The next five contains some familiar names in German football. It also contains one of the greatest goalscorers ever to grace a football ground.
5.Manfred Burgsmuller -213 goals
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| One of the most underrated strikers in German football history |
One of the most unknown and underrated strikers in the history of Bundesliga. Manfred Burgsmuller started his career in 1968 in the lower league with Rot-Weiss Essen after coming through its youth academy. The striker made his Bundesliga the following season after RWE secured promotion to Germany's top-tier.
With limited chances on offer, the striker spent just three seasons with the club before moving down a division to join Bayer Uerdingen in 1971. Burgsmuller spent three seasons in the lower division with Uerdingen before catching the eye of his former employers and moving back into the Bundesliga in 1974. Two seasons with his boyhood club was once again followed by a move down a level to join Uerdingen before joining Borussia Dortmund during the 1976/77 season.
It was during his time at BVB that Burgsmaller cemented himself as a Bundesliga legend. The striker spent eight seasons at Westfalenstadion, scoring the chunk of his goals, but never managed to win any silverware. In 1983 Burgsmaller made the move to FC Nurnberg before moving down a division to join Rot Weiss Oberhausen the next year.
After finishing as top scorer in the 2.Bundesliga, Burgsmuller made the move back to Bundesliga in 1985, this time joining Werder Bremen. The striker made a triumphant return to Bundesliga as he finally lifted the Bundesliga in 1988 at the age of 38 before finally retiring from the game in 1990.
Despite his goalscoring prowess, Burgsmuller was unlucky to have played in the same era as one of Germany's strikers. The striker made just three appearances for the national team between 1975 and 78 and never made an appearance in a major competition.
In 22 years as a professional player, Burgsmuller scored an incredible 213 goals 447 appearances.
4. Jupp Heynckes - 220 goals
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| The treble-winning manager is one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of Bundesliga. |
Yes, one of Germany's greatest ever manager's once terrorised Bundesliga defenders. The German started his professional football career way back in 1964 with Borussia Monchengladbach after coming through its youth academy.
The young striker had an immediate impact on Die Borussen as he helped the club into the Bundesliga after scoring an incredible 23 goals in his first full season. The striker continued with his goalscoring form for his boyhood club for three more seasons before leaving Monchengladbach in 1967 to join Hannover 96. Three goal-laden seasons with the Die Roten was followed by a move back to his beloved Monchengladbach.
It was during his second spell at the club that Heynckes enjoyed the most success. The striker played a crucial role as Monchengladbach won their first-ever Bundesliga title in 1971. Heynckes was once again at the forefront as Monchengladbach became the first German side to play in the finals of the UEFA Cup and win the same.
Jupp Heynckes was an integral part of Monchengladbach during their golden years as they dominated German football. The striker spent 15 years as a professional footballer before retiring from the game in 1978.
The striker had an equally glittering career with his national side. Heynckes was part of West Germany's World Cup-winning squad of 1974 as well as the European Championship winning squad of 1972. He scored an incredible 14 goals in 39 appearances for the national side in nine years with the national side.
Jupp Heynckes remains the third-highest German goalscorer and the fourth-highest in the history of Bundesliga with 220 goals in 369 league appearances. He was also part of 4 Bundesliga winning sides, 1 DFB Pokal and 1 UEFA Cup-winning side.
3. Robert Lewandowski - 227 goals
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| Goals Goals Goals |
The greatest foreign goalscorer in the history of Bundesliga and the only active player amongst the top five goalscorers in Bundesliga. Robert Lewandowski started his career in his native country of Poland with third division side Znicz Pruszkow in 2006.
A goal-laden debut season saw Pruszkow moving up to the second division and Lewandowski gaining a move to Polish against Lech Poznan. A prolific goalscorer with the Polish side, Lewandoski scored an incredible 41 goals in 82 appearances in two seasons with the club before making the move across the border to join German giants Borussia Dortmund.
Robert Lewandowski made his Bundesliga debut as an unknown player in 2010 with Dortmund. After struggling to find the net in his first season, Lewandoski took on the mantle of scoring as he helped Borussia Dortmund to their first-ever double in the German league. The polish striker spent four seasons at the Ruhr-region club, becoming one of the most sought after strikers around the world and helping Dortmund to their first Champions League final in 16 years, before moving across to arch-rivals Bayern Munich on a free in 2014.
At Munich, Lewandoski established himself as one of the world's best. The Polish striker scored an incredible 230 goals in just 275 appearances as he helped the Bavarian giants to the Bundesliga title in each of five seasons at the club. The Pole was on course to win his first European Golden shoe before the ongoing coronavirus pandemic put a stop to his goal-scoring spree.
A prolific goalscorer for his country, Robert Lewandoski is the highest goalscorer for his nation. Currently at 61 goals, Lewandoski is amongst the active leading goalscorers in international football.
A career that has spanned over 14 years now, Lewandoski has already established himself as one of the greatest strikers of his generation. The striker has scored an incredible 227 goals in just 313 appearances. During his time in Germany, the Pole has won an incredible seven Bundesliga titles, 3 DFB Pokals and 4 DFL Super Cups in just nine seasons.
If anyone is likely to beat Gerd Muller's record in the near future, it is going to be Robert Lewandoski.
2. Klaus Fischer - 268 goals
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| A man for the theatrics |
Known more for his acrobatic skills rather the number of goals he scored, Klaus Fischer is the only player in the Bundesliga to be ranked in the top 5 of both leading goalscorer and appearance maker.
The striker started his professional career with 1860 Munchen in 1968 after coming through SC Zwiesel youth academy.
After struggling to find the net in his debut Bundesliga season, Fischer scored an impressive 21 goals before making the move to the Ruhr region to sign for German giants Schalke. Fischer's career almost ended before it had begun after being involved in the bribery scandal that rocked the Bundesliga in the 1971-72 season. After serving a one-year ban, Fischer returned back to his goalscoring duties and immediately helped the Die Knappen to the DFB Pokal.
Klaus Fischer spent 11 seasons at the Parkstadion but failed to deliver a league to Schalke despite being one of leading goalscorers in the country. The striker finally left the Gelsenkirchen side to join Cologne in 1981. Three seasons at Cologne saw Fischer adding another DFB Pokal before moving to VFL Bochum in 1984. The striker went on to spent four seasons at Bochum before finally retiring in 1988.
Despite having been ineligible for the national side for over 5 years due to the bribery scandal, Fischer scored an incredible 32 goals in 45 appearances for West Germany. He was also part of the side that finished runners-up to Paolo Rossi's Italy in the 1982 World Cup.
Klaus Fischer ended his career after scoring an incredible 268 goals in 535 appearances. Fischer also remains FC Schalke's all-time leading goalscorer. Despite being the second-highest goalscorer in Bundesliga, Fischer never managed to win the league title and only finished as the league top goalscorer on just one occasion.
1.Gerd Muller - 365 goals
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| Der Bomber |
One of the greatest ever to play the game of football, Gerd 'Der Bomber' Muller incidentally started his career in 1963 way down in the seventh tier of German football with TSV Nordlingen. After scoring a staggering 47 goals in 28 matches in his first full season as a professional, Muller made the move to a then lesser-known second division club named Bayern Munich.
The transfer of Gerd Muller still remains one of the biggest transfers ever done by the Bavarian club. The striker along with Franz Beckenbauer and Sepp Maier laid the foundation that helped Bayern Munich turn into the most successful club in the history of German football. Muller instantly helped Bayern back into the Bundesliga after scoring another staggering 33 goals in 26 matches.
Return back to Bundesliga was followed by a third-place finish and the DFB Pokal in 1965. Muller spent 15 seasons with the Bavarian giants and scored less than 20 goals on just three occasions. The striker terrorized the defenders as Bayern Munich dominated the mid-1960s and 1970s.
Muller won his first Bundesliga in 1969, four years after making his Bundesliga debut. The striker would go onto win three more during four seasons as Germany and Bayern Munich dominated International and European football.
Der Bomber finally left the club in 1979 to join the North American Soccer League side Fort Lauderdale Strikers. He played three seasons with the American side before retiring from the game in 1981.
Part of West Germany's golden generation, Muller won both the FIFA World Cup and the European Championship in the 1974 and 1972 respectively. He still remains Germany's second-highest leading goalscorer with an impressive 68 goals from just 62 appearances.
In a career spanning almost 18 seasons, Muller won 3 European Cups, 4 Bundesliga's, 3 DFB Pokal's, 1 European Cup Winners Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup and 1 Second division title, all with his beloved Bayern Munich. Gerd Muller also scored an impressive 365 goals in 427 appearances and was named the leagues' top scorer on seven occasions. He was also the recipient of the 1970 Ballon d'Or.
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