Isidro Lángara is the only Spanish footballer to appear in the world rankings for the greatest goal scorers of all time in the top divisions, according to this month’s publication by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.
The Hungarian, Ferenc Puskás, who played in the first division in his native country and in Spain, heads the rankings. The only current players to figure on the list are Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) and Lionel Messi (Argentina).
Lángara featured in 24th position for the total number of goals, although when looking at goal ratios he occupies second place, trailing only the Hungarian, Imre Schlosser. Isidro Lángara scored 336 goals in 287 matches in top division matches in Spain, Argentina, and Mexico, while Schlosser scored 417 in 318 matches across the Hungarian and Austrian top flights.
While representing Real Oviedo, Lángara was the first player to finish top scorer in the Spanish first division during three consecutive seasons. To this day he holds the record for the best strike rate in Spanish first division history, with an average of 1.16 goals per game. Lángara is also the only player to score hattricks in three consecutive matches in the Spanish top division. Meanwhile, nobody else has scored as many goals as he did in a single competitive match for the Spanish national team (5).
In his day, he was considered the finest striker in the world, and he was the first player to become top scorer in the first divisions of three different countries; Spain, Argentina and Mexico.
Isidro Lángara arrived at Real Oviedo at the very young age of 18. At the peak of his career, having established his name as the greatest Spanish goal scorer, he was forced to move to Mexico due to the Spanish Civil War. In 1946, he returned to Spain and to his Real Oviedo. Despite his advanced age, particularly for a footballer at that time, he was still able to provide Oviedistas with glorious afternoons, and score a good number ofgoals.
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