've got this kind of determination, this enthusiasm, this desire, in the end everything gets easier for the coach."