Lineker vs Sammer
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Lineker wins: Longevity, Statistics
Sammer wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours
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Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Lineker leads in 2 of 5 weighted categories. World Cup Golden Boot winner in 1986 with 48 England goals.
Category breakdown
Season form · Goals per season
Career timeline · Goals per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Career stage · GOAT pace
Through season 5 · Goals per season| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🏴 Lineker | 0 | 0 | 50 | 106 | 310 | 662 |
| 🇩🇪 Sammer | 0 | 0 | 50 | 104 | 293 | 607 |
Careers are aligned at debut, so a rookie's first 5 seasons are measured against the same window in a legend's career — Yamal against Messi at the same age-stage, a tour rookie against Tiger Woods in 1996.
| Metric | LinekerRetired | SammerRetired |
|---|---|---|
| World Cup Golden Boot awards | 1 | — |
| England goals | 48 | — |
| Career league goals | 282 | — |
| Cup Winners' Cup titles | 1 | — |
| English top-scorer awards | 3 | — |
| European Championship titles | — | 1 |
| Ballon d'Or awards | — | 1 |
| Champions League titles | — | 1 |
| Bundesliga titles | — | 2 |
| Germany caps | — | 51 |
| Dominance w25% | 80 | 82 |
| Peak w20% | 92 | 94 |
| Longevity w20% | 78 | 72 |
| Honours w20% | 82 | 88 |
| Statistics w15% | 90 | 84 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
What do you think?
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