Thierry Henry, David Villa, Michael Owen Among Top 27 Strikers Of The Decade

This decade has seen some of the greatest players ever to have graced the planet, and produced talents who could carry their teams on their own.

The striker(s) on a team are generally the ones upon whom the team depend for their goals, though many are scored by midfielders and wingers.

There have been great strike partnerships over the years, and the strikers thrive on each other's contributions. It is inevitable that strikers are judged on the number of goals they score, but it is also important to look at their assists and their contribution to the team.

Various strikers have different modes of operation: some use their raw pace to get behind the defenders, others use their trickery and skill to beat defenders, and some others use their power, physical strength, and pace to get the better of defenders.

They have to be intelligent to avoid the offside trap and need to keep their composure in front of goal.

In this decade, there have been some incredible strikers, who have broken numerous domestic and international records. I have compiled a list of 25 strikers, who have been among the greatest players in this decade.

I have included only players, who play primarily in the central role, and so, brilliant players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been omitted because they play on the flanks. 

Country: Ukraine

Current Club: Dynamo Kiev

Former Clubs: AC Milan, Chelsea

Andriy Shevchenko is one of the most prolific goalscorers of this decade, as his stats would show. He was very successful early on in his career with Dynamo Kiev and was bought for a large sum of money by AC Milan. He was a huge success for the Rossoneri, helping them win numerous titles including the Champions League.

He also won the Ballon D' Or award in 2004. He was signed by Chelsea in 2006, but did not have a great time with them. He is currently plying his trade with Dynamo Kiev, who re-signed him in 2009, following an unsuccessful loan spell with Milan.

Country: England

Former Clubs: Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United

Alan Shearer is widely regarded as the greatest player to have ever graced the Premier League, and still holds the record for the highest number of goals scored since the inception of the Premier League. Shearer was a very impressive complete striker, who was also an important part of the England team.

He started off his career at Southampton, and then moved to Blackburn in 1992. He was a huge success for the Rovers, and then rejected a move to Manchester United, to join Newcastle United. He is considered a legend by Newcastle United fans, and the former No. 9 took Newcastle to great heights.

He also had a short stint in managing his former club Newcastle United during 2009. He managed the club for eight games during the end of the season, but could not avoid relegation.

Country: Netherlands

Current Club: Hamburg

Former Clubs: Manchester United, Real Madrid, PSV Eindhoven

The Dutch striker was a prolific goal scorer in all the clubs that he has played for, and has an excellent goals to games ration for both club and country. He scored 62 goals in 67 games, for PSV Eindhoven, which made Sir Alex Ferguson sign the Dutch striker for a sizable sum of money. He was impressive for the Red Devils and amassed more than 150 goals for the club in a span of five years.

He had a spat with Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006, after which he decided to leave Old Trafford. Real Madrid signed him in 2006 and he had a superb start to his career with Los Blancos. However, he was affected by a number of injuries, and parted ways with Real Madrid, after the emergence of Gonzalo Higuain and the multimillion pound signing of Karim Benzema. In 2010, he signed for Hamburg, and is presently having a decent time at the club.

He has also featured regularly for the Netherlands, till he announced his International retirement in 2008. However, he came out of retirement and insisted he was available for the 2010 World Championship. However he was not selected to represent the Oranje, but was recently called up for the Euro qualifiers due to an injury to Robin Van Persie.

Country: Netherlands

Former Clubs: AC Milan, Ajax, Barcelona, Newcastle United, PSV Eindhoven, Valencia, Lille

Patrick Kluivert was a part of the "golden generation" to emerge from the Ajax academy, which included the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Edwin Van der Sar, and Clarence Seedorf. He was prolific for Ajax and was instrumental in their success in the 1990s. Kluivert was then signed by Barcelona, for whom he was a very consistent performer. He scored 120 goals in 255 appearances for the Catalans, before he moved to Newcastle United.

He did not have a great time at Newcastle, followed by unsuccessful stints with Valencia, PSV and Lille. He was prolific for the Dutch national team, as well scoring 40 goals in 79 appearances in his International career which spanned a decade from 1994-2004. He retired in the year 2008 and was named in the FIFA 100 by Pele. 

Country: Spain

Current Club: Schalke

Former Clubs: Real Madrid

Raul is a modern day Real Madrid legend, having served successfully for the club for 15 years. He emerged from the Real Madrid academy, and was given a place in the first team at a very young age. He was a prolific goalscorer, and established an excellent partnership, first with Fernando Morientes and then with Ronaldo.

He has won numerous championship with the Los Blancos including the Champions League and La Liga. He was also a starter for Spain for a number of years, and holds the record for the highest number of goals for the La Roja. He left the club in 2010 and joined Schalke, in order to get more playing time, but he is still a legend at the Bernabeu.

Country: Norway

Former Clubs: Molde, Manchester United

The Norwegian footballer is one of the greatest signings for Manchester United during the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson. He was bought at a bargain from Molde, and was one of the most important members for the Red Devils.

His exploits as a substitute early on in his career made him the best "super-sub" in the world. Solskjaer's goals against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in 1999 made him among the most popular figures at Old Trafford.

He was also one of the most faithful players for the Red Devils and even rejected a move to Tottenham, even though Manchester United accepted the bid for him. He always put his club in front of him, and was inspirational for the Red Devils. He was plagued by injuries towards the end of his career, and retired in the year 2007.

Even though he was not the most prolific goalscorer, he provided an impetus for the team, and his love for Manchester United made him stay with the club, even after professional retirement. He is currently the manager of the Manchester United reserve team.

Country: Sweden

Current Club: AC Milan

Former Clubs: Malmo, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most successful strikers in the world, and is renowned for his clinical finishing and all around ability. Ibrahimovic started his senior career with Swedish club, Malmo, and then joined Ajax in 2001. He made an impact at the Dutch club, and was subsequently signed by Juventus. He had a decent time with Juventus, but moved on after only 2 years, when Juventus were found to be guilty in the Calciopoli scandal.

He was then signed by Inter Milan, and was very successful for the Nerazzurri. He was very prolific for Inter, and then moved on to Barcelona, who paid more than 40 million and also offered Samuel Etoo in exchange for securing the services of Ibrahimovic. After only one season, the tall Swede did not get along well with the manager, Pep Guardiola, and was loaned out to AC Milan, who also have an option of making the deal permanent.

Country: Ivory Coast

Current Club: Chelsea

Former Clubs: Le Mans, Guingamp, Olympic Marseille

Didier Drogba is among the best strikers in the world, today, and terrorises defenders with his pace, movement, power and clinical finishing. He is a prolific goalscorer for Chelsea, and has won numerous individual awards for his great contributions. He was excellent in his early career for Le Mans and Guingamp, which led to him being signed by Olympic Marseille.

After only a year for Marseille, Chelsea secured his services for around 25 million in 2004. He established a close relationship with Jose Mourinho, and played an important role in the title winning campaigns for Chelsea, under Mourinho. He was reportedly in tears, when Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea, but stayed on with the club. He was excellent in the previous campaign, and was one of the most important factors why Chelsea won the Premier League title.

He has also been a very influential figure for Cote' D' Ivoire, and has even brought peace to the country by resolving many political issues.

He has been prolific for his country as well, scoring 45 goals in 71 appearances. He is among the most feared strikers in the world, and is one of the best strikers to have graced the Premier League. 

Country: Spain

Current Club: Liverpool

Former Clubs: Atletico Madrid

Fernando Torres is one of the best strikers in the world today, and is a complete striker with pace, power, clinical finishing, and good aerial ability.

Torres started his senior career with Atletico Madrid, for whom he was a very influential figure. He stayed for six years at the club, scoring 91 goals in 249 appearances for the club. He moved to Liverpool in 2007, in a deal close to be worth 20 million.

He has been prolific for Liverpool since he has joined there and, along with Steven Gerrard, he is the most influential player for the Reds at present. He has pledged his loyalty to the Reds, and stayed on for the current season, even though Liverpool finished seventh in the previous season.

His form, though, has not been good, and he has been plagued by injuries recently.

Torres has also been an  important member for the Spain National teams and has represented Spain in various International tournaments. He scored the winner in the Euro 2008 final against Germany, and was named the man of the match. He did not have a good World Cup in South Africa, and was dropped from the starting eleven for the final, though he did make an appearance as a late substitute.

Country: Italy

Current Club: Juventus

Alessandro Del Piero is a Juventus legend, and has played for Juventus for the last 16 years.

Del Piero is known, not only for his goalscoring ability, but also for his creativity and assists. He broke into the Juventus team at the young age of 19. From then on, he has not looked back and has gone on to make the highest number of appearances by any player for Juventus. He also holds the record for the highest number of goals for Juventus.

He was also a regular for his country, and has a decent record of 27 goals in 91 appearances. He became only the second Italian to have represented his country in seven major tournaments.

Del Piero will forever remain in the hearts of all Juventus supporters for his exploits and loyalty that he has shown.

Country: Germany

Current Club: Bayern Munich

Former Clubs: Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen

Miroslav Klose became a world-renowned striker after his exploits in the 2002 World Cup, where he scored five goals for Germany helping them attain a place in the final.

Though not the tallest of strikers, he has great aerial ability and has a knack of scoring headers. He is also technically capable, and is a prolific goal scorer. He started off his senior career with Kaiserslautern, for whom he played for five years, before he moved on to Werder Bremen.

He was reasonably successfully for Werder, and decided to move to Bayern Munich in 2007. He had a couple of successful seasons with Bayern, but his form dipped in the last season and it was doubtful whether he would be called up for the World Cup.

Joachim Loew placed his faith in Klose and retained him for the World Cup, and Klose did not disappoint him. He scored four goals, but could not help Germany avoid defeat at the hands of Spain. He is currently the second top goalscorers in the World Cups, having scored 14 goals in three World Cups.  

Country: Italy

Current Club: AS Roma

Francesco Totti is widely regarded as one of the best players in this generation, and has played for Roma,all his life. He is presently Roma's captain, and is the top active Serie A goal scorer. He has scored 192 goals in 447 appearances and is among the greatest players to have played for Roma. He is also known for his creativity, and his all around ability is second to none.

Totti has also had a very successful career for the Azzurri, and was an integral member of the team that conquered the 2006 World Cup squad. He also made himself available for the 2010 World Cup, but was selected by Marcello Lippi. Though he was not a prolific goal scorer for Italy, he contributed to the team in a huge way with his creativity.

Country: Italy

Former Clubs: Torino, Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Monaco, Fiorentina, Atalanta

Christian Vieri is one of the best goal scorers of this generation and has played for numerous clubs in his career. He moved to various clubs, before he joined Juventus in 1996. He stayed there for a year, before he moved to Atletico for whom he scored an impressive 24 goals in 24 appearances. But he did not stay long, and moved to Lazio in the very next season.

He had another one-year spell at Lazio before he moved on to Inter Milan. He finally found some stability at Inter Milan staying with the Nerazzurri for 6 years till 2005. He scored 103 goals from 143 appearances, which is very impressive. He then moved on to various clubs for short periods, but did not produce the form which he is capable of. In 2009, he played for Atalanta, and retired at the end of the season.

Vieri also had a successful career for Italy, and represented Italy in several major tournaments. He scored 23 goals from 49 matches for the Italy National team.                      

Country: Uruguay

Current Club: Atletico Madrid

Former Clubs: Manchester United, Villareal, Independiente

Diego Forlan is an Uruguayan footballer who is currently playing for Atletico Madrid. He started off by playing for many South American clubs including Independiente, from where he moved to Manchester United. He did not endure a good time with the Red Devils, scoring a paltry 10 goals in 63 appearances for United.

He was subsequently transferred to Villareal, and he showed his class for the Spanish side. He netted a total of 54 goals in 106 appearances in the La Liga for Villareal, which attracted the interest of Atletico Madrid. Atletico secured the services of the Uruguayan, to replace Fernando Torres, who left for Liverpool. He has scored 69 goals in 104 appearances for Atletico in La Liga, and is one of the most important players in the team.

He has also been a regular for the Uruguay National team, and was awarded the Golden Ball for his spectacular efforts in the 2010 World Championship in South Africa and was one of the top goalscorers of the competition with 5 goals to his name.

Country: Argentina

Former Clubs: Boca Juniors, River Plate, Newell's Old Boys, Fiorentina, Roma, Inter Milan, Al Arabi

Gabriel Batistuta was one of the most prolific strikers to have graced the Serie A, and is considered a legend by Fiorentina supporters. Early on in his career, he played for both River plate and arch rivals Boca Juniors, before he moved to Fiorentina in Italy. He played for Fiorentina for nine years, before he moved to Roma to fulfil his ambition of winning a major trophy.

He achieved his aim, when Roma won the Scudetto for the 2000-01 season. He scored 20 goals in the campaign and wore that as his shirt number in the following season. He then had a short spell with Inter Milan, and then moved to Qatar to play for Al Arabi.

He was also a regular for the Argentina national team, and was prolific for them as well. He scored 56 goals in only 79 appearances, and is considered a great by Argentina supporters.

Country: France

Current Club: Hercules

Former Clubs: Platense, Monaco, Juventus

David Trezeguet is best remembered for his golden goal which he scored for France in the Euro 2000, which clinched them the trophy. Trezeguet has had a long and fruitful career, in which he has scored a number of goals, some of it at very important times. He started his professional career with Platense, before Monaco signed him in 1995. He spent five years with the Ligue 1 side, before he moved to Juventus.

He stayed on for a decade with Juventus, and was very popular with the fans. He was very faithful to the club, and did not leave even after Juventus had been relegated to the Serie B, courtesy the Calciopoli  scandal. He scored 171 goals in 318 appearances for the club, before he moved on to newly promted Hercules in Spain.

He was also an important member for the France team, and scored 34 goals in 71 appearances for the France National team.

Country: Italy

Former Clubs: AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Brescia, Bologna

Roberto Baggio is considered to be one of the finest players to have graced the planet, and was one of the best support strikers in the world. Though he was not at his best in this decade, he was among the best to have played in that role. Baggio played 5 years for Juventus, where he sparkled for them from 1990 to 1995. He, then moved to AC Milan, but could not replicate his earlier success.

In order to resuscitate his career, he moved to Bologna, where he scored 22 goals in the season. He, then moved to Inter Milan, which turned out to be a mistake for him, because Marcello Lippi, the then Inter Milan coach did not favour him.

After two years, he was then transferred to Brescia, where he had a decent time. he was not called up for the 2002 World Cup, and subsequently retired in 2004.

Baggio has also represented Italy in many major tournaments, and has scored in three World Cups for the Azzurri. He totalled 27 goals in 56 appearances for Italy.

Country: Netherlands

Former Clubs: Arsenal, Inter Milan, Ajax

Dennis Bergkamp is considered to be among the great Gunners ever in Arsenal history and formed a deadly strike force with Thierry Henry. Bergkamp emerged from the Ajax academy and made his debut under Johan Cruyff. He was a huge success at Ajax and scored over a hundred goals for his hometown club before he moved to Inter Milan.

His spell at Inter Milan was largely unsuccessful, and was then transferred to Arsenal where he attained legendary status. He was slightly slow to start in his debut season, but he established an excellent partnership with Ian Wright. He flourished when Arsene Wenger took over the reins, and was one of the most popular figures at Highbury, and after the arrival of Henry, the pair created magic for the Gunners and created history for the Gunners.

Bergkamp was also successful for the Dutch National team, though he could not inspire them to win the World Cup. He ended his career with 37 goals in 71 appearances for the Netherlands.

Country: Netherlands

Former Clubs: Vitesse, Tenerife, Deportivo la Coruna, Bayern Munich, Feyenoord

Roy Makaay was an excellent striker, who was a prolific goalscorer for all the clubs that he has played for. He started off his career playing for Vitesse in the Dutch league, for whom he scored 45 goals in 114 appearances. He then moved to Spain where he played for Tenerife.

He was excellent for Tenerife and moved on after 2 years to Deportivo. For Deportivo, he continued his impressive goalscoring exploits scoring 96 goals in 171 appearances for the club, and helping them win the La Liga in 2001. He also won the European golden boot for the 2002-03 season, for being the top scorer in Europe. He was then signed by German giants Bayern Munich. He continued his prolific goalscoring for the German giants as well, scoring an impressive 102 goals in only 178 appearances.

He then returned to Netherlands to play for Feyenoord, for whom he played for three years before announcing his retirement. He had an excellent goal scoring tally throughout his career. He played for the Netherlands National team as well, but was behind the likes of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Patrick Kluivert and Dennis Bergkamp in the pecking order. 

Country: England

Current Club: Manchester United

Former Clubs: Everton

Rooney is one of the best young strikers in the world, today and is an all around striker with pace, strength, aerial ability, and clinical finishing.

Rooney joined Everton at the age of 10, and rose through the ranks at the academy. At the age of 16, he broke into the Everton first team. His impressive performances for the Merseysiders made Manchester United sign the striker for a reported fee in the region of 25 million.

He has grown into an all around striker under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson, and has scored many important goals for the Red Devils. He has scored 132 goals in 287 appearances for United, and had an impressive previous season, in which he netted 34 goals. He is an integral part of the team, and despite his off field issues, he continues to be one of the best players in the EPL.

Rooney is also a regular for the England National Team, and has scored 26 goals in 67 appearances. He has also represented England in several major tournaments, including the World Cups in 2006 and 2010.

Country: Spain

Current Club: FC Barcelona

Former Clubs: Valencia, Sporting Gijon, Real Zaragoza

David Villa was recently signed by FC Barcelona for 34 million, and it was considered to be a bargain by many. That gives us an indication of how good his performances were for Spain in the World Cup. Villa played for Gijon in the years 2001 to 2003, from where he moved on to Real Zaragoza. He proved that he was not out of place with the best, and was signed by Valencia in 2005. He was prolific and faithful for Valencia, scoring 129 goals in 212 appearances.

In 2010, he was signed by FC Barcelona for a figure close to 35 million, because he desired to win major trophies with a major club like Barcelona and also, Valencia were in the midst of a financial crisis. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was loaned out to AC Milan, and Villa has assumed the role of the striker for the Catalans.

He has been very successful for Spain, and was the top scorer in Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010, which are the only two International trophies for Spain. Villa is currently the highest scorer for Spain in the World Cups and is tied with Raul Gonzalez for the highest goals tally for Spain with 44 goals in only 68 appearances for the La Roja.

Country: England

Current Club: Manchester United

Former Clubs: Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United

Michael Owen emerged from the Liverpool youth academy to be one of the greatest strikers ever for Liverpool. He broke into the first team 1997, and established himself as a first team regular within the next few months. Owen has great aerial ability, pace (which has greatly reduced due to multiple injuries and age), strength and an eye for goal.

Owen had an outstanding career with Liverpool, for whom he scored 158 goals in 297 appearances.

He was then signed by Real Madrid for a large transfer fee, but could not produce the same goalscoring form that saw him excel at Liverpool. Owen was then signed by Newcastle United, but again, could not inspire the Baggies, who were relegated in 2009, and was criticised by Newcastle supporters.

He was hampered by numerous injuries, which contributed to his loss of pace and form. In 2009, Manchester United signed him on a free transfer, but has not been able to break into the first team, and has been relegated to the bench, mostly.

Owen, also had a successful International career notching 40 goals in 89 appearances. His injuries have had a great effect in his career, and he was dropped for the World Cup 2010. Fabio Capello did not call him up for the Euro 2012 qualifiers, even though Jermain Defoe is injured, and his International future is in doubt, but Owen is still hoping that he can represent the Three Lions in the future.

Country: Cameroon

Current Club: Inter Milan

Former Clubs: Mallorca, Barcelona

Samuel Eto'o is the only player to have won the treble in consecutive seasons, which he achieved with different clubs, FC Barcelona and Inter Milan. Eto'o is regarded as one of the finest strikers in this generation, and is known for his clinical finishing in front of goal. Eto'o emerged from the academy of Real Madrid, but could not break into the first team, and was loaned out to Espanyol, Leganes and Mallorca.

He had a decent spell at Mallorca, who made his deal permanent. He showed his talent at Mallorca, scoring 69 goals in 163 appearances. But his best was yet to come and he realised his true potential at Barcelona, who signed him in 2004.

He was prolific for Barcelona and though he had controversial moments at the club, he was an important member of the team, and scored an impressive 130 goals in 200 appearances. He then moved to Inter Milan, in a swap deal which involved Zlatan Ibrahimovic, after his Champions Legue triumph with Barcelona. He was employed in a wide role by Jose Mourinho for Inter, but he still contributed greatly to the club's success, helping them win the treble.

Eto'o has also been a regular for the Cameroon National team, and captained the team for the World Cup in 2010. He has scored 50 goals for the Lions, and is regarded as one of the finest strikers from Africa.

Country: Brazil

Current Club: Corinthians

Former Clubs: Cruzeiro, PSV, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, AC Milan

Ronaldo currently holds the record for the highest number of goals scored in the World Cup. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of this generation and his goalscoring ability is second to none as can be observed from his impressive goals to games ratio. He started off his career with Cruzeiro, and then moved on to PSV in Netherlands. He made a name for himself, there, scoring 54 goals in 57 appearances. He was subsequently signed by Barcelona, for whom he scored an impressive 47 goals in 49 appearances, but then decided to move to Italy.

He was signed by Inter Milan, for whom he was very prolific and stayed there for 5 years, till he was brought to Madrid who signed him on a Multimillion pound transfer as one of the Galacticos. He enjoyed a successful time with Real Madrid as well, scoring 83 league goals in only 127 appearances in the La Liga. AC Milan signed the striker in 2007, but he was unable to maintain his form, and his fitness was criticized by many. He moved back to Brazil and signed for Corinthians.

He is one of the most decorated strikers for Brazil, and deserves his place among all time Brazilian greats. He was prolific in the 1998 World Cup, but could not score in the Final against France, who were crowned the World Champions. Ronaldo impressed in the 2002 World Cup and scored in the World Cup final, and helped them win the World Cup. He was not in great shape for 2006 World Cup, but still notched three goals, but Brazil were defeated in the quarterfinals by France.

Country: France

Current Club: New York Red Bulls

Former Clubs: Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona

Thierry Henry is one of the greatest players to have played for Arsenal and is considered an Arsenal legend for his impressive contributions. Henry was signed by Monaco during his youth, which was at that time managed by present Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Wenger realised that the lad had a lot of talent, and used him on the wing, where he played his pace would be a menace for the fullbacks, but Wenger was unsure of how he would fare as a striker. Henry was successful at Monaco from 1994 to 1999, and subsequently moved on to Juventus in January, where he was ineffective on the wing.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who managed Henry at Monaco, decided to sign him for Arsenal in 1999, following henry's unsuccessful spell at Juventus. Wenger decided to use him as a central striker as opposed to a winger, and the move paid rich dividends. He realised his full potential at Arsenal, and was a prolific goalscorer for the Gunners.

He was an important member of the Invincibles squad, which went unbeaten in the 2003-04 season. He scored 226 goals in 369 appearances, and is considered a legend by Arsenal supporters. He, then, moved on to Barcelona in 2007, ending his wonderful time with the Gunners.

He played on the wing for Barcelona, but was still effective for the Catalans. he had an impressive second season with the club, playing alongside Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi, and the trio scored 100 goals between them in an incredible season, which saw Barcelona win all six trophies. With the emergence of Pedro, his playing time was reduced and he moved to the USA in 2010, to play for New York Red Bulls.

He was also very successful for the French national team, and has been an integral part of the team in several major tournaments including World Championships and Euro competitions. He was hugely criticised for his unsavoury Handball incident, which saw France knock out Republic of Ireland in a World Cup 2010 qualifier. He did apologise immediately after the match, but he was still vilified in the media. He has suffered a loss of form since then, and has moved to the United States.

Country: Italy

Current Club: AC Milan

Former Clubs: Parma, Atalanta, Juventus

Filippo Inzaghi is an AC Milan legend, who is still playing for the Rossoneri. He is a prolific goalscorer, who has won numerous titles for both club and country. He has helped AC Milan win numerous titles, including the Champions League in 2003 and 2007. He was also the Man of the Match for the 2007 Champions League final, scoring 2 goals in the victory against Liverpool.

Inzaghi started his professional career when he played for Parma in the Serie A. After a unsuccessful spell with them, he was then transferred to Atalanta, for whom he scored 24 goals in a season, before he was signed by Juventus. He had a good spell at Juventus scoring 89 goals in 165 matches, but was benched after the arrival of David Trezeguet.

He was then signed by AC Milan in 2001, with whom he is currently playing.  He is considered a legend by AC Milan supporters, and is among the most popular players. He has contributed to the team, just when they needed it like in the Champions League Final.

He also had a successful International career for Italy, and has scored 25 goals in 57 appearances for the Azzurri. He has represented Italy in several major tournaments including the World Cups in 1998, 2002 and 2006, where he made only one substitute appearance.

Country: Argentina

Current Club: Parma

Former Clubs: River Plate, Lazio, Inter Milan, Chelsea, AC Milan, Genoa

Hernan Crespo is considered one of the best Argentine strikers of this decade, and he has also been successful at club level. Crespo is all-round striker with good aerial ability, technique, movement and an eye for goal. He started off his career at River Plate, for whom he was successful, before he was signed by Parma.

He was extremely successful for Parma, and helped them achieve success, both in Italy and Europe. He was then transferred for a record fee to Lazio, and again proved his class by scoring 48 goals in 73 appearances. He was signed by Chelsea, who were then in the process of building a strong and powerful team. He had an average spell for the Blues, and was loaned out to Milan in the following season. But Jose Mourinho persuaded him to join the Blues for the 2005-06 season, so that he could provide good competition to Didier Drogba.

In the next season, he was loaned out to Inter Milan for two years, and the Nerazzurri signed the Argentine at the end of the loan spell. He did not enjoy a favourable time when Jose Mourinho took over the reins in 2008, and made few appearances for Inter Milan. He then moved on to Genoa, and in January 2010, he joined his former club Parma.

He has enjoyed great success on the International stage as well, scoring 35 goals in 64 appearances. He has been an integral member of the team and has represented Argentina in several major tournaments. He was the top scorer in 1996 Olympics, which they won, and also won the Silver Boot in the 2006 World Cup.