Best Number 9 Football Players in History

It was after the second world war that the concept of numbered shirts officially became a requirement for football matches. In the following decades, teams had to field their players with numbered shirts while the numbers were restricted to 1 to 11. ‌Since then, certain numbers got associated with certain positions on the football pitch. That’s why the number 1 is always for the goalkeeper of the team, the defenders will choose one of 2 to 5, midfielders and wingers tend to wear 6, 7, 8, 10, and 11, and finally the main strikers are identified with their number 9 shirt.

Strikers are at the receiving end of almost every attack and they are the player who has to finish the job by scoring goals. People may forget about many players who played in their beloved team in the past, but they will never forget the player who scored a decisive goal and handed an important win to his side; and these players are often running on the pitch with a number 9 shirt. This article is about the best number 9 football players in history. In addition to the best

current number 9 football players

, we will take a look at the greatest players in history that wore the number 9 shirt during their careers.  

Who Are the Most Famous Number 9 Football Players Ever?

Before getting into the details and having a career review of the best number 9 football players in history, let’s have a quick look at our shortlist of the best and most famous number 9 football players ever:

• Alfredo di Stéfano

• Marco van Basten

• Alan Shearer

• George Weah

• Gabriel Batistuta

• Ronaldo

• Samuel Eto'o

• Fernando Torres

• Gonzalo Higuaín

• Karim Benzema

• Robert Lewandowski

It worth mentioning that players like Gerd Müller, Ferenc Puskás, Romário, Didier Drogba, and Miroslav Klose among others were also some of the best strikers in history of the sport; but in this article we are focusing on players who specifically wore the number 9 shirt for the better part of their career. 

Alfredo di Stéfano 

The list of best number 9 football players in history starts with an Argentinian striker named Alfredo di Stéfano who spent most of his career playing for Real Madrid from 1953 to 1964. He was the number 9 striker in the golden generation of Real Madrid in that era which won the first five editions of the European Cup - today known as the UEFA Champions League. The interesting fact about Alfredo di Stéfano is that not only he started each of the five European Cup finals from 1955 to 1960 but also, he scored in all of them. Including a hat trick in the 1959-60 final against

.

In his international career, di Stéfano had a couple of short spells with Argentina and Colombia until in 1957 he switched to Spain national team and scored 23 goals in 31 appearances for La Roja. The two-time Ballon d’Or winner has also 227 goals in 329 La Liga matches to his name which makes him the sixth all-time top scorer in the league’s history. Alfredo di Stéfano won 18 trophies through 9 years with Real Madrid and cemented his place as one of the Real Madrid legends in club’s history.

Marco van Basten

Despite suffering from a career-ending injury which forced him to hang up his boots at the age of 31, Marco van Basten is renowned as one of the

best number 9 football players in history

. The Dutch striker started his senior career from Ajax in 1981. During 172 matches for Ajax, van Basten submitted 152 goals and 33 assists which made him a hot target for giant European clubs. In 1987, Milan managed to land him in Italy. van Basten was a complete striker who could score astonishing acrobatic goals and also making key passes for his teammates.

was the main striker in Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan, a team that is recognized as one of the best football teams in history of the game. With 125 goals and 49 assists in 201 games, van Basten helped Milan to win 16 major titles in a time span of 8 years including three European Cup championships. He also was a leader in Netherlands’ national team squad and had a key part in winning the 1988 European Championship which is Netherlands’ only major trophy as of today.

Alan Shearer

It may come as a shock that one of the best number 9 football players in history was an English striker who only played for Southampton,

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Blackburn Rovers

, and Newcastle United - clubs that are barely considered as midtable sides in English football. But that was the case for Alan Shearer who made his senior debut with Southampton in 1998, after playing at the club’s academy for two years. During his early career, Shearer was deployed as an attacking midfilder but it turned out that he has the killer instinct of a striker.

In 1992 Alan Shearer joined Blackburn Rovers and became one of the most prolific strikers in the Premier League. During the 1994-95 season, Shearer scored 34 goals and provided 13 assists in 42 Premier League matches which led to a historic league championship for the club. Since 1996 Shearer became a Newcastle player and with 206 goals in 404 matches became the club’s all time top scorer. Although he is not as decorated as the other players in this list, there is no doubt that Alan Shearer was one of the most prolific strikers that football has ever seen.  

George Weah

Before he becomes a present in Liberia, George Weah was a world class goal scorer who could get passed through every defender. George Manneh Oppong Wea simply known as George Weah was born in Liberia in 1966. Weah started his football career at his home country until in 1988, Arsene Wenger bought him for

. Weah had a successful time in French football with Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain which was awarded by winning the 1995 Ballon d’Or.

Shortly after that, Weah moved to Italian football where he wore the Milan colors. 97 goal contributions in 147 games made George Weah the most popular African football player during that time who inspired many African children to follow his footsteps and flourish in European football. Weah was a capable attacker who in addition of having great physical characteristics, also had a creative mind on the football pitch and could create a goalscoring chance from various scenarios during the attacking play.

Gabriel Batistuta

Argentina has always enjoyed having dangerous attackers in its national team but it is safe to say that Gabriel Batistuta was the most iconic Argentinian number 9. Batistuta spent his youth career at

and got promoted to the senior team in 1988. Later Batistuta played for both Argentinian powerhouses, River Plate and Boca Juniors, before moving abroad in 1991 when he joined Fiorentina in Italy. History showed that Argentinians would settle well in Italian football and Batistuta was no exception as he hit the double digits goals tally in his debut season.

On his third season, Fiorentina was relegated to Serie B but Batistuta remained at the club and helped them to come back to Italian top flight immediately. As one of the best number 9 football players in history, Batistuta didn’t win much gold medals with Fiorentina but his 203 goals in 331 matches was more than enough to consider him as a legend in club’s history who earned the nickname Batigol. Prior to 2000-01 season, Gabriel Batistuta left Fiorentina for Roma and with 20 goals in 28 Serie A matches helped the club to win its third and as of today last Serie A title. 

Ronaldo

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima who is also known as the original Ronaldo, is one of the greatest football players ever who also wore the number 9 shirt in the better part of his prosperous career. Ronaldo made a name for himself at the Brazilian side Cruzeiro in 1993 when he was a teenager. His incredible debut season at senior level was followed by a move to European football as he joined

in 1994. Since then, he played for Barcelona, Inter, Real Madrid, and Milan and proved himself in each of those elite football clubs.

Ronaldo was just more than a standard striker. He was gifted with unique Brazilian skills and combined that with top-notch finishing ability which made him an all-around football player who could not be stopped from scoring goals. Ronaldo’s international career was even more remarkable as he won two World Cup titles with Brazil and became the tournament’s all time top scorer, a record that was broken by Miroslav Klose in 2014. Unfortunately, Ronaldo suffered from a few horrible injuries throughout his career but still, he was an unrepeatable talent who mesmerized football fans from all over the world. 

Samuel Eto'o

The second African player in the

best number 9 football players in history

list is Samuel Eto'o. The Cameroonian set foot in European football with Real Madrid youth team. After some loan spells at Spanish clubs, he finally got settled at Mallorca. His brilliant display was recognized by Barcelona and they bought him in 2004 as their new number 9. During 199 games for Barca, Samuel Eto'o scored 130 goals and made 40 assists and had a crucial role in winning two Champions League trophies in 2006 and 2009.

After the 2009 championship, Eto'o joined Inter and managed to win another Champions League final in 2010 which made him one of the most decorated African football players in European competitions. A natural goal scorer who could also play at wings, Samuel Eto'o was a versatile attacker who could hurt the opposition’s defense with his pace and finishing skills. Samuel Eto'o was also a national hero thanks to his decisive performances for Cameroon national team. Cameroon took part in 4 World Cups and won two

trophies in 2000 and 2002 with Samuel Eto'o being their number 9.

Fernando Torres

Every position in football got evolved through history and players had to adopt themselves with these changes. That’s why the classic number 9 players only had one job and it was to convert the goal scoring chances which was created by other players. But in the recent times, the current number 9 football players should also take a part in the buildup play and support their teammates with smart runs into the spaces. A perfect example of modern strikers was Fernando Torres. One of the most

famous number 9 football players

was a product of Atletico Madrid academy and made his way to the first team in 2001.

After 6 wonderful years with Atletico, Torres joined Liverpool and took the Premier League by storm. During 142 games for Liverpool Fernando Torres bagged 81 goals in addition to 20 assists and was one a fan favorite figure at Anfield. But in 2011, Torres left Liverpool for the rivals Chelsea where he couldn’t replicate his incredible form at Liverpool but still, was one a key player in Chelsea’s 2012 Champions League winning team. Torres was also a reliable number 9 for the golden generation of Spain national team and scored in two back-to-back EURO finals in 2008 and 2012 which led to Spain’s championship on both occasions. 

Gonzalo Higuaín

Gonzalo Higuaín made a name himself at Real Madrid while he was wearing the number 20 shirt. But his exceptional tenure at

with the number 9 shirt is why we are considering him as one of the best number 9 football players in history. After graduating from River Plate youth academy and playing for the first team in two seasons, Real Madrid signed the talented Argentinian striker in 2007 when Higuaín was 20 years old. Gonzalo Higuaín celebrated scoring 121 goals in 264 matches with Real Madrid shirt and then joined Napoli in 2013.

Before joining the rivals Juventus in 2016, Gonzalo Higuaín was the second most popular Argentinian player in Napoli’s history right behind the legendary Diego Maradona. That’s because his unbelievable form during the 2015-16 Serie A campaign when Higuaín scored 36 goals in 35 matches and almost led the club to winning the league. Despite being on the runner-up side in World Cup and Champions League finals with Argentina and Juventus respectively, Gonzalo Higuaín was one of the top strikers of his generation who had a wonderful career both at Spanish and Italian football.

Karim Benzema

The 34-years-old Karim Benzema is one of the

best number 9 in football 2022

who is leading the attacking line of Real Madrid. The Frenchman joined Real Madrid in 2009 after having his breakthrough with Lyon where he won the Ligue 1 title in 4 consecutive seasons.  On his debut season at Real Madrid, Benzema was given the number 11 shirt and it was with the start of the 2010-11 season that he found the chance to wear the number 9 which he didn’t change it up to this day.

During his successful career at Spanish capital, Karim Benzema emerged himself as one of the top goal scorers in the club’s history. As a modern striker, Benzema is also a decent playmaker in the final third of the pitch. His partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo in Real’s attacking line led to one of the

from 2014 to 2018 when Real Madrid won 4 Champions League titles. As one of the best number 9 football players in history, Karim Benzema has won 20 silverwares with Real Madrid and has the opportunity to collect even more gold medals.

Robert Lewandowski

The last name on our list is also one of the best number 9 in football 2022 who is still adding goals and assists to his name. Robert Lewandowski began his career from his home country, Poland and attracted the attention of elite clubs with his impressive goal scoring abilities. In 2010 it was Dortmund that bought the Polish striker from 

. His debut season at Bundesliga was below par but Lewandowski started to prove his worth on the following seasons as he scored 103 goals for the club and helped them to win 4 trophies and reach a Champions League final.

In 2014 Robert Lewandowski joined Bayern Munich as a free agent and evolved as a complete striker. The pinnacle of Lewandowski’s career at Bayern Munich was during the 2020-21 season when he scored 41 goals in 29 Bundesliga matches and set the record for most goals in a single Bundesliga season. In the season prior to that, Lewa found the back of the net 15 times in 10 Champions League games which led to Bayern Munich’s sixth championship in the competition. All things considered; Robert Lewandowski has the prefect profile to be one of the 

best number 9 football players in history 

and the good news is we can still enjoy him for a few years to come. 

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