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The list of the best Argentine attackers of all time includes some of the finest forward talent in football history outright.
And our countdown should give you a flavour of the remarkable breadth of talent produced by South America's second-largest nation.
Just click any of the arrows over on the right to get started!
32. Pedro Pasculli
Long before he was technical director at [checks notes] Bangor City, Pedro Pasculli won the 1986 World Cup with Argentina.
The diminutive striker – who won domestic titles with Argentinos Juniors and starred in Serie A for Lecce – scored his country’s winner against Uruguay in the last 16 of that tournament.
31. Ruben Ayala
Sporting an almighty moustache and long hair combo, Ruben Ayala was one of the top Argentine players of the early 70s.
His international career – which yielded 11 goals in 25 caps – was over by 1974, but he continued to find the net regularly for Atletico Madrid, who he helped to Copa del Rey and LaLiga success – having reached the 1974 European Cup final with the Spanish giants.
28. Paulo Dybala
Another highly versatile forward, Paulo Dybala is one of Juventus’ all-time leading marksmen, finding the net 115 times during a seven-year spell with Italy’s most successful club.
Part of his nation’s 2022 World Cup-winning side, Dybala is renowned for his dribbling prowess and creativity, finishing as Serie A’s top assist provider in 2016/17 and making it into the team of the season numerous times.
26. Diego Milito
Like Martinez after him, Diego Milito scored goals aplenty for Inter, peaking with 30 during their historic treble-winning campaign of 2009/10 – when he formed a lethal strike partnership with Samuel Eto’o and bagged a brace in the Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich.
25. Maxi Rodriguez
A goal threat from either flank, Maxi Rodriguez found the net more than 200 times for club and country.
Part of the Liverpool side that reached the 2012 League Cup and FA Cup finals under Kenny Dalglish – winning the former – ‘La Fiera’ (‘The Beast’) also starred for Atletico Madrid and represented Argentina on 57 occasions, striking 16 times and playing at three World Cups.
24. Leopoldo Luque
Centre-forward Leopoldo Luque averaged a goal every other game in his 44 caps for Argentina, for whom he played a major part in winning the 1978 World Cup.
At those finals, Luque – who scored most of his club goals for River Plate – produced a stunning 20-yard volley to secure victory over France in the group stage.
23. Oscar Mas
Across two spells at River Plate, Oscar Mas amassed 217 goals to rank as the iconic Buenos Aires outfit’s second-highest scorer of all time.
In between those stints in his homeland, the 37-cap Argentina international – who appeared at the 1966 World Cup – won the 1973/74 Copa del Rey with Real Madrid.
22. Guillermo Stabile
Guillermo Stabile will always have a place in the history books: he top-scored with eight goals at the first ever World Cup in 1930, including one in the final as Argentina lost to hosts Uruguay.
Those turned out to be his only international goals – which he registered at a veritably prolific rate of two per game.
20. Miguel Angel Brindisi
Extremely effective up front or in a slightly deeper role, Miguel Angel Brindisi was one of the top South American players of the early 70s.
Integral to the success of Cesar Menotti’s legendary Huracan side who were crowned champions of Argentina in 1973, Brindisi notched well over 200 career goals – including 17 in 46 Argentina caps – and also won titles with Boca Juniors and Uruguayan giants Nacional.
18. Daniel Bertoni
Scorer of Argentina’s third goal as they beat the Netherlands 3-1 in the 1978 World Cup final on home soil, lifting the trophy for the first time, Daniel Bertoni found the net freely from the right wing throughout his career.
Capped 31 times, he starred in the Independiente team which won three straight Copa Libertadores crowns between 1973 and 1975, before proving his quality in Spain and Italy – most notably for Sevilla and Fiorentina.
17. Angel Labruna
River Plate’s record scorer with 317 goals – at least 100 more than anyone else – Angel Labruna led the brilliant River Plate attack dubbed ‘La Maquina’ (‘The Machine’).
A 1946 and 1955 Copa America winner with Argentina – for whom he netted 17 times and played at the 1958 World Cup at the age of 39 – Labruna’s total of 294 goals in the Argentine top flight places him second on the all-time list, behind legendary Paraguayan Arsenio Erico.
16. Claudio Caniggia
Utterly unmistakable with those luscious blond locks of his, Claudio Caniggia was one of the most thoroughly entertaining players of the 90s, lighting up 1990 and 1994 World Cups – scoring twice at each and helping his country to the final of the former.
Blisteringly quick (to the point that Cameroon’s Benjamin Massing saw no other way of stopping him than to commit one of the most brutal fouls of all time), Caniggia’s explosive dribbling made him absolutely essential viewing.
15. Luis Artime
A truly prolific centre-forward who banged in more than 1,000 goals over the course of his career, Luis Artime averaged almost exactly a goal per game for Argentina, finding the net 24 times in 25 caps – including three in four en route to the 1966 World Cup quarter-finals.
At club level, Artime won league titles in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay – and it was with Nacional of the latter that he picked up most of his trophies, including the 1971 Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup.
14. Jorge Valdano
Dubbed ‘The Philosopher of Football’ for his deep-thinking approach to the game, Jorge Valdano was up there with the most potent attacking players of the 80s.
A two-time LaLiga champion and UEFA Cup winner with Real Madrid – triumphing in both competitions in 1985/86 – Valdano scored four goals for Argentina en route to 1986 World Cup victory, including their second against West Germany in the final.
13. Hernan Crespo
Hernan Crespo was up there with the best strikers in world football during the late 90s and early 00s, scoring freely for Parma, Lazio, Inter, Chelsea and Milan.
A UEFA Cup winner with Parma and a league champion with Chelsea and Inter, Crespo was a complete centre-forward who tore opposition defences apart with ostensible ease at his peak, finding the net 153 times in Serie A overall – and 35 times in 64 Argentina caps.
12. Rene Houseman
Regarded by many as one of the finest wingers in the history of the game, Rene Houseman was a supremely talented player who dazzled with his devilish dribbling ability.
An important member of Argentina’s 1978 World Cup-winning side, Houseman – who legendary Argentine coach Cesar Menotti once described as “a mixture of Maradona and [Brazilian great] Garrincha” made the vast majority of his club appearances for Huracan, starring in their 1973 title triumph under Menotti.
11. Gonzalo Higuain
A physically dominant striker with ruthlessly instinctive finishing ability, Gonzalo Higuain in his prime was a true defender’s nightmare, scoring 121 goals for Real Madrid, 91 for Napoli – including a career best 38 in 42 games in 2015/16 – and 66 for Juventus.
10. Oreste Corbatta
The greatest player in the history of famous Buenos Aires outfit Racing Club, Oreste Corbatta set the standard for wingers in the 50s and 60s, also turning out for Boca Juniors and Independiente Medellin of Colombia.
Capped 43 times, scoring 18 goals, Corbatta starred for his nation at the 1958 World Cup and was dubbed ‘El dueno de la raya’ (‘The chairman of the sideline’) – such was his sheer brilliance out on the right.
9. Carlos Tevez
The tremendously tenacious Carlos Tevez has to go down as one of the greatest foreign imports in Premier League history, making an indelible mark on the competition for Manchester United and Manchester City – winning the title with both and the Golden Boot with the latter – and West Ham.
A highly adaptable attacking player capable of wreaking havoc in various forward roles, Tevez – who scored twice at the 2010 World Cup – joined Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo in a world-class front three at United, where he also won the 2007/08 Champions League.
8. Mario Kempes
Hero of Argentina’s 1978 World Cup victory – which saw him become one of the few players to finish as top scorer, be named player of the tournament and lift the ultimate prize itself – Mario Kempes scored for fun throughout the 70s and 80s.
Twice leading marksman in LaLiga during his prolific five-year stint at Valencia – where he lifted the Copa del Rey and Cup Winners’ Cup – the magical Kempes is undoubtedly one of the finest strikers ever to grace the pitch.
7. Sergio Aguero
Briefly Carlos Tevez’s teammate at Manchester City, Sergio Aguero made an even more profound impact on the Premier League, rattling in 184 goals to become the all-time leading overseas scorer in the English top flight.
Golden Boot winner in 2014/15 and a five-time champion with City, Aguero – who struck 41 times in 101 games for Argentina – was described by boss Roberto Mancini as “a photocopy of Romario” – only he sustained his devastatingly prolific form over a much longer period.
6. Angel Di Maria
One of the most prominent stars of Argentina’s 2021 Copa America and 2022 World Cup victories, Angel Di Maria established himself as one of the finest forwards in the world during the 2010s.
Nothing short of elite whether deployed as an out-and-out winger or in more of a playmaking role, Di Maria – a domestic champion with Real Madrid, PSG and Benfica, and a Champions League winner with Real – was named 2014 Argentine Footballer of the Year.
5. Omar Sivori
An all-time great of Juventus and the Argentina national team (although he actually played for Italy at the World Cup, so loose were the rules back then), Omar Sivori was one of the earliest Ballon d’Or winners, scooping the prestigious accolade in 1961.
Blessed with outrageous ability as a forward, Sivori loved a nutmeg – and he loved a goal, amassing well over 200 for club and country and finishing as Serie A top scorer in 1959/60, when he claimed his second of three Scudetti with Juve.
4. Gabriel Batistuta
A complete, prolific striker who will go down as one of the greatest ever to play in the position, Gabriel Batistuta enjoys legendary status among fans of Argentina, Fiorentina and Roma alike.
Up there with the national team’s all-time leading marksmen, having notched 56 goals in 78 caps, ‘Batigol’ fired the Albiceleste to Copa America glory in 1991 and 1993 – then lifted the 1995/96 Coppa Italia with Fiorentina, where he was 1994/95 Serie A top scorer, and the 2000/01 scudetto with Roma.
3. Alfredo Di Stefano
We’ve already named Alfredo Di Stefano as one of the greatest Spanish players of all time as he played most of his international football for La Roja – but the icon dubbed ‘Saeta Rubia’ (‘Blond Arrow’) he was born in Buenos Aires, bursting onto the scene with River Plate and scoring six goals in six games for Argentina.
Ballon d’Or winner in 1957 and 1959, Di Stefano was one of the most incredible dribblers ever to play the game, and he won all there was to win with Real Madrid – most notably helping them win the first five European Cups, on the bounce.
2. Diego Maradona
There will never be another footballer quite like Diego Maradona, the inimitable genius who there’s absolutely no denying was one of the greatest of all time.
Argentina’s sensationally influential 1986 World Cup-winning captain – scoring arguably the best goal in the history of the sport along the way (sorry, England fans) and collecting the Golden Ball as the clear standout player of the tournament – ‘El Pibe de Oro’ (‘The Golden Boy’) did equally remarkable things at club level, skippering Napoli to their maiden Serie A title in 1986/87, followed by UEFA Cup glory two years later.
1. Lionel Messi
We said there will never be anyone who compares to Maradona – not even Lionel Messi, who belongs in his own superstar category as the GOAT.
Ballon d’Or winner an astonishing, record-breaking eight times, Messi is all-time leading scorer at Barcelona – where his trophy haul included four Champions League triumphs – with just the 672 goals (440 more than second on that particular list) and holds the same distinction for Argentina, who he captained to 2022 World Cup glory by playing one of the most stunning individual tournaments the game has ever seen – having led his nation to Copa America success the previous year.
