FRANCE FOOTBALL has celebrated the return of the Champions League by listing the top ten best strike forces all-time.
And, as expected, it is a who’s-who of some of the game’s greatest names.
The list looks at front threes which led their team to success in Europe’s premier competition.
It has players from the 1960s, the 1970s, 1990s and more recent performers.
While there is room for one Premier League trio — while Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo make it onto the list twice.
Here is the list in full.
10. Rudi Voller, Alen Boksic, Abedi Pele: Marseille — 1993
France’s most-supported club were winners in the inaugural Champions League.
But, despite boasting a World Cup-winner and one of the greatest African players in history in their attack, it was defender Basile Boli who scored the on goal to beat AC Milan in Munich.
Things soon turned sour as Marseille were relegated and banned from defending their title after they were found guilty of match-fixing.
9. Eusebio, Jose Aguas, Jose Augusto: Benfica — 1962
Portuguese giants were only the competition’s second winners in the seventh edition following Real Madrid‘s dominance.
Led by Eusebio, they successfully defended their trophy here in Amsterdam emphatically beating Los Blancos 5-3, having been 2-0 and 3-1 down.
Throughout the 1960s, they would reach the final on five occasions.
8. Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluca Vialli, Fabrizio Ravanelli: Juventus, 1996
For Vialli and Ravanelli, the 1996 Champions League final victory against Ajax was their last match for the Bianconeri.
Former Ballon d’Or-winner Roberto Baggio had been allowed to leave for Milan in the summer, despite being only 28, such was the faith put in Del Piero.
Ravanelli scored for Juventus as they eventually overcame holders Ajax on penalties — and would reach the subsequent two finals.
7. Gerd Muller, Uli Hoeness, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: Bayern Munich, 1976
This was their third victory in a row — but the first with this dynamic front three.
Rummenigge, then 21, had been an unused sub the season before as Bayern beat Leeds 2-0 in Paris.
This time, they beat St Etienne 1-0 through a Franz Roth strike, with the French club later claiming the shape of the bar had cost them victory.
European Cup/Champions League top goal scorers
1. Cristiano Ronaldo — Manchester United, Real Madrid: 116
2. Lionel Messi — Barcelona: 97
3. Raul — Real Madrid, Schalke: 71
4. Ruud van Nistelrooy — PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Real Madrid: 56
5. Karim Benzema — Lyon, Real Madrid: 53
6. Thierry Henry — Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona: 50
7. Alfredo Di Stefano — Real Madrid: 49
8= Andriy Shevchenko — Dynamo Kiev, AC Milan, Chelsea: 48
8= Zlatan Ibrahimovic — Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain: 48
10. Eusebio — Benfica: 47
6. Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o: Barcelona, 2009
Pep Guardiola‘s debut season as manager saw the Catalans break numerous records as they won the Treble.
Despite Eto’o leaving for Inter Milan that summer, they remain the only club in history to win six trophies in one calendar year — 2009 — with La Liga, the Champions League, Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup.
Eto’o and Messi scored in a 2-0 win over Manchester United in Rome.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale: Real Madrid, 2014 and 2016
Surprisingly low placing for the only trio to win it twice.
Bale and Ronaldo were both on the scoresheet in the 4-1 win over Atletico Madrid in 2014, while both netted a penalty in the shoot-out win against their derby rivals two years later.
Bale started on the bench as Real Madrid became the first team to win back-to-back titles in the Champions League era last year.
4. Johan Cruyff, Pat Keizer and Johnny Rep: Ajax, 1973
The Dutch masters strolled to a third-consecutive European Cup victory with Rep netting a fifth-minute winner against Juventus.
It was his first final, having not been included in the squad for the wins over Panathinaikos and Inter Milan.
This was the end of their dominance as Cruyff joined Barcelona that summer.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney: Manchester United — 2008
Arguably Sir Alex Ferguson‘s best team, which won the first-ever all-English Champions League final.
United’s incredible attacking trio had it all and beat Chelsea to the Premier League title on the last day of the season, before edging them out on penalties in Moscow.
Ronaldo would score 42 goals in all competitions to win his first Ballon d’Or.
2. Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez: Barcelona — 2015
In their first season together, they conquered all, scoring more goals between them than most clubs in Europe.
Barcelona became the first team ever to win the Treble a second time with Luis Enrique‘s all-conquering side beat all before them.
Neymar and Suarez were both on target in the 3-1 victory over Juventus in Berlin.
1. Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Francisco Gento: Real Madrid — 1960
A legendary trio, which produced arguably the most complete performance to batter Eintracht Frankfurt in Glasgow.
Di Stefano scored three, with Puskas hitting four as Real Madrid won 7-3.
Gento is the only player to win the tournament six times.
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