Raúl, third international top scorer in 2003

Raúl González Blanco is the third top scorer of year 2003 in international games, according to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

Ronaldo stands on the sixth position. London's Arsenal playerThierry Henry is at the top of this ranking with 15 goals, one more than Real Madrid captain.

Raúl, who was top scorer in 1999, stands within the top ten for the fifth year running. Only four footballers from last year's top ten (Raúl, Ronaldo, Van Nistelrooy and Koller) have achieved a position again in the ten top scorers of year 2003.

Henry's compatriot David Trezeguet stands right behind him with 15 goals too, although the latter scored fewer goals in top-competition games.

IFFHS makes up this ranking counting the goals scored in official games both with the national teams and in club competitions held all through the year. If there is a tie, the goals with the national teams are given more worth. This is what happened between Henry and Trezeguet, as the former scored three goals more as France player.

IFFHS states that the number of players scoring more than ten goals has been decreasing over the past years. In 2001 there was 38 footballers that hit this record, but in 2002, the number dropped to 20 and to eleven in 2003.

2003 top scorers in international games
1.- Thierry Henry (Arsenal/France) - 15 goles

2.- David Trezeguet (Juventus/France) - 15

3.- Raúl (Real Madrid/Spain) – 14

4.- Sarayoot Chaikamdee (Port Authority/Thailand) - 13

5.- Van Nistelrooy (Manchester U./Netherlands) - 13

6.- Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Brazil) – 12

7.- Fawzi Bashir Rajab Dorbeen (Al Nasr Salabab/Oman) - 11

8.- Jan Koller (Borussia Dortmund/Czech) - 11

9.- Wai-Lun Au (South China/Hong-Kong) - 10

10.- Valnderlei Zernandes "Derlei" (Porto/Brazil) – 10