Ranking the top 10 strikers of the pre-Messi-Ronaldo Golden Age (1995-2005)

Christian Vieri & Marcelo Salas were among the world class strikers who did not make the list — Christian Vieri & Marcelo Salas were among the world-class strikers who did not make the list

The hype around Harry Kane in the last few weeks has been overblown and a tad nauseating, to say the least.

While there are a lot of good strikers currently playing, football purists will always fondly remember the period between 1995-2005 (a couple of years before the Lionel Messi/Cristiano Ronaldo madness began) as a Golden Age for strikers.

All around the world and in various European leagues, world-class strikers abounded and given the high level of defending at that point (this was the era of catenaccio and world-class defenders were also abundant), you had to be truly exceptional as a striker to get 20+ goals a season.

#10 Filippo Inzaghi

Said to have been born in an offside position, Pippo's goal record was an enviable one

The predator to end all predators, Super Pippo wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea due to his lack of a discernable skill.

What he lacked in technical skill, he more than made up for with an uncanny sense of positioning and a never say die attitude that saw him plunder 288 goals in 623 club games for such teams like Juventus and AC Milan winning three Serie A titles and 2 UEFA Champions League titles among his many wins.

Despite his retirement 12 years ago, Pippa is still the fourth highest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history with 70 goals, a phenomenal record for a player who was unjustly criticized and labelled as not being good enough for the highest level.