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Asamoah Gyan has more international goals than these legendary strikers

Pulse Sports has compiled a list of some legendary attackers whose international goal returns do not compare to Asamoah Gyan

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The Ghana captain has been the main man upfront for the Black Stars in the last decade, helping the West African nation to three successive World Cup qualifications.

However, it appears not many Ghanaians are enthused about the striker’s exploits for the Black Stars so far. The 31-year-old still faces criticism from certain quarters, despite becoming Ghana’s all-time top-scorer with 50 goals.

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The above number means that the striker joins an illustrious list of players, including Edin Dzeko, Robin Van Persie, Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba to have reached that land mark.

But what many people do not know is that Gyan has a superior goalscoring record to many legendary strikers.

The on-loan Al Ahli striker’s goal record in national team colours, by far, supersede that of certain global stars who have been classified in the bracket of ‘world class’ strikers.

Pulse Sports has compiled a list of some legendary attackers whose international goal returns do not compare to Asamoah Gyan.

Patrick Kluivert

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The 1994/95 Uefa Champions League winner was quite a handful for defenders. Kluivert played in one of the most talented Dutch sides, but could not win any major trophy with his national team.

Kluivert scored 40 goals in 79 appearances, despite his 149 strikes at club level.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy

The Netherlands international was one of the deadliest attackers in his prime. Having taken the English Premier League by storm with impressive performances for Manchester United, Van Nistelrooy moved to Real Madrid to continue his exploits in front of goal.

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The bulky striker scored 249 goals during his club career, but that was not the case at national level. Van Nistelrooy netted 35 times in 70 games. Impressive, but still short of Gyan’s record.

Hernan Crespo

Crespo played in the Argentina national team for nearly a decade, but was unfortunate to have always played second fiddle to Gabriel Baptistuta.

However, he still showcased his potency in front of goal with 35 goals in 64 matches.

Raul Gonzales

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Raul was a legend for both Spain and Real Madrid. Having scored goals for fun for the Spanish side, Raul stood as the club’s all-time top-scorer until his record of 323 goals was broken by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Despite netting 275 goals in his club career, the striker found the back of the net 44 times in 102 games for Spain.

Francesco Totti

Perhaps the greatest striker to ever play in the Serie A, Francesco Totti was a symbol of Rome. The former Roma captain was a beast in club colours, scoring a total of 250 goals for the Italian club.

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Totti, though, could never carry his club form to the national team. He was instrumental when Italy won the World Cup in 2006, but overall Totti could only score nine goals in 58 appearances for Italy.

David Trezequet

The man who was born in rouen, was probably one of the most underrated strikers in his era. David Trezequet was part of the French side that won the World Cup and European Championship in succession.

However, despite scoring an impressive 227 goals across stints with Juventus, Monaco et al, Trezequet could only net 34 times for France. He played 71 times for the French national team.

Eric Cantona

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The controversial French striker was one of the best in the late 1990s. Eric Cantona made his name with Manchester United after leading the club to multiple trophies. However, his national team career was always in the balance.

Cantona was omitted from France’s World Cup-winning squad of 1998 due to character issues, nonetheless the striker won 45 caps for Les Bleus, scoring 20 times in the process. The striker, though, scored 131 times at club level.

Michael Owen

Once English football’s most celebrated attackers, Michael Owen rose to the international scene in 1998 after taking the World Cup by storm. The diminutive striker went on to carve a good career, playing for Liverpool and Real Madrid in the process.

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Owen managed to score 163 goals in his club career, but scored just 40 times for the Three Lions.

Alan Shearer

The Premier League all-time topscorer had a fairly glittering career, including leading Blackburn Rovers in the 1994/95 league title. Shearer amassed 63 caps for the English national team, managing to net 30 times.

The former Newcastle United striker, however, scored an incredible 283 goals in his club career.

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Alessandro Del Piero

Undoubtedly one of the greatest strikers the game has ever seen, Del Piero was an expert in the attacking role. The Italy and Juventus legend was so lethal that he scored 261 goals in his career before retiring.

However, only 27 of his goals were for the Italian national team. Del Piero played 99 times for Italy, winning the World Cup with the Azuris in 2006.

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