Who is the best Brazilian striker in the history of football?
Every time we talk about football, our imagination will surely drift to Brazil, a South American country that is known as the land of football. From this country, there were born thousands of talented football players. These Brazilian players have very significant role in making football into one of the most popular sports in the world.
Who is the greatest Brazilian striker of all time? To answer this question, I present a list of 15 best Brazilian striker from time to time. The ranking on this list was made by considering several factors, including individual and team accomplishments, skills, and of course their dedication to the world of football.
Note: I didn't include Ronaldinho in this list because during his career he played more as an attacking midfielder rather than a striker.
Source: by Ronnie MacDonald on Flickr.com via Creative Commons
15. Marcio Amoroso
Marcio Amoroso is a retired striker who played for more than ten clubs in six different countries. He also became the top scorer in two prestigious European competition, Serie A and Bundesliga. Amoroso's best period happened when he played at Borussia Dortmund, where he helped the club win a Bundesliga title in the season and also became the top scorer of the competition. He also helped the Brazilian national team to be a champion of the 1999 Copa America.
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neymar_vs_Pe%C3%B1arol.jpg
14. Neymar
Although he is still young, I think Neymar should be included into the list of the best Brazilian striker of all time. This player has been shocking the world since the age of 17 with his impressive performances at Santos. His great dribbling skills and techniques helped Santos win three Brazilian League titles and one Copa Libertadores trophy. Considering that Neymar is now playing with the best players in the world at his current club, I personally expect him to win a lot more trophies and awards, both team as well as individual awards.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Careca
13. Careca
Careca was a true partner of Diego Maradona at Napoli when they both led the club to be a Serie A champions in 1990. At that time, Careca and Maradona were absolutely adored by the fans because they were able to bring a small club like Napoli to be an Italian champion. Another achievement that was achieved by Careca is a Silver Boot award at the World Cup 1986. Throughout his career from 1982 to 1993, Careca scored 30 goals from 64 appearances for Brazilian national team.
12. Tostao
Tostao actually played as a striker at the end of his career as a professional footballer. In his earlier career, he played as a central midfielder. His position as a midfielder didn't prevent him from scoring a lot of goals. He even holds the record as Cruzeiro's top scorer of all time, with a total of 242 goals. Tostao was officially played as a striker in the 1970 World Cup tournament. The result was not disappointing, where he was able to help his country to be a champion of the tournament.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bebeto
11. Bebeto
Bebeto is a retired striker who had a major role in leading Brazil win the World Cup 1994. Together with Romario, he managed to make the Samba team to be the winner of the tournament while performing beautiful football. Bebeto other best performances occurred in the 1989 Copa America, where he helped Brazil to become the champion as well as becoming the top scorer of the tournament. Throughout his career, Bebeto played in 341 matches and scored 178 goals.
10. Ademir
Ademir is the top scorer of the 1950 World Cup tournament. Although he failed to take his country to be a champion, he still showed impressive performances by scoring seven goals in the tournament, four of them were scored in a match against Sweden in which Brazil won by a score of 7-1. In his heyday, Ademir was known as a fast, talented, and skillful striker. He often showed off his ability in juggling the ball in the middle of the game.
Source: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardel
9. Mario Jardel
Mario Jardel is one of the highest-scoring Brazilian strikers in the European League, but he was rarely given the opportunity to play in the national team. Jardel's best period happened when he played for FC Porto from 1996 to 2000, where he scored 130 goals from 125 appearances. He even became the Europe's top scorer three times, with more than 35 goals in each season. With Porto, Jardel won three Portuguese League titles.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Friedenreich
8. Arthur Friedenreich
Arthur Friedenreich was regarded as the first dark-skinned football player who showed outstanding performances. Earlier in his career, he was not allowed to play football because this sport was only intended by for the whites. He had to wait for some years before finally getting a chance to play as a professional footballer in 1909. Arthur showed his talent by becoming nine times Brazilian League top scorer, won dozens of titles, and even rumored to score thousands of goals throughout his career. Friedenreich ended his career in 1935 at Sao Paulo.
7. Leonidas da Silva
Leonidas is the top scorer of the 1938 World Cup with a total of seven goals. He was nicknamed the "Rubber Man" because of his elasticity and flexibility in dribbling the ball. Leonidas is the creator of a move called "Bicycle Kick," a kick made by performing a half-somersault jump. In his 19 appearances for the Brazilian national team, Leonidas scored 21 goals. His best achievement was taking Brazil rank third in the 1938 World Cup.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jairzinho
6. Jairzinho
Jairzinho is a former winger-forward who was nicknamed as "the Hurricane" because of a high-speed and his skills that could tear apart the opponent's defense. This player is a Botafogo legend who was instrumental in helping the club win the FIFA Club World Cup in 1968. In 1970, Jairzinho even made more remarkable achievement, winning the 1970 World Cup with Brazilian national team.
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brazilian_footballers_playing_Ludo.jpg
5. Vava
Together with Didi and Pele, Vava became the main pillars of Brazilian national team in the World Cup 1958 and 1962. He led Brazil win both tournaments, and even became the top scorer in the 1962 World Cup. Vava also became the first player to score in two different World Cup final matches. In the Brazilian national team, he served as a target man, played alongside Pele who had more independent role as a second striker.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrincha
4. Garrincha
Garrincha is the best winger-forward ever to play for Brazilian national team. This player has very good dribbling skills, fast, and agile. Because of his small posture and rapid movements, Garrincha was nicknamed as "the little bird." Together with Pele, Garrincha helped Brazil win two World Cups in a row in 1958 and 1962. Throughout his career, Garrincha played 598 times and scored 232 goals.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rom%C3%A1rio
3. Romario
Romario is one of the best finisher ever owned by the Brazilian national team. He is small and short, yet extremely efficient in scoring goals. Together with the Brazilian national team, Romario won two Copa America trophies and a 1994 World Cup trophy. He became three times Brazilian League top scorer and reportedly scored more than 1,000 goals throughout his career. After his retirement, Romario works as a politician.
2. Ronaldo
Ronaldo is a simply perfect striker. He is fast, effective, and has great techniques. Player is even dubbed as "Il Phenomenon" because of his stunning performances. Throughout his career, he won two World Cup trophies, two Copa America trophies, and twice was awarded the Ballon d'Or. Not only that, Ronaldo also became the top scorer of all-time World Cup tournament, with a total of 15 goals. If only he weren't too often hit by injuries, Ronaldo certainly could achieve more feats and score more goals.
1. Pele
Pele is nicknamed as "King of Football." He is the player who scored the most goals in football history, with a total of 1281 goals in 1363 appearances. Not only that, Pele also won three World Cup tournaments in 1958, 1962 and 1970. This player even awarded a title as the "National Hero of Brazil" because of his achievements. During his period playing for Brazilian national team from 1957 to 1971, Pele capped 92 times and scored 77 goals.