9 Greatest Strike Partnerships in Football History (Ranked)

The concept of strike partnerships is fairly uncommon in modern football. Many managers in the current era of the game prefer to play with a lone striker. Sometimes flanked by wingers, sometimes not, the use of a sole striker offers teams more bodies in either midfield or defence, allowing teams to have better control of possession, which is a particularly desired aspect of football in the 2020s.

That, however, is not to say that strike partnerships are not still used by some clubs, nor does it take away from the influence of the tactical idea in the past. Strike pairings were predominant in most teams for many years, with the strongest duos able to cause nightmares for any given defences in most matches and helping clubs win the highest honours available to them. With that being said, which strike partnerships have been the best in football history?

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Ranking Factors

Lists, as a concept, are subjective, with it being more than plausible that two lists on the same topic have different entrants depending on the writer’s opinion. With that being considered, this list has been ranked based on:

• Longevity – How long did each strike partnership play with each other?
• Quality – A simple question, how good was each player and how good was their partnership?
• Honours won – To what heights did each partnership take their team?
• Fan reception – How fondly remembered are these duos by the supporters of the team they played for?

9 Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi

1997-2001

Alessandro del Piero spent almost 20 years at Juventus, though it took just a handful of seasons for him to emerge as one of their best players. In the 1997 Ballon d’Or, he ranked sixth despite being in his early 20s and it was in that year that Filippo Inzaghi joined the club from Atalanta.

In their first season together, with Zinedine Zidane playing behind them, del Piero and Inzaghi fired Juventus to a Serie A title, with del Piero also finishing as that campaign’s top scorer in the Champions League. Despite such a promising start, however, del Piero and Inzaghi’s relationship soon grew strained, on and off the pitch, which contributed to their strike partnership losing the effectiveness they had at the start of their time together.

They won no further Serie A’s together and ultimately played together for just four years, until Inzaghi departed for AC Milan in 2001. Regardless of how it ended, however, the pair were one of the continent’s strongest attacking duos upon their formation.

8 Hristo Stoichkov and Romario

1993-1995

Hristo Stoichkov, arguably the best Bulgarian footballer of all time, joined Barcelona in 1990 after six years at CSKA Sofia. He was part of the Johan Cruyff-led Dream Team that won four-straight league titles for the Catalonian giants, going on to win the 1994 Ballon d’Or after a strong domestic campaign and helping Bulgaria reach the semi-finals in that year’s World Cup.

In 1993, Stoichkov was joined at Barcelona by Romario, the Brazilian having signed from PSV. Romario settled in well, scoring 30 goals in his debut season and reaching the 1994 Champions League final, which Barcelona would ultimately lose 4-0 to AC Milan.

Romario and Stoichkov each had an abundance of ability, but in the former’s case, controversy was never too far away. He was suspended for five games in 1994 after punching Diego Simeone and after an argument with Cruyff, he unexpectedly left the club in January 1995.

Though the pair were only together for around 18 months, they established themselves as one of Europe’s strongest-ever attacking partnerships.

7 Ronaldo and Raul

2002-2007

Raul rose through the ranks at Real Madrid, making his debut in 1994 and ultimately playing for the club until 2010. In 2002, Raul was joined by Brazilian superstar Ronaldo, who moved to the Spanish capital from Inter Milan having played for Barcelona earlier in his career, in the same year that he won the Ballon d’Or.

Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for Ronaldo and Raul to click as part of a Madrid team that boasted several superstars such as David Beckham and Luis Figo. Madrid were unfortunate in that Ronaldo struggled with several injuries across his time at the Bernabeu, which no doubt hampered what the duo could have potentially achieved.

Remarkably, in the five years that they played together, Ronaldo and Raul fired Real Madrid to only one La Liga title. They were not able to win any other major honour, despite their evident quality, prior to Ronaldo’s departure in 2007, but that does not remove anything from the fact that they are one of Europe’s most terrifying partnerships in football history.

6 Kevin Keegan and John Toshack

1971-1977

John Toshack made the move to Merseyside in 1970 after five years with Cardiff City in his native Wales. The following year, Kevin Keegan joined him at the club from Scunthorpe United and went on to form a brilliant duo with his Welsh counterpart, in what was a typical little and large style of partnership.

Working under the legendary Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley, Toshack and Keegan helped Liverpool win a UEFA Cup, two FA Cups and three First Division titles. Most impressively though, the attacking pair helped the Reds win their first-ever European Cup in 1977, overcoming Borussia Monchengladbach in the final.

Keegan would depart following the European Cup victory, moving to Hamburg where he would pick up two Ballon d’Or honours. Toshack, meanwhile, spent a further year at Liverpool, ultimately leaving in 1978 for Swansea City after finding his playing opportunities at Anfield limited.

5 Hugo Sanchez and Emilio Butragueno

1985-1992

Emilio Butragueno rose through the youth ranks at Real Madrid, ultimately making his senior debut for the club in 1984. The following season, he was joined by Hugo Sanchez, the Mexican striker having made a name for himself in Europe with city rivals Atletico Madrid during four years with the club.

Over the course of the following seven years, Sanchez and Butragueno fired Madrid to numerous honours, including five-straight La Liga titles between 1985 and 1990 and a UEFA Cup victory in 1986. Sanchez was a lethal finisher in front of goal and while this was a quality that Butragueno possessed also, it was for his trickery and playmaking, particularly as a forward, that he was known for.

In 1992, after seven years with Real Madrid, Sanchez departed to return to his home country of Mexico. Butragueno would be at the club for just three further years until moving to the top flight in Mexico himself after the emergence of 17-year-old starlet Raul limited his game time at the Bernabeu.

4 Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp

1999-2006

Thierry Henry moved to Juventus in 1999 after five years with Monaco in his native France. After disputes with the management and being deployed in multiple positions that weren’t his own, he left Turin after just six months to move to North London, joining Arsenal and eventual strike partner Dennis Bergkamp.

Bergkamp had been at Arsenal since 1995 after two years with Inter Milan, though it was only with the appointment of Arsene Wenger as manager that he saw his form and importance in the team improve.

Bergkamp had established himself as a crucial cog in Wenger’s system prior to Henry’s arrival.

Despite Bergkamp’s increasing age over the seven years he had with Henry, the two formed a formidable attacking partnership, with Henry taking over the mantle of Arsenal’s leading striker and Bergkamp’s natural flair and creativity being of huge assistance to the team.

The pair are fondly remembered by Arsenal fans for the 2003/04 season, during which the Gunners infamously went unbeaten on their way to a Premier League title. Bergkamp and Henry were often deployed in a 4-4-2 formation, with Bergkamp playing as more of a second striker compared to Henry, an out-and-out forward. They had won a league title in the 2001/02 campaign also, as well as three FA Cups before Bergkamp’s retirement in 2006.

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3 Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke

1998-2001

The electric form that Andy Cole displayed across his two seasons with Newcastle United was of such a level that it led to Manchester United paying a British record transfer fee for the striker’s services in 1995. Cole helped the Red Devils to two Premier League titles and an FA Cup in the three years before the club signed Dwight Yorke from Aston Villa, who would join Cole in one of the best strike duos that English football has ever seen.

Man United deployed Cole and Yorke up front in the 1998/99 season, during which their combined 35 goals in the Premier League helped them to another top flight triumph, the first of their partnership. The pair also helped the club to an FA Cup and Champions League as the Red Devils completed a continental treble, a first for an English club.

Cole and Yorke only spent three years together before Cole departed Old Trafford in December 2001. Prior to that moment, the pair scored just under 130 goals together across three years and after their treble-winning campaign, helped the club win two further Premier League’s back-to-back before Cole moved to Blackburn Rovers.

2 Sir Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush

1980-1987, 1988-1990

After the departures of Kevin Keegan and John Toshack, Liverpool were in dire need of new talents to lead their attacking line. Kenny Dalglish joined from Celtic in 1977, an experienced player that had won all there was to win in Scotland, while Ian Rush moved to Merseyside from Chester City in 1980, breaking into the first team the following year.

Dalglish and Rush played together for the bulk of the 1980s, helping Liverpool win five league titles and two European Cups within that decade. Rush actually joined Juventus in 1986, but would only spend two years with the Turin side, one of which on loan at Liverpool, before returning to Anfield permanently in 1988.

Even as Dalglish’s age advanced, he remained a pivotal cog in Liverpool’s attack, often occupying the space just behind Rush to create a chance for his strike partner to profit from. Dalglish retired in 1990, bringing an end to a brilliant duo, while Rush departed Liverpool for the second and final time in 1996, having become Liverpool’s all-time top scorer.

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1 Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit

1987-1993

Towards the end of the 1980s, it had been almost two whole decades since AC Milan had enjoyed a period of glory in the 60s. Since then, fortunes at the club had stagnated somewhat, which was something club president Silvio Berlusconi hoped to change. In 1987, on the same day, the signings of Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit were announced.

Both had played in their native Netherlands until moving to Italy, van Basten having spent six years at Ajax and Gullit having spent time at HFC Haarlem, Feyenoord and PSV across eight seasons. The former had, in that period, established himself as one of the game’s deadliest marksmen, whereas Gullit had displayed a high level of ability in numerous positions.

van Basten struggled with injury in his first season with Gullit, making just 11 appearances as Milan won the league for the first time in eight years. 1988 saw the striker win the Ballon d’Or, with Gullit ranking second and Frank Rijkaard, who joined Milan that year, placing third, such was the calibre of this Milan side. Gullit also won the award the year prior.

Gullit’s versatility meant that he was often deployed as a second striker alongside, but just behind, van Basten. Under the management of Arrigo Sacchi, the duo’s form up front helped Milan win two successive European Cups after their Serie A triumph.

Despite Sacchi’s sacking in 1991, van Basten and Gullit would win two further league titles before van Basten’s 1993 injury that forced him to retire two years later without playing another game. Gullit, meanwhile, joined Sampdoria in 1993 on loan before making the move permanent the following term.

(All stats are from Transfermarkt and are correct as of 04/11/2024)