GERD Muller, Mario Kempes, Paolo Rossi, Gary Lineker, Toto Schillaci, Romario, Ronaldo; World Cups are remembered for centre-forwards (and G***f H***t).
Or at least they were. Perhaps it's something to do with global warming, but world football is suffering a drought of uncomplicated goal-getting centre-forwards.
There are plenty of thrilling attacking players, from Lionel Messi and Kaka to Cristi
ano Ronaldo and Andriy Arshavin, but when it comes to the traditional job of being the No 9 who puts the ball in the back of the net, well it seems to be going out of fashion.
One shining exception now sits at the top of the Premier League scoring charts with eight goals from as many games. If he maintains that scoring ratio, Fernando Torres will carry his status as the world's best centre-forward into the World Cup finals. His nearest rival may be the player he came up against last Sunday, Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast.
It's fashionable to criticise Rafael Benitez (even one of the club's co-owners is at it), for his erratic purchases and tactical inconsistencies. Torres, though, was not only one of the shrewdest transfers of recent seasons, but also one of the most startling reinventions of any player. At Atletico Madrid, El Niño was still searching for his ideal position and his scoring record was decent, but not remarkable (a pattern that remains the case with Spain).
At Liverpool, he filled out, became twice as strong, much more direct, relished running at the Premier League's steady supply of statuesque centre-backs, and cultivated a knack for assured finishing. He became the best striker in Europe, and, at Euro 2008, added the cutting edge to a Spain side that already had the best midfield construction crew in the world.
Spain have already qualified for South Africa, with a perfect record in qualification. Benitez might politely request that Torres, who suffered a groin twinge in training, will be excused the fixtures against Armenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The problem is that Spain are without David Villa of Valencia, the top-scorer in La Liga, arguably the next best European striker after Torres, and the man who has shouldered the goals burden in Spain's qualifying campaign. The Liverpool forward will probably play, and attempt to correct the anomaly that, while Torres scored three times in 11 minutes in the Confederations Cup this summer, he hasn't yet scored in the qualifiers.
No other European country has such a formidable pair of forwards available to them.
Fabio Capello's England might be the next best placed, although Capello's biggest problem in the next nine months will be deducing who is the best partner for Wayne Rooney. Rooney's style is such that he rarely looks like a prolific goalscorer, although he enjoys occasional golden streaks. He is enjoying one with England at present, having scored nine goals in the World Cup qualifying group, putting him top of the scoring table in the European sector. England's World Cup prospects are as tightly intertwined with Rooney's fitness and form as Spain's are with Torres.
Elsewhere in Europe effective centre-forwards are conspicuous by their absence. Germany's qualifying record shows they have accumulated 22 points from a possible 24. Hardly shabby, but it still leaves them in danger of finishing second to Russia. That tubby little goal-getter Gerd Muller, who scored 68 goals in 62 games for West Germany, has pointed out that Germany lack, well a tubby little goal-getter who could average more than a goal a game.
Italy are similarly stricken. Thirteen goals in eight games is mediocre considering the standard of opposition in Group 8. Italy's joint-top scorers have two goals each, Vincenzo Iaquinta the only striker to have managed that, unless you count the converted winger Antonio Di Natale. Luca Toni, that consistently non-scoring centre-forward is goalless and out-of-favour, as is Antonio Cassano. Alberto Gilardino is goalless, as are Giuseppe Rossi and Fabio Quagliarella. Today's match against Giovanni Trapattoni's dour Irish team seems unlikely to be a goal-fest.
Raymond Domenech's France look like they may have to settle for a play-off place after only scoring ten times in eight matches. Thierry Henry and Franck Ribery are joint-top scorers with three goals each. Perhaps that's why Domenech is sounding less-than-confident about beating the Faroe Islands tonight.
If the old European powerhouses of Germany, France and Italy are struggling for goals, other European nations are hardly faring much better. Sweden are sufficiently bereft of alternatives that they are still fielding the ancient Henrik Larsson. Portugal's lack of any alternatives to Cristiano Ronaldo (who hasn't yet scored in these qualifiers) could still cost them qualification, and Russia's top-scorer Roman Pavlyuchenko has managed just 17 minutes of first-team action for Tottenham this season.
The World Cup is also international football's most feverish marketplace. Next summer South Africa will be packed with scouts looking for centre-forwards to announce their presence on the world stage. Their rarity value is now such that Benitez (and his money-conscious owners) should allow themselves a rare smile about the soaring value of Torres.
