Striker of the month - The nominees

“You can’t just beat a team, you have to leave a lasting impression in their minds so they never want to see you again”

-Mia Hamm

Many fans around the world may share the same sentiments, but to see them do exactly that they need their forwards to be on song. They may say “Forwards win you matches, defenders win you championships”. But, without those 3 points from the main man upfront, no team can constitute a run for the championship. Even for a team fighting relegation, those vital goals may mean the difference between staying up or going down the ladder, which may sometimes even lead to obscurity.

Taking stock of the performances from the forwards in the month of January, here are your nominees for Strikers of the Month.

LIONEL MESSI (Barcelona)

Death, taxes and Lionel Messi heading the goalscoring charts seem to be the only inevitable things in the world so far. The reigning World Player of the Year and probably one of the greatest ever to play in this generation leads the way with 9 goals in the month of January, which included a quadruple effort against Espanyol. We are really running out of superlatives to bring forth in words the brilliance of this man. What I can say is if you spare yourself time, always watch a Barca game, because it’s only once in a generation that this kind of talent takes the pitch.

CRISTIANO RONALDO (Real Madrid)

Another month full of goals from the sheer genius that is Ronaldo. 8 goals in the month sets him up to be one of the highest goal-scorers in the major European leagues in January. It’s hard enough for most strikers to score a hat-trick in a season, while Ronaldo just went to make it child’s play, scoring a couple of them against the hapless Valencia and Real Sociedad. If Messi is the genius we all admire, Ronaldo is not far behind. He may not win the Ballon d’Ors, but he is still an amazing player.

ADAM LE FONDRE (Reading)

7 goals in the month of January makes the diminutive Reading hitman the highest scorer in England right now. His braces against Newcastle and Chelsea grabbed him the spotlight, as on both occasions he came off the bench to get the Royals back into the contest. Coming off the bench now seems to be his speciality, as even after his goal-scoring exploits, Steve McDermott uses him mostly as his super-sub even when he is in such a rich vein of goalscoring form.

MAURO ICARDI (Sampdoria)

The Sampdoria frontman had the unenviable task of going against the nearly impenetrable Juventus defence. At the end of Sampdoria’s game at Juventus stadium, Icardi came out as the hero who took the minnows to a memorable victory over the mighty Old Lady, as they came back from a goal behind to secure victory through a brace from the Argentine. If you thought that would be the highlight of the month for the striker, the kid from the same town as a certain Lionel Messi put in a Messi-esque performance to score 4 in Sampdoria’s 6-0 win over Pescara. The performances in January have certainly got scouts across Europe looking forward to more from the 19-year old.

EDINSON CAVANI (Napoli)

Edinson Cavani keeps reminding us of the reason why all the big clubs in England are after his signature. The much coveted forward scored 5 in 5 games in the Serie A, which includes a hat-trick against Roma as Napoli trounced them 4-1. Cavani also came up trumps to score a vital equaliser against Fiorentina, and his overall play was a huge reason Napoli are on a six-game unbeaten streak in the Serie A.

OLIVIER GIROUD (Arsenal)

The Arsenal striker seems to have regained his form over the last month, and scored 5 for the Gunners to help them pick up vital wins in the Premier League and the FA Cup. The French striker is slowly finding his feet at the North London club, and could be the vital cog for them in their run for a Champions League spot.