The UEFA Champions League, Europe’s elite club competition has always been the stuff of dreams. Packed crowds and emotions flowing through the night as champions come up against each other in pulsating matches to determine the grit, steel and desire of the best.
This is the stage where everyone wants to leave their impression, absorb the pressure and stand up for the team when it matters the most. The goals scored at early stages of one’s career in the Champions League shows how quickly one can start learning about absorbing the pressure and reacting to difficult situations.
We will be looking here at players who have been the quickest to score 20 Champions League goals in their careers:
HARRY KANE
The England International who plays for Tottenham Hotspur was the quickest player in the history of Champions League to score 20 goals in the competition when he did so in just 24 appearances.
He made his debut in the 2016/17 season scoring 2 goals in 3 appearances which included a debut goal against APOEL FC. In the following season he scored 7 goals in the same number of appearances. In the 2018-19 season, where Spurs finished runners up; Kane scored 5 goals in 9 games and the remaining 6 goals came in the following season. The Tottenham striker will be proud of this record and will be looking to establish himself as a Champions League great by the end of his career.
ALESSANDRO DEL PIERO
The Italian International scored 20 Champions goals in 26 appearances for Juventus. He was instrumental in the Juventus’s victorious 1995-96 Champions League season as he was joint top scorer in the competition with 6 goals. In the following season, he scored 4 goals taking his tally to 10 but it was the 1997-98 season where Del Piero cemented his name as he scored 10 goals in that season alone and was the then record holder of being the quickest to 20 goals before Harry Kane broke it. His debut UCL goal was against Borussia Dortmund.
RUUD VAN NISTELROOY
Van Nistelrooy scored 20 Champions League goals in 27 appearances. He started off with PSV Eindhoven where he scored 5 goals in 5 appearances in the 1998/99 campaign and another 3 in 6 games in the following season.
In the 2001/02 season, he played for the Red Devils and scored 10 goals in 14 games and to complete 20 goals in the Champions League, the striker scored in the group stages of the 2002/03 season.
