Striking-partnership

Striking-partnership is a term used in European football (soccer) referring to a partnership between the strikers of a football team. In modern football there are usually two strikers on each team, either playing alongside each other as out-and-out strikers or with one of them tucked in just behind the other, in the so called "hole" (between the opponents defence line and midfield).

Striking-partnerships' success is often measured in goals. Often the number of goals they score in between the two of them during one season. They can also be evaluated applying other measures, i.e. their interaction on the pitch.

Throughout the history of football many memorable striking-partnerships have been formed. In the English League some of the more prominent from the last 20 years includes:

• Steve Bull / Andy Mutch (Wolverhampton Wanderers in the latter part of the 80s)
• Frank McAvennie / Tony Cottee (West Ham United in the latter part of the 80s)
• Ian Wright / Mark Bright (Crystal Palace in the early 90s)
• Peter Beardsley / Andy Cole (Newcastle United in the early 90s)
• Alan Shearer / Chris Sutton (Blackburn Rovers in the early 90s)
• Marco Gabbiadini / Paul Kitson (Derby County in the mid-90s)
• Andy Cole / Dwight Yorke (Manchester United in the latter part of the 90s)
• Carlos Tevez / Wayne Rooney (Manchester United in the late-00s)
• Dimitar Berbatov / Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur in the mid-00s)

Other prominent striking partnerships:

• David Trezeguet / Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus in the early-to-mid 00s)
• Brian McBride / Landon Donovan (American national team in the early-to-mid 00s)
• Raul / Fernando Morientes (Real Madrid and the Spanish national team in the early 00s)

References

Further reading

• In Encyclopedia of British Football Routledge. .
• Robyn Jones Soccer Strategies: Defensive and Attacking Tactics. Reedswain Inc..
• Jacob Daniel The Complete Guide to Coaching Soccer Systems and Tactics. Reedswain Inc..