The countdown to South Africa 2010 may have started but there is still plenty of time for surprises to take place in terms of team selections and final squad lists. Coaches may spring a surprise or two and call upon unfamiliar names or perhaps the likes of the erratic Raymond Domenech will pick some unknown players.
Setting aside unforeseen events, injuries, suspensions or lack of form, a considerable number of players are all but guaranteed a spot o their national team’s roster heading to South Africa. It is perhaps early to confirm who has already scored his ticket to the World Cup but a few names will always surface when considering the most likely top scorer of the tournament. The top scorer does not have to be a striker so a number of attacking midfielders and wingers will be included on this potential list as shown below:
- Wayne Rooney: The English forward is still a young 24-year-old star player who will be the focus of Fabio Capello’s attacking schemes come next summer. Rooney scored 12 goals in 30 league appearances last season for Manchester United but he has already managed seven strikers in 11 games this season in the Premiership. The young forward has scored 25 times in the 55 matches he has played for his country. His last goal came in the World Cup qualifying destruction of Croatia (5-1 home triumph) back on 9 September 2009.
- David Villa: The striker has an impressive record with both Valencia and Spain. He has found the net on 35 occasions in just 54 appearances. This implies the talented player has a better strike ratio than a goal every two games. Villa has scored a remarkable nine goals in 10 la Liga games this season. He forms a frightening partnership with fellow attacker Fernando Torres.
- Fernando Torres:The Liverpool striker does not have Villa’s impressive scoring record but he is still a very dangerous man inside the box. He has netted 23 goals in 71 international appearances for Spain. His scoring tally with Liverpool is impressive as he notched 24 goals in 33 league appearances in his first season at Anfield and followed that with 14 strikes in 24 matches in the Premier League. This season Torres is amazingly on 10 goals in just 10 games.
- Didier Drogba: The Ivory Coast striker is one of the most lethal players at the international level having notched 41 goals in only 60 caps for his country. Drogba has been in great form this season for Carlo Ancelotti as he has found the back of the net nine times in 12 league appearances. Drogba is a nightmare for defenders when on form due to his strength, pace and scoring abilities.
- Luis Fabiano: His goal tally stands at 25 in the 36 times he has represented Brazil. He scored twice in the important 3-1 victory over Argentina in Rosario on September 5, 2009. Luis Fabiano was top scorer in the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 with five goals, including a double against the Unite States in the final. He has five goals to his credit this season in just seven la liga appearances.
- Lionel Messi: The talented player is considered by many as the best player in the world at the moment. He has only managed 13 strikes in 41 appearances for Argentina but he has been in stunning form for Barcelona. He led the club to a treble last season after scoring 38 goals in 51 total appearances for the club while also providing assists on 18 other goals. He had 23 goals in 31 league appearances last season and he is on course to match or even beat the impressive figure having already scored seven times in just 10 la Liga matches. Messi is a delight to watch as he takes on defenders while making it look easy.
- Kaka: The former Milan icon has scored 26 times for Brazil in 73 appearances. He was instrumental in Milan’s success in Europe during the 2006-07 season as the club won the Champions League on the back of his incredible performances. He would finish top scorer in the European competition that season with 10 goals. He is now part of Real Madrid’s second Los Galacticos era since the turn of the century. The talented Brazilian has only managed three goals in 10 matches in la Liga as he tries to adjust to life after Milan.
- Cristiano Ronaldo: The Portuguese missed Portugal’s play-off triumph over Bosnia but he should be back for South Africa 2010 barring any injury. The current Real Madrid star has managed to find the net 22 times in 68 matches for Portugal. He has scored five goals in just five appearances for Los Blancos as he is out injured. His scoring record with Manchester United was remarkable having scored 17 goals in 34 matches in the league during the 2006-7 season and then followed it with a stunning 2007-08 season capped by his 31 goals in 34 appearances in the Premiership. In his final season with United, he scored 18 times in 33 matches in the league. He won the European Golden Shoe during the remarkable 2007-08 season as the leading scorer across all the top divisions in Europe.
- Thierry Henry: Currently the man behind the most controversial use of his hand to contribute to a goal! His handball assist to William Gallas eliminated the Irish and sent France to South Africa 2010. The striker was extremely lethal during his spell with Arsenal but his scoring tally with Barcelona is quite respectable as he managed 19 goals in 29 matches last season. He has played 117 times for France and scored 51 goals.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
David Villa’s scoring record for Spain and Valencia is impressive – but, how many of those 35 strikes for Spain were penalties or free kicks?
Torres strike record although not as numerous are all from open play – 71 caps for a 25 yr old now that’s impressive!
Raul’s understudy now Villa’s strike partner…..he’s an asset to any team!
Hello Robbie,
I agree about your assessment of Torres; there is no doubt he is a great talent and a threat to any defense. I just feel David Villa and Brazil’s Luis Fabiano have a better chance of topping the scoring list considering their respective record with their national team. Villa has been a consistent scorer for Valencia the past couple of years too. The threat to them would probably come from Drogba, depending on how difficult the Ivory Coast’s group is, and from perhaps Lionel Messi if he can duplicate his club form and Maradona can finally create the feeling of a united group as opposed to a bunch of stars playing together.
My Vote is for Drogba. I think the Ivory Coast will make a strong march through the competition. If I were a betting man, I would wager that the American President thinks he will be the biggest scorer of the Cup though.
As the summer of 2010 draws near, this president will prepare himself to take center stage at the world’s biggest gathering of sports enthusiasts. President Obama will embrace the “world’s game’” at the pinnacle of its spectacle, and will shine brightly as the biggest star at the world’s biggest game in its most unusual of settings. As the Cup ventures to Africa for the first time in the competition’s history, the first African-American President will take full advantage of the opportunity to share his message of a “changed America” with an audience of 700,000,000+ who will tune in for the Final and the more than 5 billion viewers who will watch the full slate of games. For a President committed to “restoring” America’s image in the global community, the World Cup will be his greatest moment. World-wide “apology tours” and UN speeches reach only a limited audience, but the pulpit that is the World Cup will be limitless.
So yes, he will go. He will go and the world will embrace him. He will take with him his message of hope, of change, and of a nation recast in the image of a new and refined face on the world’s stage. He will arrive in Johannesburg not as a conquering hero but as a returning son, and he will attempt to undue the atrocities envisioned in his own mind by bowing at the alter of the world’s greatest game. The only question is whether once the applause stop and the cheers go silent, will anyone truly listen to the Chosen One and his message? Africa embraced Ali because he was a smooth talker and promised big results, upon which he delivered. South Africa rallied around Nelson Mandela because he personified much needed change and his very freedom generated hope, which has helped sustain the country’s march to actualized equality. Will President Obama finally find his moment of redemption where he will for the first time connect with citizens of the world and generate tangible results, or will this simply be another love, apology, and appeasement tour that will do little more than generate hype, big crowds, and adoring audiences but only succeed in diminishing further the nation’s position in the global community? Perhaps a more fitting question to be posed regarding our prognosticating Chief Executive would be – as he fills out his tournament bracket as he did with the NCAA Basketball tournament, will he bet on the United States when he picks a winner or will he think such a choice will represent exceptionalism and lead to yet another apology tour if we should win?
http://republicanredefined.com/2009/11/25/world-cup-2010-obamas-next-global-initiative/
Hi T. Christopher,
Drogba is certainly a threat when one considers his scoring record for the Ivory Coast and I personally wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up top scorer in WC 2010, but it’s too difficult to tell given the many unknown variables. The quality of the group his country will be placed in, Drogba’s own form and of course his physical condition will all play a role in deciding if he can compete for the top scorer’s title. Then you have to factor in whether there is a surprise newcomer since the World Cup tends to have its own stars such as Toto Schillaci in 1990 or Oleg Salenko who scored five goals for Russia against Cameroon during WC 1994 (Salenko would score one more goal to finish tied with Buglaria’s famous star Stoichkov and share with him the Golden Boot). Anything is possible making the World Cup a fascinating event which transcends any other sports tournament.
It will be some one from Brazilian team – as they also have the chance of making it to the final 2 and thus playing more number of matches !!!
http://reviews-sports.blogspot.com/2009/12/world-cup-football-match-schedule-and.html