Top 11 Best Crossers in Football History

Crossing plays an important role in the game of football, as it allows teams to create goal opportunities by delivering the ball into the opponent’s penalty box. On average, only one in 90 open-play crosses end up in the back of the net.

Long before the ineffectiveness of crossing was quantified, beating an opponent and swinging the ball into the penalty box was the only job of the best wingers in the world for decades.

Even in the modern day, when elite clubs have vast data departments stuffed with astrophysicists and mathematicians, some of the greatest players on the planet have reached those lofty heights by mastering the most inefficient aspect of the game.

Wide players, rampaging full-backs and wandering midfielders have all had the ball on the end of a string.

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Here are the iconic legends who have consistently confounded the calculations and established themselves as the best crossers ever to take to a football pitch.

Ranking Factors

• Assists – The ultimate aim of any delivery into the box is to tee up a goal.
• Reputation – In the absence of detailed data beyond the last decade, the praise a player earned for their crossing ability has been considered.
• Level – The best crossers have been able to find their range in the most competitive settings.
• Longevity – To reach the summit of the sport is one thing, but to stay there is all the more impressive.

Best Crossers in Football History