LaLiga's All-Time Top Scoring Brazilian Players

February 11, 2017 21:51

1/13 Ronaldo Nazario (117 goals): Before his more chiseled namesake made scoring 50 plus goals a season a regular occurrence, El Fenomeno dazzled football fans around the globe, combining a hefty frame with quick feet and a ruthless eye for goal. He came to the world’s attention during his one and only season at Barcelona, but it was with Real Madrid that he spent most of his LaLiga career.
2/13 Rivaldo (107): The towering midfielder got the ball rolling on his LaLiga goal tally with Deportivo La Coruña before being lured to Barcelona by Sir Bobby Robson in 1997. It was with the Catalans that he won back-to-back LaLiga titles, but of his amble collection of scoreboard movers, perhaps his finest work came in the shape of a last-minute, Champions League-spot clinching, gyroscopic bicycle kick from outside the box that secured a 3-2 win over Valencia at the end of the 2000/01 season.
3/13 Bebeto (86): Back in a more innocent time before smart phones, presidential Twitter spats and Reality TV stars, Deportivo La Coruña were serious title challengers. No joke. During those heady days of the mid 90s Bebito was the man tasked with leading the front line for the Galicians, and while he wasn’t around for the club’s first and only league title in 2000, the prolific Brazilian did help lay the foundations for Depor’s short-lived dalliance with life at the top.
4/13 Ronaldinho (70): Everyone’s favorite buck-toothed magician, Ronaldinho’s star burnt quickly, but good golly did it burn brightly. Although his party lifestyle would eventually catch up to him, Gaucho was considered a breath of fresh air by football fans everywhere. So much so in fact, he even received a standing ovation at the Bernabeu!
5/13 Julio Baptista (63): Commonly known as The Beast, and with good reason, Baptista hit the Spanish top-flight like a force of nature, netting 38 goals in his first two seasons with Sevilla after joining the Andalusians for a these-days-unheard-of bargain fee of $3.75million. His performances earned him a move to Real Madrid, but with a roster filled to the rafters with world class attacking talent, he was often played out of position, if at all. Fortunately, Baptista was given another chance to flourish in LaLiga when Malaga came a calling. While the big back-sided Brazilian wasn’t a regular starter for the Boquerones, he still provided some memorable moments, none more so than his dramatic game-winning bicycle kick against Getafe in 2011.
6/13 Neymar (61): With Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as teammates, it’s a wonder that there are any more goals to share around the Barcelona locker room. But the silky-skilled ex-Santos man seems to be growing more and more prolific in the company of the Argentinean and Uruguayan gunslingers.
7/13 Diego Costa (61): Stop. Before you say anything, yes, we already know he plays for Spain. But long before his stints at Valladolid, Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid, the big bully of Stamford Bridge learned his trade on the mean streets of Lagarto, Brazil.
8/13 Roberto Carlos (47): Old tree-trunk thighs himself. Squat, powerful, lightening fast, and that left foot…. *drool. Surviving 11 seasons at Galactico-led Real Madrid is no mean feat. Leaving as a fan and dressing room favorite is nothing short of incredible.
9/13 Romario (39): One LaLiga title from two seasons with Barcelona isn’t a bad return, and while things didn’t go quite so well at Valencia (where he played 11 times in two seasons), the incumbent federal senator of Rio de Janeiro (it’s a long story) was a key component of Johan Cruyff’s world-famous ‘Dream Team’.
10/13 Dani Alves (25): Tongue-in-cheek Facebook posts and on the field play-acting have made the ex-Barça right back a polarizing figure, but one thing that isn’t up for the debate is his footballing ability. While goal scoring wasn’t exactly his forte, when push came to shove he could still mix it up with the best of them.
11/13 Robinho (25): The most overhyped Brazilian of his generation, the diminutive forward never fully lived up to his reputation as the ‘next Pele’. Saying that, he still managed to show glimmers of brilliance during his three seasons at the Bernabeu, and when you leave Spain with two LaLiga medals around your neck, you can hardly be considered a complete failure now, can you?
12/13 Kaka (23): The arrival of Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite to Real Madrid was greeted with all the fanfare befitting a Ballon d’Or winning super star (side fact, Kaka is the last person not named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to be awarded the prize). However, a sluggish start to life in LaLiga coupled with a fan base increasingly agitated by the club’s dismal return on investment saw him quickly scapegoated. Not withstanding, he was still part of Los Blancos’ last league title winning side (2011-12).
13/13 Marcelo (20): Don’t let the frizzy hair and smiley demeanor fool you; Marcelo is a stone cold killer. Just ask the countless right-backs who have tried and failed to contain the marauding left-back.