Soccer Legends: a look at those hard-to-break records of amazing centuries!

Klose: 16 Crowns for World Cup Legends

Timeline: 2002-2014

Close second: Thomas Muller (10 titles)

On the stage of four World Cups, Klose has written his own legend with goals. From the age of 24 to 36, his goals were 5, 5, 4, 2, a golden boot, a silver boot, a fourth place in the top scorer list, an extraordinary achievement.

Klose may not have the talent of Cristiano Ronaldo, but he won the honor of World Cup top scorer with ten years of diligence, self-discipline and perseverance. Germany's brilliant record of playing in all four consecutive World Cups has also created a favorable competitive environment for him.

Among active players, Muller, who collected 10 World Cup goals at the age of 25, was expected to break Klose's record, but the 2018 World Cup gave him a heavy blow. This year, 33-year-old Muller may usher in his last World Cup, while Klose's record, perhaps, will remain for many years.

Crowe: 100-goal master of the national team

The passage of time: 2004 to the present

Challenger: Messi (86 goals)

Only 20 of Crowe's record 117 goals in his national team career have been scored in friendlies. He has excelled in the UEFA Europa League, the World Cup, the European Championships, the World Qualifiers, the UEFA Europa League and the Confederations Cup.

Since Cairo joined the national team, Portugal has never missed a major tournament in 10 tournaments. Prior to his emergence, Portugal had only participated in three World Cups and three European Cups in more than 90 years.

Hunto: Six Champions League titles

Chronological imprint: 1955-1966

Challengers: Crowe, Benzema, Modric, etc.

Hento was one of the soul players of Real Madrid's Champions League infancy, winning the Big Ears Cup again in 1966, a record 6 out of 8 Champions League finals. Maldini was the favorite to overtake Hento, but ended up winning only five of them.

In the 21st century, with the rise of Real Madrid, another batch of Champions League winners were born. Currently, with 5 crowns in hand, Crowe, Benzema and Modric are all expected to equal Hunto's record.

Fontaine: The World Cup's single 13-goal king

Year stamp: 1958

Challenger: Cochise (11 goals)

In the 1958 World Cup, Fontaine scored 13 goals in 6 matches with amazing efficiency, half of which were scored against strong teams. His performance turned the entire soccer world on its head.

As the game of soccer has evolved, scoring goals has become more and more difficult and the rivalries between the stronger teams have become more intense. In the last four World Cups, the Golden Boot has scored far less than half of Fontaine's goals.

Cairo: 140-goal Champions League legend

Chronology: 2007 to present

Challenger: Messi (125 goals)

Prior to the Melo era, Raul was the top all-time scorer in the Champions League, with a record 71 goals. Now, Cairo has doubled that record.

With seven Champions League Golden Boots, six consecutive years as top scorer, seven consecutive years of double goals, and 140 goals in 183 games, Crowe is a legendary player in Champions League history.

Lionel Messi: The 91-goal myth of the year

Year stamp: 2012

Challenger: Gerd Muller (85 goals)

Lionel Messi in 2012 was the most terrifying and unsolvable goal-scoring machine in the history of soccer. He scored 91 goals in 69 games, averaging 1.31 goals per game, which is higher than many basketball players' scoring average.

Messi, who scored more goals that year than the entire teams of Manchester United, Chelsea, Juve and Paris, created a solo personal feat of 113 goals.

Levine: the myth of 5 goals in 9 minutes

Year stamp: 2015

Challenger: Mane

In the 2015-16 season, Levine created a myth in soccer history by scoring five goals in nine minutes. The feat even eclipsed the NBA's Maddie's 13 points in 35 seconds.

Levan's performance has given a whole new perspective on his goal-scoring ability.

Messi: 7 Ballon d'Ors

Year stamp: 2009-2021

Challenger: Crow (5 seats)

From 2008 to 2021, Messi and Crow monopolized the 12 trophies of the Ballon d'Or, an unprecedented spectacle in the history of soccer.

Of the active players, only 37-year-old Modric has ever lifted the Ballon d'Or, while Messi's record of seven Ballon d'Ors is unlikely to be broken by at least this generation of players.

Pele: The Legend of the Triple Crown

Year stamps: 1958, 1962, 1970

Challengers: Cafu, Ronaldo (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Pele is the only player in the history of soccer to have lifted the World Cup three times. Though Dairo and Cafu had a chance to equal his record, surpassing Pele is an impossible task.

The output of soccer talent is a cyclical process, and the back-to-back spurt of 58-70 and 94-06 Brazilian stars would have been unattainable.

Chaney: Goalie 131-goal legend

Year stamp: 1997-2015

Challenger: Chilavert (67 goals)

Chaney is the goalkeeper who has scored the most goals in the history of soccer, and his 131-goal record would even rank in the top 10 of all-time free-kick breakout lists.

With modern soccer, goalkeepers are by no means given such offensive authority anymore. As a result, Chaney's record, which has never been equaled before, is almost impossible to follow.

Other records

Mourinho: 9 years and 150 games unbeaten at home in the league

Reinke: 0 red and yellow cards in 567 career games

Hilton: 1390 games

Pele: 1,283 goals

Buffon: 501 shutouts

Yashin: 150 tackles

Zico: 101 free kick goals

Matthäus: 25 World Cup appearances

Platini: 9 goals in a single Europa League campaign

Crowe: 17 goals in Champions League + 14 in Europa League in a single season

Messi: 50 goals in a single league season + 21 consecutive rounds of scoring