Top 5 number 9s in world football
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.