Aside from those big names, the top 20 international scorers include some names you would never guess. Ali Daei of Iran is the only man to ever crack the 100 goal mark...with 109 in his career for Iran, he is number 1 all time. Bashar Abdullah recently retired from international duty with Kuwait while on 75 goals, good enough for 5th all time. Then there is the man at number 6 all time, Trinidadian striker, Stern John. This may come as a shock to many given Stern's club career, but while on International duty he has been stellar. Stern John sits on 69 goals and today, at age 34 (closer to 35), after an almost 2 year absence from the game, Stern John is in the Trinidad and Tobago lineup as they face India in a friendly international (his 110th cap for his nation). If Stern manages to score in what is surely one of his last opportunities he would become only the 6th man to make it to 70 goals in his career. Hossam Hassan of Egypt, Majed Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Kiatisuk Senamuang of Thailand are the remaining surprise names on the top 10, but those 3 as well as Bashar Abdullah (ranked 5th all time) have made the list with a strike rate less impressive than Stern John. Furthermore, Stern is the only player on the top 10 who is not retired, giving him opportunity to add to his tally. Infact, in the top 30, only Miroslav Klose (ranked 13th with 61 goals) and Robbie Keane (ranked 29th with 51 goals) remain active. Certainly Klose, as well as Drogba and Eto'o (both on 50 goals) stand a good chance of reaching 70 goals if given enough opportunity but as of today August 21st 2011, Stern John can become only the 6th man to reach that milestone.
Stern John began his international career on February 15th 1995 versus Finland. In that debut match he scored his first international goal and has not looked back since. His second international match came in November 1995 against Norway, and though he did not score, he drew a crucial penalty that was converted by Russell Latapy in a 3-2 win for Trinidad and Tobago over then 4th ranked Norway. In 1996 he got his first action versus Concacaf opponents and scored his first hatrick for Trinidad and Tobago that year in a World Cup qualifier against the Dominican Republic. By the time 1998 came around, Trinidad and Tobago weren't in the World Cup but were a team on the rise behind Stern John. He scored his first Gold Cup goals that year, notching a double against Honduras in a 3-1 win for T&T. That summer he scored 10 goals in the Caribbean Cup, including 4 against Dominica in the 1st round, 2 in the Semi Final against Haiti and 1 in the final against a Jamaican team that had recently returned from the World Cup a month before. By the end of 1998 he had scored 20 international goals in just 23 matches.
His club form at the time matched his international prowess, with him dominating the young MLS, leading the league in scoring for the 1998 season with 26 goals for the Columbus Crew. He ended his time with the Crew after the 1999 season with 44 goals for them in 55 appearances. His 18 goals in 1999 were tied for the league lead as well. Internationally, 1999 was great for Stern John and Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago won every game they played that year until a late December loss to Honduras and a big reason for it was their star striker, Stern John. He scored 10 times in 1999 to takes his international tally to 30 goals in 30 matches! Among the highlights that year were goals that helped T&T beat their rival Jamaica twice, another that helped beat South Africa, his second international hatrick, this time against Colombia in a 4-3 win and both goals in the 2-3 loss to Honduras. With the new millenium arriving, Trinidad and Tobago had a new star that took the focus off the likes of Dwight Yorke.
The team entered the year 2000 ranked in the high 40's and on the rise. Stern John entered the new millenium with a move from the US to England. Teams began planning for him and the year 2000 saw him scoring less with him failing to find the net in a 3-1 World Cup qualifying win over Haiti and a 4-0 World Cup qualifying win over Canada. He failed to score that year and was also not present on Trinidad and Tobago's Gold Cup squad that made it to the semi-finals. In 2001 though, he played a massive 18 times for his country, scoring 9 times. That summer Trinidad and Tobago achieved their highest ever World ranking, moving up to 25th in the World. They however famously collapsed in World Cup qualifying and most of John's goals came in losing efforts as Dwight Yorke and Russell Latapy retired for the first time. He played only twice for T&T in 2002 (in the Gold Cup) scoring once to bring his tally to 40 goals in 54 appearances. In his next 4 matches for country he scored 5 times, including a double versus Venezuela. Trinidad and Tobago ended 2003 with a friendly loss in Morocco with Stern having scored 45 goals in 59 matches.
The cycle for the 2006 World Cup was up and down for Stern John. In 2004, Trinidad and Tobago played a lot of opponents from other confederations and Stern John scored in almost every game. His 4 goals in the 3 games against Egypt, Iraq and Scotland were the only 4 goals the Soca Warriors managed to score. Following a loss to Northern Ireland, Stern John scored 6 goals in the 7 World Cup qualifiers he would play before 2004 ended. He had now scored 55 goals in 70 games for Trinidad and Tobago. 2005 began with Stern John scoring only once in 6 games and with the nation in last place in World Cup qualifying's Hexagonal, Stern John took the blame. In a year packed with matches, Stern was ever present in the lineup, whether it was a friendly, World Cup qualifier or Gold Cup match, his scoring touch was however missing. That is until T&T met Guatemala, in early September 2005 with everything on the line. With 5 minutes left and T&T down 2-1 and needing a win not a tie, Stern John scored twice to earn all 3 points in the most crucial victory of the World Cup qualifying campaign. He would go on to score the only goal in a 1-0 win at Panama and both goals in a 2-1 win versus Mexico to end the Hexagonal with his nation in 4th position. That put the Soca Warriors in a playoff for the final World Cup spot and even though Stern John did not score. T&T prevailed and qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Stern John's 12 goals in World Cup qualifying were a big reason why and he would get to play on the biggest stage. He ended 2005 with 64 goals in 90 matches. The matches versus Sweden, England and Paraguay were matches 96, 97 and 98 of Stern's career and he just narrowly missed scoring against England when John Terry cleared a 44th minute header just off the goal line. Stern would score another double, this time against St.Vincent and the Grenadines in his 99th match to bring his goal total to 67. He got his 100th cap on the 11th of October 2006 against Panama in a 2-0 win.
THE NUMBERS:
The black listing of players and scandal that followed the 2006 World Cup for Trinidad and Tobago may have affected Stern's eventual numbers, but we may never know for sure. He scored 67 goals before he turned 30 years of age. His final 2 goals for the Soca Warriors to this point came in a World Cup qualifying playoff against Bermuda in which T&T needed both goals badly winning the playoff 3-2. He scored 20 goals in World Cup qualifiers, 12 in the qualifiers for 2006 alone. He scored 3 times in his 7 Gold Cup appearances. and 17 times in 13 Caribbean Cup matches, 10 in 1998 alone. Trinidad won 51 and tied 16 of the 109 matches he played in to this point. He also managed to play against many teams that were not from Concacaf. Finland, Norway, South Africa, Colombia twice, Venezuela, Morocco, Egypt, Iraq, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Bahrain twice, Iceland, Peru, Wales, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Sweden, England twice and Paraguay. In those 22 matches he scored 12 goals, showing that he did it not only against the minnows of Concacaf. Against quality opponents from Concacaf he didn't do as well but still did well. Quality Concacaf opponents were narrowed down by me to Costa Rica, USA, Mexico, Honduras and T&T's biggest rival, Jamaica. He played 35 matches against this bunch and scored 14 times, an average of 2 goals every 5 games. Adding opponents from other confederations to quality Concacaf opponents he managed to score 26 goals in 57 matches, not a bad strike rate at all. This means he scored 43 goals in 52 matches against weak opponents regardless of match importance. Costa Rica and USA were his toughest opponents, against the two he played over 10 matches and managed to score just once, a penalty in the 2002 Gold Cup versus Costa Rica. Honduras were a shockingly good opponent for him, scoring 6 times in 5 games against them.
UPDATE: Stern John indeed scored his 70th international goal yesterday versus India. Ironically it came via penalty after years of missing numerous penalties. He managed to find the net shortly after but it was ruled offsides. Stern John 70 goals in 110 caps for Trinidad and Tobago.
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