All-Time top scorers in Bundesliga
Muller, Lewandowski or Muller. Who is the all-time top scorer in the German Bundesliga?
Muller, Lewandowski or Muller. Who is the all-time top scorer in the German Bundesliga?
The German Bundesliga is one of Europe’s top five leagues that has produced some of the greatest players in the game.
It is also the home of Bayern Munich, one of the biggest clubs in Europe. While the Bundesliga may not have the prestige of Serie A, LaLiga and Premier League, some of the best attackers to ever play football have graced the league.
With that said, let’s take a look at the all-time top scorers in Bundesliga history.
10. Dieter Muller and Klaus Allofs- 177 goals
In joint tenth place are Dieter Muller and Klaus Allofs. Muller and Allofs' Bundesliga careers crossed paths, although the latter played for a longer period.
Muller played in Germany’s top-flight between 1973 and 1986, scoring 177 goals. His best spell came at Cologne, where he scored 159 goals in 248 appearances. He also had short stints with Stuttgart (14 goals) and Saarbrücken (four goals).
Ironically, Allofs also scored a majority of his goals for Cologne-88 in 177 appearances. However, he was also lethal for Düsseldorf, where he scored 71 goals. The former Germany international also scored 18 goals for Werder Bremen.
8. Stefan Kuntz- 179 goals
In eighth position is Stefan Kuntz, who scored 179 goals in 449 Bundesliga appearances, averaging 0.40 goals per game.
Although he was not that prolific in Germany’s national team colours, Kuntz was one of the most lethal marksmen during his era.
The ex-Germany international played for four clubs in the Bundesliga top-flight and was clinical for all of them. Kuntz scored 47 goals for Bochum, 32 for Uerdingen, 75 for Kaiserslautern, and 25 for Arminia Bielefeld.
7. Ulf Kirsten- 181 goals
Kirsten played for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and was one of the most prolific scorers in the league during his time at the club.
He scored a whopping 181 goals for Die Werkself in 350 league appearances, averaging 0.52 goals per game.
6. Claudio Pizarro- 197 goals
Pizarro is one of the two foreigners in the top ten and the only non-European. The former Peru international was the first South American to crack it in the Bundesliga.
Pizarro scored 197 goals during a 21-year stint in the German top flight. His best spell was with Werder Bremen, where he remains the club’s all-time top scorer.
Pizarro scored 109 goals in 250 league games at Werder. He also played for Bayern Munich, scoring 87 goals in 224 appearances for the Bavaria giants. Pizarro also had a short stint with Cologne, but scored only one goal for the club.
5. Manfred Burgsmüller- 213 goals
Burgsmuller had an impressive 21-year spell in the Bundesliga with clubs like Essen, Borussia Dortmund, Nürnberg and Werder Bremen.
He scored 213 goals across 447 appearances during this period, with his most prolific period coming in the colours of Dortmund, where he scored 135 goals in 224 games.
4. Jupp Heynckes- 220 goals
You might know him as the manager who won the treble with Bayern, but before he became a manager, he was a lethal marksman.
Heynckes scored 220 goals in 369 appearances, which came between 1965 and 1978. He scored most of his goals (195) for Borussia Mönchengladbach and another 25 for Hannover.
3. Klaus Fischer- 268 goals
Fischer sits in third place after scoring 268 goals in 535 games. The German played for a host of clubs during his 20-year spell in the Bundesliga. However, his best spell was with Schalke 04, scoring 182 goals in 295 appearances for the club.
Fischer also played for 1860 Munich (28 goals), Köln (31 goals) and Bochum (27 goals).
2. Robert Lewandowksi- 312 goals
The only modern day player in the list aside from Pizarro is Lewandowski. The Polish striker made his mark in Germany, playing for two of the biggest clubs- Bayern and Dortmund.
Lewandowski scored 74 goals for the Black and Yellow before moving to Bayern. His time at Bayern remains his best yet, as he scored an astonishing 238 goals in 253 appearances.
Lewandowski’s goal-to-game ratio is also the second-best among players in the top ten, averaging 0.81 goals per game. He would have definitely broken the all-time record if he had moved to Barcelona.
1. Gerd Muller- 365 goals
It is only fitting that the man who once held the record for most goals in a calendar year sits at the top. Muller is not just Germany’s greatest striker, he is also arguably their greatest ever player.
One of the most clinical marksmen in football, Muller scored 365 league goals for Bayern, averaging 0.85 goals per game.
