Despite the name of the sport being Football, there is alot more to the game then just kicking it around the field.
In fact parts of the body such as your head and shoulder, can play a big role in a game.
As not only is it perfectly legal to use it within the sport, but you can use a body part like your head to score a goal.
Now over the years we have seen some players adjust there style around heading, and as result, some players are known specifically for how good they are in the air.
However today I am not going to be covering good players who can just head the ball, as you can see from the title I will be talking about those who use it to score goals.
From those, I will be covering the footballers who have made a career out of scoring headers in pivotal moments within the game.
This list will consist of those players who have scored the most goals with their heads since 2009.
Table of Contents
11. Edin Dzeko – 44 Headed Goals
- Most Headed Goals In A Season: 6 (Roma 2018/19)
Coming in at 6ft 4in Edin Dzeko has been an aerial threat for many years.
From his time in England with Manchester City to now with Inter Milan the forward has always been able to score headed goals.
The Bosnian has scored 44 headers in the past 12 years, with his highest season count being 6 with Roma in 2018/19.
10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 45 Headed Goals
- Most Headed Goals In A Season: 7 (La Galaxy 2018 & 2019)
Swedish veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been scoring for decades now at the highest level.
From his Barcelona days, he has scored 45 headed goals in 13 years.
This includes a recent two-year spell in the USA with La Galaxy where he scored 7 headed goals in both 2018 and 2019.
9. Aduriz – 46 Headed Goals
- Most Headed Goals In A Season: 6 (Atletic Bilbao 2021/22)
Former footballer Aduriz who called time on his 21-year-old professional career in 2020, was one of the best at heading in the game.
Making 640 total appearances and scoring 221 goals for 7 Spanish clubs, he was one of the legends to play in the league.
Aduriz being a tall focal point upfront was great in the air, scoring 47 goals from headers since his Mallorca days.
This includes back-to-back seasons with Atletic Bilbao in 2013 and 2014, where he finished the year on 6 headed goals apiece.
8. Karim Benzema – 49 Headed Goals
- Most Headed Goals In A Season: 8 (Real Madrid 2018/19)
Karim Benzema has been a consistent goal scorer both for the Los Blancos and most recently for the country after being called up again.
The Frenchman who has spent the majority of his career in the Spanish capital has scored 47 goals with his head since moving from Lyon.
While his highlight reel consists of dribble goals, dinking it over the keeper, and clinical finishing, his header against Celta Vigo below shows you how good in the air he is.
7. Fernando Llorente – 50 Headed Goals
- Most Headed Goals In A Season: 10 (Atletic Bilbao 2011/12)
Basque striker Fernando Llorente has been a menace in the air where ever he has gone.
From Athletic Bilbao to now Udinese, the Spaniard has scored 50 headed goals.
However it was in his early years at Bilbao where he was scoring them frequently, as between 2009 and 2012, he scored 25 headers.
6. Edinson Cavani – 50 Headed Goals
- Most Headed Goals In A Season: 6 (Manchester United 2020/21 & Napoli 2012/13)
Edinson Cavani has proved himself as one of the best finishers in world football.
Whether that is with his head or feet, he can find the back of the net the majority of the time.
This is something that Manchester United recognized as they picked him up on a free transfer in 2020.
For Manchester United, he has shown how much of an aerial threat he is.
Scoring 6 headed goals in 2020/21 taking him to 50 since his days at Palermo.
5. Olivier Giroud – 51 Headed Goals
- Most Headed Goals In A Season: 7 (Arsenal 2015/16)
AC Milan has been blessed with strikers with an aerial threat over the past few years, and new signing Giroud is another striker who can put thunder headers into the goal.
The Frenchman who can score a wide range of goals, which the Puskas award is proof of, has found the net with his head 51 times.
At 35 years of age, and paired with Ibrahimovic up front he will be looking to improve that tally before he calls time.
His best season for headed goals came in 2015/16 while playing for Arsenal, where he got 7.
4. Mario Mandzukic – 52 Headed Goals
- Most Headed Goals In A Season: 7 (Wolfsburg 2011/12 & Bayern Munich 2013/14)
It was inevitable that Mario Mandzukic would appear on this list, as not only is the ex-footballer a great striker but he is also a 6ft 3in.
A player who most recently hung up his boots after a short stint in Milan has scored some wonderful goals over his career, including the bicycle kick in the Champions League Final.
Mario has scored 52 headers since his 2010/11 campaign with Wolfsburg.
3. Luuk De Jong – 60 Headed Goals
- Most Headed Goals In A Season: 13 (PSV Einhoven 2018/19)
Barcelona’s newly acquired Luuk De Jong, may not be the first footballer to come to mind when it comes to heading.
However, the target man has been lethal with several clubs around Europe, scoring 60 headed goals in total.
His time at PSV Eindhoven was when he was knocking them in nearly every other game.
As in 2018/19, he managed 28 league goals for the season, with 13 of them all being with his head.
2. Robert Lewandowski – 65 Headed Goals
- Most Headed Goals In A Season: 8 (Real Madrid 2019/20)
Lewandowski’s has always been a threat in the air, however, after he switched from Dortmund to Bayern he started scoring for fun in the air.
Something you can see exactly why, with quality crossers in Arjen Robben, Frank Ribery, and Gnabry over the years.
He’s not just been great in the air, but basically anywhere in the box with a total of 226 goals since joining the Bavarians.
Of them goals 65 were headers, including a brilliant 2019/20 campaign where he managed 8.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 92 Headed Goals
- Most Headed Goals In A Season: 12 (Real Madrid 2014/15)
There is a reason why Cristiano Ronaldo will go down as one of the very best strikers to play the game.
That is because he has been the complete striker that not only knows how to put the ball in the net when needed but can do it by any means.
From Penalties to outside-the-box goals, Ronaldo has done it all and one of his main ways of scoring is with his head.
The reason he has so many headed goals is because of his towering leap, its the jump alone that beats most defenders.
Just look at the goal below against Chelsea in the Champions League where he was hovering in the air:
Ronaldo currently has the most goals scored by header with 92 since 2009. This includes as you can see above a massive 12 in one season, back in 14/15.
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