So, Greece are the world champions, at least until the new year. But which players have scored the most goals in the UFWC? In around 800 games, over 2500 goals have been scored. And now, for the first time, the top 20 is revealed. It includes some of the world’s greatest ever players, as well as some relatively unknown players. Today, I will run down the positions 20 through to 6.
15th=) 10 goals each:
John Smith (Scotland, 1879-84), George Ker (Scotland, 1880-82), John Goodall (England, 1888-96), GO Smith (England, 1893-99), Dixie Dean (England, 1927), Igor Chislenko (USSR, 1966-67)
11th=) 11 goals each:
Robert Hamilton (Scotland, 1899-1911), Vivian Woodward (England, 1905-09), Stan Mortensen (England, 1947-50), Antonio Valentin Angelillo (Argentina, 1956-57)
9th=) 13 goals each:
Matthias Sindelar (12 UFWC games, 1931-32). “The Mozart of Football”, Sindelar was one of the greatest Austrian players of all time. His international career was ended by the Nazi Anschluss of 1938, and his subsequent refusal to play for the German team. A year later, he died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Recorded officially as an accident, there are plenty who believe it was not.
Oliver Bierhoff (19 UFWC games, 1996-2001). A German hero following his goals at Wembley that won Euro 96, Bierhoff’s best years were spent in Italy, with Udinese and Milan. He is currently general manager of the German national team.
6th=) 15 goals each:
Anton Schall (11 UFWC games, 1931-32). Schall was another star of Austria’s 1934 World Cup “Wunderteam” that lost to hosts Italy in the semi-finals. It remains a highly controversial match, with Mussolini seemingly directly responsible for some strange refereeing decisions from Ivan Eklind (who did likewise in the final). Schall won seven Austrian championships with Admira Vienna. In 1947, he won the Swiss Cup as manager of FC Basel, but died months later.
Pele (14 UFWC games, 1957-62). Globally feted as the greatest footballer of all time, Pele has won three World Cups, and scored over 1000 goals in his career (although many of these were in matches of very dubious standing). He only played for two clubs, Santos and New York Cosmos. His nearest rival for the accolade “greatest player ever”, Diego Maradona, has scored a mere five UFWC goals.
Michel Platini (18 UFWC games, 1976-85). Currently the President of UEFA, Platini was French national captain for eight years, taking his side to two World Cup semi-finals, both ending in defeat to West Germany. In between, his side won Euro 84, Platini himself scoring nine goals in five games. He later had less success as the manager of France. With Juventus, he won the Italian league (twice), the Coppa Italia, the Cup-Winners Cup and the European Cup.
