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The Greatest Target Men of All Time
Shirt number: 9; also known as: 'Target Man' or 'traditional centre forward'

The traditional centre-forward or 'target man' was a big part of the game from its evolution until modern times, especially in England and northern Europe. The target man was tall, strong and brave and an excellent header of the ball. His job was to act as a focal point for the attack, often playing with his back to goal he would hold the ball up and the lay it off to play his team-mates in. These players were also the main source of goals for the team and great finishing is a pre-requisite for the greats in this position. If not scoring himself, the centre-forward he played an important role by dominating defenders physically and keeping them occupied and on the back foot. Much of his play would be about winning the ball in the air. Principally, a major source of goals was provided by him getting on the end of crosses and head the ball in the back of the net. The heyday of the traditional centre-forward was from the dawn of the game to the 1960s.

In the modern game (and often in Latin and Mediterranean countries in earlier eras) teams do not always play this way. Playing with the ball on the ground does not require this type of centre-forward and many teams played without them, although they still remained important across the world, and especially in England. The new style centre-forward (exemplified by players such as Drogba) have to perform the role described above but, frequently operating alone, they must now also be able to turn with the ball and go for goal themselves, requiring them to be quick and good with their feet as well as in the air. This is a challenging role and it is becoming more important now that teams are typically playing with only one central striker (i.e. in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation). In this system it is vital that the ball can 'stick' long enough when played to the centre-forward to give other players time to join the attack. Alternatively their modern role is just to win the ball in the area, hold it and lay it off to a deeper forward to get the best out of this latter player (e.g. Fred playing as centre-forward to support Neymar in the 2014 World Cup), though these players will rarely be classed as greats.


Picture
Dixie Dean
Friedenreich  Bra  1914-30

Dixie Dean  Eng  1920s

Jimmy McGrory  Sco  1920s/30s

Arsenio Erico  Par  1930s

Stabile  Arg  1930s

Piola 
Ita  1930s

Binder  Aus  1940s

Lofthouse  Eng  1940s/50s

Mortensen  Eng  1948-53

Lawton  Eng  1950s

 

Picture
John Charles
Nordahl  Swe  1950s

Telmo Zarra  Spa  1950s

Kocsis  Hun  1953-61

Charles  Wales  1957-62

Vava  Bra  1958-62

Hurst  Eng  1960s

Alberto Spencer  Ecu  1960s

Luis Artime  Arg  1960s

Jose Aguas  Por  1960s



 

Picture
Drogba
Hans Krankl  Aus  1973-85

Rudi Voller  Ger  1980s

Preben Elkjaer  Den  1980s

Batistuta  Arg  1990s

Shearer  Eng  1990s

Vieri  Ita  1990s

Zamorano  Chile 
1990s/00s

Klose  Ger  2000s/10s


Forlan  Uru  2000s/10s

Ibrahimovic  Swe  2000s/10s

Drogba  IvCo  2000s/10s

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Best Players in Each Position

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