Best Headers in Football History

The

best headers in football history

haven't always been very tall, but they've needed to have excellent jumping skills and powerful neck muscles to change the ball's direction. Players must have the knowledge to choose a position that is best for heading in order to score a goal; strength alone won't enough.

There are times when a player wins the aerial duel, scores a goal, and changes the course of the game. Whether you are the player or the fan, nothing compares to the feeling of witnessing it as time goes on.

Best headers in football history as we discern them from one another

Knowing the strengths, mindset, agility and positioning as well as being a player with most headed goals will make our list of best headers in football history. As this is a list of best football headers ever, we will be counting even the players who have long since retired. Stick to us till the end as we delve into the best headers in soccer history.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

•  Full name

  : Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro

•  Date of birth

  : 5 February 1985

•  Place of birth:

    Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

•  Height:

  1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)

•  Playing position

  : Forward

•  Current club:

   Manchester United

How can we not mention Cristiano Ronaldo when talking about the 

best headers in football History

? He is without a doubt unparalleled in air with his strong build and jumping ability that takes him to sky. CR7 is definitely the best header in the last 10 years making him quite a difficult opponent for defenders to control.

Ronaldo is a genius in his movements, leading defense lines, pulling off the back of a defender or appearing in front of defenders defeating them with a narrow margin and taking excellent positions. His jumping ability is without a doubt one of the best soccer world has seen so far and he has quite a strong build. Combining all these abilities together makes him one of the best football headers ever.

As if there weren’t enough weapons in his arsenal,

started developing as an aerial threat in his early 20s and by the time he turned 30 he was arguably the most feared jumper in the game. 

His header goals in both club and international games easily exceed 100 and everything about his stats are telling us that he doesn’t have the slightest intention to slowing down till he reaches

the most headed goals in football history

.

2. Sergio Ramos

• Full name:

  Sergio Ramos Garcia

• Date of birth:

  30 March 1986

• Place of birth: 

  Camas, Spain

• Height:

  1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)

• Playing position:

  Centre-Back

• Current club

  : PSG

Once upon a time being the captain for both Real Madrid and Spain national team and now a member of PSG, Sergio Ramos is one of the best defenders in his generation. He is one of the defenders praised for his goal scoring abilities. Ramos has won 22 major honors including 5 Laliga championships and 4 UEFA Championship titles with Real Madrid, becoming one of the top scorers from defensive position.

Ramos is a physically strong player with a knack for heading the ball with high accuracy, gluing it to the net. He also has the speed to come forward from his position, helping his team in time of need. According to Spanish newspaper Marca, FIFA’s official records state that in 2015, he was clocked at a sprinting speed of 30.6 Km/h making him one of the fastest soccer players at the time.

Many of Sergio’s goals were nodded goals from penalty area, often scored in the crucial moments. There are few times Ramos has failed to shine for his team and could usually be relied upon in the last moments of a game to score a winner or equalizer, making his opponents fear him in those moments. This is a crucial ability for players in our list of

best headers in football history

.

Sergio Ramos is one of the defenders who can easily break the heart of opponent defenders and forwards alike. With his magnificent and superb headers as well as foot plays, he definitely earns a place in our list of

top headers in football history

.

3. John Terry

• Full name:

  John George Terry

• Date of birth:

  7 December 1980

• Place of birth:

    Barking, England

• Height:

  1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)

• Playing position:

  Centre-back

• Current club:

  Aston villa (Assistant head coach)

Clubs while playing:

, Nottingham forest(loan), Aston villa

If you think the position of 

top headers in football history

 only belong to forwards, you’re mistaken big time. Another one of the players proving you wrong would be John terry. A Centre back player who scored 67 goals when he was in Chelsea with 41 of them being in premier league. This total goal score is a pretty awesome record a Centre-back could do.

Most of his goals were headed in from corner or freekicks, with terry attacking the ball with unparalleled aggression. He was brave enough to challenge the ball even if there was a slight chance of scoring. Terry had fearsome accuracy in heading the ball changing its course towards the goal. All these and a lot more made him one of the most lethal Centre-backs of his generation.

Being one of the best headers in football history doesn’t always mean scoring. John terry was without a doubt one of the best defensive headers around. Challenging him in the air was never an easy feat for any forward daring to attack.

4. Christian Vieri

• Full name:

  Christian Bobo Vieri

• Date of birth:

  12 July 1973

• Place of birth: 

  Bologna, Italy

• Height

  : 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)

• Playing position:

  Striker

Some clubs while playing:

Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, 

Let’s talk a little about all time header goal scorer in Italy Christian Vieri. He was an unstoppable striker powerful enough to knock down opponent defenders but not getting injured. This injury prone player had the strength to carry him forward but his legs weren’t made only for running as they took him to the sky and above other players without a problem.

Vieri’s strength lied in his strength, agility, jumping ability and being an opportunistic striker with a keen eye for goal. He was nicknamed Il Toro (the bull in Italian) due to his straightforward and unique style of play.

Being a striker most of the times he was scoring from penalty area being with his feet or hitting the ball from high up in the air but as he was quite good with his feet, he assisted his teammates multiple times and also had the ability to score from afar.

 Christian Vieri was definitely one of the all-round strikers of his time but his accuracy and handling of the ball in air was off the charts making him one of the best headers in football history.

5. Miroslav Klose

•  Full name:

  Miroslav Josef Klose

• Date of birth

  : 9 June 1978

• Place of birth: 

  Opole, Poland

• Height:

  1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)

• Playing position:

  Centre- forward

• Some Clubs while playing:

    FC Hamburg, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, Lazio

Current club:

 (assistant manager)

Meet the man who scored the most goals in FIFA World cup history, with 16 goals scored. Klose was a striker feared by the defense line in opposing team. He was one of the best strikers in his generation.

The formidable striker, Miroslav Klose, was a powerful striker best known for his ability to nod the balls sent for him high up in the sky. This was due to his ability to jump high, strength of his muscles, timing of his jumps and his frightful heading accuracy that ended in him scoring for his team.

In his prime he was also a quick player with the ability to change the pace and direction of the ball in penalty area and his great positioning ability which enabled him to lose his markers and finding himself in a place most suited for scoring

These doesn’t even begin to describe the legend known as Klose. He had the genius to dribble opponents and set up goals for his team mates. He was also great at deducting flow of the game and making great decisions on the pitch.

 Klose is one of the players winning every medal in FIFA world cup and proved himself useful for every team he played. he is without a doubt one of the

best headers in football of all time

.

6. Horst Hrubesch

• Full name

  : Horst Hrubesch

• Date of birth

  : 17 April 1951

• Place of birth

  :  Hamm, West Germany

• Height:

  1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)

• Playing position:

  Centre-forward

• Current club

  : Germany women (Head coach)

Clubs while playing: 

Rot-Weiss Essen, Hamburger SV, Standard Liège, 

Have you heard the of the name Das Kopfball-Ungeheuer or the header beast? As you can see from the nickname no one is more suited to be in this list than him. He was best known for his 5 years in Hamburg (Hamburger SV) where he won 3 Bundesliga titles and a European cup.

But naming isn’t the only reason he made it into our list of best headers of all time. Had gained that nickname with merit. Though he was a late bloomer making it to the top in his late 20's, it was by rising highest in the penalty area that he made his name.

He wasn’t dainty or quick, with his strong build he was an old school Centre-forward powering ball past the defenders and never being afraid to shoot. Horst was west Germanys hero too as he was the one scoring two times in their last game of Euro 1980 against Belgium leading the team to their win. With all  the data we have he is without a doubt one the

best headers in football history

.

7. Oliver Bierhoff

• Full name

  : Oliver Bierhoff

• Date of birth:

  1 May 1968

• Place of birth

  :  Karlsruhe, West Germany

• Height

  : 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)

• Playing position

  : Striker

• Current club

  : Germany (Director)

Some Clubs while playing

:  

, Ascoli, Udinese, Milan, Monaco

Bierhoff played in 9 different teams in 4 different leagues. In Serie A he scored 103 goals one of the highest rates for a non-Italian. He never found success in Germany though. It was after coming to Serie A that he shined more and even got invited to Germanys national team.

Interesting fact is that he started his career in 1986, the same year Horst Hrubesch retired. So, defenders should really be thankful for not having to defend against both of them in the penalty area.

Bierhoff was unstoppable in air, it didn’t matter to him if the ball was whipped in front of him or was waiting for him in the air he would dive for the ball or nod the ball across the goalkeeper advancing for the ball. He struck fear in the eyes of goalkeepers and defenders anywhere he went.

Oliver Bierhoff is featured alongside the likes of Paolo Maldini in Ac Milan’s hall of fame and he definitely deserves to be called one of the best headers in soccer history.

8. Mark Hateley

• Full name

  : Mark Wayne Hateley

• Date of birth

  : 7 November 1961

• Place of birth

  :  Derby, Derbyshire, England

• Height

  : 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)

• Playing position

  : Centre-forward

It’s almost impossible to forget how dangerous and powerful Centre forward Mark was back in 1980’s and early 1990’s.

With a height of over 190 cm he was a giant man with the strength to carry his body and put fear in the hearts of defenders. He was aggressive towards the ball in sky and his headers touched the net lots of times.

fans remember him for his header to the corner of goal jumping over the head of Inter legend Fulvio Collovati to give Rossoneri (Red and Blacks) their first win in a Milan Derby for 6 years.

 Hateley was a traditional Centre-forward with incredible strength in air targeting goal nets multiple times making him one of the best headers in football history.

9. Dixie Dean

• Full name:

  William Ralph Dean

• Date of birth

  : 22 January 1907

• Date of death

  : 1 March 1980 (73 years old)

• Place of birth

  :  Birkenhead, Cheshire, England

• Height:

  1.78 m (5 ft 8 in)

• Playing position:

  Centre- forward

Some Clubs while playing

:  Tranmere rovers, 

, Nots county, Sligo rovers, hurst

Unfortunately, so much was lost about dixie dean stats making him quite a legend in English and world football history. He had scored 425 goals for his clubs during his matches and even holds the record for the most goals scored in English league history with 67 goals in 46 games to this day.

Deans heading and leaping ability were legendary but sadly there aren’t a lot of footage and it mainly remains as legend. He was known not only to English people but people from other countries also adored him and his ability to score a goal with a header.

As sir matt Busby said about him “however close you watched him, his timing in the air was such that he was coming down before you got anywhere near him, and he hit the ball with his head as hard and as accurate as most players could kick it.”

Although no official record is kept it is often said that dixie dean is the player with

the most headed goals ever

and no player has scored more than him.

Dean’s statue was unveiled outside Goodison park in May 2001. A year later he became one of the 22 players into the inaugural English Football Hall of fame. our legend was the very first player wearing Everton’s number 9 that has become iconic in the later years.

There are so much to talk about dixie dean’s legends that a few words aren’t enough but without a doubt he was one of the best headers in football history and maybe even the best football header of all time.

10. Sandor Kocsis

• Full name:

  Sandor Peter Kocsis

• Date of birth:

  21 September 1929

• Date of death:

  22 July 1979 (49 years old)

• Place of birth:

    Budapest, Hungary

• Height:

  1.77 m (5 ft 8 in)

• Playing position:

  Striker

Some Clubs while playing:

  Honved, 

, Valencia

Sandor was a formidable goal scorer for Budapest Honved and Hungary. while playing for Honved he was the top goal scorer in any European league in both 1952 and 1954. Kocsis was the top goal scorer in 1954 world cup with 11 goals, being the first player who scored 2 Hat-tricks in a world cup.

In the list of players, we have mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo is without a doubt the best overall player but Sandor Kocsis is the player running him closest and when it comes to aerial ability, he won’t lose to any of the players mentioned above, in fact he could be the best of them.

With Honved, Hungary national team and Barcelona rarely passed a game without him scoring a goal. As we said before Kocsis was a man with many weapons in his arsenal, being a genius striker doesn’t even cut what he has done in his active years. He possessed brilliant striking abilities; he knew where to place himself efficiently for a definite goal with either of his legs. And of course, no one questioned his heading ability on long balls.

Never has there been a cleaner header of a ball than Kocsis. He knew where to position himself for the best chance of scoring, he was a genius in knocking down the ball to the ground and to either side of the goalkeeper, making him undefeatable in penalty area and giving headache to defenders and goalkeepers.

Kocsis was an artist in the air scoring the goal as beautifully as it was possible but unfortunately, he died at the age of 49 after he was diagnosed with leukemia and the stomach cancer. Though the reason for his death was falling down a hospital in Barcelona. Some say it was suicide and others say it was an accident. Whatever the reason he is one of the best headers in football history.

Our list of

top Headers in football history

ends here, we hope you enjoyed our little tour of players who rose to the sky higher than the players around them to become legends.

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