Ever wondered if a goalkeeper clinched the title of top scorer for their club in a season?
Furthermore, has any player ever managed to net more than four headers in a single match, and are there footballers named after famous footballers?
“Given the recent speculation surrounding Ederson possibly assuming penalty duties for Manchester City, one wonders: has there ever been a goalkeeper who emerged as the top scorer for their club throughout an entire season?” questions Alan White.
Numerous readers, with recollections sharper than ours, have reached out with answers not entirely accurate. Alex Stepney held the position of Manchester United’s top scorer (sharing the title with two goals) for a significant portion of their 1973-74 relegation-stricken season after Tommy Docherty deemed him a more dependable penalty-taker than any outfield player.
Timo Staudacher directs our attention to Germany. “Hans-Jörg Butt converted nine penalties during the 1999-2000 season for Hamburg. He shared the position of the team’s top goalscorer that season with strikers Roy Präger and Tony Yeboah. His goals were instrumental in helping Hamburg secure a third-place finish.”
Matt Du Gray was among those who guided us to São Paulo, where the goal-hungry goalkeeper Rogério Ceni found the net 21 times in the 2005 season, followed by 16 goals in the 2006 season. “What’s even more remarkable is that São Paulo clinched the Copa Libertadores and the Club World Cup in the 2005 season,” adds Matt.
Staying within the realm of South American stoppers adept at set pieces, Isaac Edwards writes: “José Luis Chilavert ended up as Vélez Sársfield’s joint-top goalscorer in the 1997–98 Argentinian Primera División with 10 goals.” Isaac also highlights a position switch that would likely be unheard of in modern times. “Tony Read must have come close to securing Luton Town’s golden boot in 1965-66,” he adds. “He played as a striker for 20 games that season, scoring 12 goals, including a hat-trick against Notts County before his form dried up and he returned to his spot between the posts.”
And let’s conclude with a Spanish example presented by both Jordi Gómez and Stijn. The Argentinian goalkeeper Carlos Fenoy finished as top scorer for Celta Vigo in 1976-77 with five goals. He converted four penalties and scored from the rebound on one that he missed. “It was a memorable 2-0 victory against defending champions Real Madrid,” writes Stijn. “The misfiring strikers Sanromán and Mori only managed three goals each, and Celta was relegated.”
Most headed goals by one player in a match
“Sunderland’s Charlie Wyke recently scored four headers in one match against Doncaster. Is this a record, or has any player managed to score more with their head during a single game?” questions Bogdan Kotarlic.
As pointed out by Brian Roffe, what makes this achievement even more astounding is that each goal was assisted by Aiden McGeady. Brian Spurrell has discovered a player who matches Wyke’s dominance in the air, although we cannot confirm the name of the provider since it was 58 years ago. “There was a notable game in which a player scored four headers: the FA Amateur Cup final of 1963 when Eddie Reynolds of Wimbledon scored all four in their 4-2 victory over Sutton United,” writes Brian. “Here are Saint and Greavsie reminiscing about his aerial prowess.”
Another remarkable display of heading occurred at Wembley. “I’m fairly certain that Malcolm Macdonald scored five headers for England against Cyprus in 1975,” begins Tony Mason. “If my memory serves me right, many others will offer the same information.” It was four, Tony. In 2010, Macdonald spoke to the Guardian about his remarkable feat. Despite his heroic performance, it was his only appearance for England at Wembley. “There was an electronic scoreboard above the tunnel. At the end of the game, it went blank, and then it flashed up: ‘Congratulations – Supermac 5 Cyprus 0.’ Amazing,” he recalled.
More footballers named after famous footballers
“Are there any footballers named after famous footballers?” inquires Tin Boonie.
Daniel Bickermann is quick to remind us that we’ve delved into this topic before, in 2015, but there are still enough footballers worldwide to add some new names to the list. “According to this report, Dennis Bergkamp was named after his father’s idol, Denis Law. There’s a player in Thailand’s Division 1 named Beckenbauer Seur-In; there was a Santos player named Overath Breitner da Silva Medina; and an article about the 2012 youth tournament Copa São Paulo mentions 15 players named Romario, along with these unique names: Rudigullithi da Silva Henrique, Lynneeker Nakamuta Paes de Albuquerque, Raikard dos Santos Soares, and Roberto Baggio Araujo Bastos.”
“Mattheus Oliveira, currently playing for Coritiba, was named after Lothar Matthäus. His father is quite famous as well – he’s Bebeto,” writes Jörg Michner. Two brothers who emerged from the Leeds United academy, Ronaldo and Romario Vieira. Ronaldo is presently on loan at Verona from Sampdoria, while Romario is now plying his trade at Tadcaster Albion.
And Harry McDonald, among others, points us toward Middlesbrough, where Neeskens Kebano is currently on loan from Fulham. “Here in New Zealand, we have Louis Ferenc Puskas Fenton, who plays for Wellington Phoenix,” adds Harry.