Strikers hold one of the most important roles in football: scoring goals. The best strikers are remembered for their finishing ability, composure under pressure, and knack for delivering in crucial moments. However, not all strikers live up to expectations. Some have been plagued by poor finishing, lack of confidence, or simply an inability to adapt to high-level football. In this article, Bet Win Tips will explore some of the worst strikers in football history, analyzing what went wrong in their careers.
The 9 worst strikers in football history
Football is a hard game. A striker can work hard all day, but in the end, they are judged on one thing: their ability to put the ball in the net. The list below rates the 9 worst strikers in football history.
Stéphane Guivarc'h (France)
Stéphane Guivarc'h was a World Cup-winning striker. But despite leading the line for France throughout their triumphant 1998 campaign, his performances left much to be desired. While his work rate and movement were praised by the French coaching staff, his lack of goals was glaring—he failed to find the net in the entire tournament, a rarity for a starting striker on a World Cup-winning team.
His club career didn’t fare much better. Newcastle United brought him in shortly after the World Cup, hoping his international experience would translate into goals. However, after just four Premier League appearances and a single goal, he was quickly offloaded to Rangers. His time in Scotland was equally unremarkable, with seven goals in 18 games before he returned to France, ending a brief and underwhelming stint outside his homeland. Despite his decorated resume, Guivarc'h remains a prime example of a striker who simply couldn't deliver at the highest level.
Carsten Jancker (Germany)
Carsten Jancker was a towering presence on the pitch, known for his physicality and signature goal celebration—kissing the back of his hand. However, beyond the occasional flash of brilliance, his career was defined by inconsistency and underwhelming performances.
For British fans, Jancker is perhaps best remembered for his close-range effort that rattled the crossbar in the dying moments of the 1999 Champions League final—an agonizing miss as Bayern Munich succumbed to Manchester United’s dramatic late comeback. While he did eventually lift the Champions League trophy with Bayern in 2001, his club career never reached the heights many expected.
Sean Dundee (Germany / South Africa)
Sean Dundee arrived at Liverpool in 1998 with a decent reputation, having scored 60 goals in 175 appearances for Karlsruher, including a brace against Bayern Munich. However, his time at Anfield was nothing short of a disaster. Signed for £2 million as a backup striker, Dundee never found his footing in English football.
Despite arriving in the summer, he didn’t even make a Premier League squad until April of the following year. When he did get on the pitch, he barely lasted long—never once completing a full 90 minutes. In total, he made just five appearances for Liverpool without scoring a single goal.
Serginho (Brazil)
Brazil’s 1982 World Cup squad is often hailed as one of the greatest teams ever to win the tournament. With legends like Zico, Socrates, and Falcão orchestrating beautiful football, they dazzled the world with their attacking brilliance. Yet, their dream was shattered by a Paolo Rossi hat trick in a 3-2 defeat to Italy—a match that remains one of the most heartbreaking in Brazilian football history.
Learn more about the online bookmaker list to enjoy betting on football and other exciting sports.
A significant portion of the blame fell on Serginho, the team’s misfiring striker. While the rest of the squad played with technical elegance, Serginho's clumsy touch and lack of finesse made him seem out of place. His struggles were evident throughout the tournament, and criticism mounted. When he was substituted against New Zealand in the group stage, former Brazil manager João Saldanha famously quipped, “Now the ball is round again.”
Fred (South American)
Fred, a seasoned goal-scorer in South American football and a key figure for Fluminense and Lyon, had a solid career in front of goal. At Fluminense, he scored 148 goals in 201 appearances, and at Lyon, he clinched three French league titles, netting 43 goals in 125 games. Yet, for all his club success, Fred’s international career, particularly in the 2014 World Cup, is often remembered for all the wrong reasons.
With Neymar injured, Fred was expected to lead Brazil’s attack in one of the most crucial games in their history: the 2014 World Cup semi-final against Germany. However, the match turned into a nightmare. Brazil was humiliated 7-1, and Fred's performance—or lack thereof—stood out for all the wrong reasons. He failed to register a single tackle, cross, run, or interception throughout the match. Most of his touches were due to the seven restarts following Brazil's conceding goals. His inability to rise to the occasion in such a high-stakes game became a symbol of Brazil's collapse, leaving a dark stain on his international reputation despite his impressive club career.
Marco Boogers (Netherlands)
Marco Boogers’ time at West Ham United was as brief as it was infamous. Signed by Harry Redknapp in 1995 for a then-significant fee of £1 million, the Dutch striker’s arrival was expected to bring some spark to the Hammers’ attack. However, his impact at the club would not be defined by goals or skill, but by an infamous incident.
Boogers made his debut as a substitute at Old Trafford, but just 18 minutes into his appearance, he was sent off for a reckless, high tackle on Gary Neville that sparked a brawl. His actions that day symbolized his turbulent time at West Ham. Instead of making an impact on the pitch, he quickly earned a reputation for his lack of discipline and inconsistent performances. In fact, Boogers’ time at the club was so unremarkable that he was frequently omitted from Redknapp’s squad. Redknapp himself later admitted that Boogers was his worst-ever signing, a far cry from the promising prospect he had hoped to acquire.
Guido Carrillo (Argentina)
Guido Carrillo’s transfer to Southampton in 2018 was meant to be a new chapter in his career, with the club shelling out a hefty £19 million to sign the Argentine from AS Monaco. However, what followed was a disappointing spell that saw Carrillo fail to justify his price tag.
In his brief time at Southampton, Carrillo struggled to find his footing in the Premier League, managing only 10 appearances and failing to score a single goal. His lack of impact on the pitch was evident, and by March of the season he arrived, he had already been dropped from the first-team squad. The club’s faith in him quickly dwindled, leading to his loan move to Spanish side Leganés. Even there, Carrillo’s form failed to improve, as he registered just 10 goals in 60 games.
Yaya Sanogo (France)
Yaya Sanogo’s move to Arsenal in 2013 came with a sense of promise, after an impressive run at Auxerre, where he netted 11 goals in just 24 appearances. However, his career at the Gunners was anything but promising. Despite a five-year stay, Sanogo managed only one goal in competitive matches for Arsenal, a solitary strike against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. His potential as a striker quickly turned into a myth.
Sanogo was loaned out multiple times to Ajax, Charlton, and Crystal Palace, but his struggles continued. He scored just four goals across those loan spells, none of which were in the Premier League. His brief spell at Crystal Palace saw him fail to register a single league goal, though he did manage to score in the FA Cup against Southampton.
Carlos Kaiser (Brazil)
Carlos Kaiser, the Brazilian striker who never scored a goal, remains one of football's most audacious characters. His career is a tale of remarkable deceit and cunning, as he somehow managed to secure contracts with some of Brazil’s biggest clubs, including Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo, and Vasco de Gama. Yet, despite being in the heart of top-flight football, Kaiser’s contribution to the game was nonexistent. He didn't score a single goal.
Kaiser’s genius lay not in his footballing ability but in his talent for avoiding playing altogether. He would often claim injuries at the most convenient times, keeping him away from matches while still enjoying the perks of professional football. His philosophy was simple: "I wanted to be among the other players, I just didn’t want to play. It’s everybody else’s problem if they want me to be a footballer."
In conclusion
Strikers are judged by their ability to score goals, and the players on this list struggled to do just that. Whether due to lack of skill, confidence, or tactical fit, they failed to meet expectations. Some of them had brief moments of success elsewhere, but their failures at certain clubs have left them with a reputation as some of the worst strikers in football history.
Refer to: Top 8 most unbelievable disallowed goals in football history features Messi and Ronaldo.
