Football Features

Only Ousmane Dembele has a more perfect balance of goals than new Real Madrid signing Luka Jovic

By Steve Jennings

Published: 15:09, 4 June 2019 | Updated: 15:47, 14 September 2021

The two-footed footballer is a rare breed, but at the same time there are a few prominent examples. 

Indeed, a select group of players are able to use both feet with an equal amount of ease, scoring with their so-called weaker foot as often as they strike with their stronger one.

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But what about those who have scored the exact same amount of goals with both feet? Remarkably, 12 players have done exactly that in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16.

It’s fair to say it’s a strange list, made up of some familiar figures and some lesser-known names.

14. Craig Dawson

Current club: West Bromwich Albion

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 11
Right-footed: 1
Left-footed: 1

11 goals, nine headers, one left foot, one right foot. Sounds about right for a Championship centre-back who has accidentally fallen onto a Squawka list.

13. Federico Dionisi

Current club: Frosinone

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 10
Right-footed: 4
Left-footed: 4

As a striker, Dionisi will be disappointed with his goal return over the last few seasons. But at least he’s shared his strikes between his feet.

12. Alexander Szymanowski

Current club: Leganes

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 10
Right-footed: 4
Left-footed: 4

Eight of Szymanowski’s 10 La Liga goals came in the 2016/17 campaign.

11. Ezequiel Avila

Current club: Huesca

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 10
Right-footed: 5
Left-footed: 5

Ezequiel “Chimy” Avila has spent the last two seasons on loan at Huesca from Argentine club San Lorenzo. He scored seven goals in the Spanish second division last term, improving on that with 10 strikes in La Liga.

10. Firmin Mubele

Current club: Toulouse

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 10
Right-footed: 5
Left-footed: 5

Mubele didn’t enjoy the best of campaigns with Toulouse in 2018/19, scoring just one league goal since joining permanently from Stade Rennais.

9. Dawid Kownacki

Current club: Fortuna Dusseldorf

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 10
Right-footed: 5
Left-footed: 5

Dawid Kownacki scored just once in Serie A during the first half of the season for Sampdoria before joining Dusseldorf in loan in January, since finding the net four times in the Bundesliga.

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8. Mame Biram Diouf

Current club: Stoke City

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 12
Right-footed: 3
Left-footed: 3

The former Manchester United striker is now playing in the Championship with Stoke, but Diouf looks set to move on this summer.

7. Blerim Dzemaili

Current club: Bologna

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 13
Right-footed: 6
Left-footed: 6

Dzemaili scored just one Serie A goal for in 2018/19. The midfielder’s stint at Bologna was interrupted by a loan spell with Montreal Impact in 2017.

6. Jean-Philippe Mateta

Current club: Mainz

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 14
Right-footed: 5
Left-footed: 5

After a successful loan spell in the French second division with Le Havre in 2017/18, Mateta left Lyon permanently for German side Mainz last summer. He has scored 14 Bundesliga goals including five with either foot.

5. Yuya Osako

Current club: Werder Bremen

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 15
Right-footed: 6
Left-footed: 6

Yuya Osako scored three league goals and provided two assists for Werder Bremen this term, helping his side pull away form the bottom half of the Bundesliga table.

4. Alessandro Matri

Current club: Sassuolo

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 17
Right-footed: 8
Left-footed: 8

Sassuolo’s veteran striker Alessandro Matri, who is out of contract this summer, scored just two Serie A goals in 2018/19.

3. Kike

Current club: Eibar

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 18
Right-footed: 6
Left-footed: 6

Kike made scored 15 league goals for Middlesbrough between 2014-2016 before returning to Spain wit Eibar, for whom he has scored an exact split of league goals between his left foot, right foot and head.

2. Luka Jovic

Current club: Real Madrid

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 25
Right-footed: 10
Left-footed: 10

Jovic’s exemplary finishing saw him initially linked with a summer move to Chelsea, who he scored against at home and away for Frankfurt in the Europa League semi-finals. But Real Madrid have won the battle for his signature, with the striker set to sign a six-year deal at the Bernabeu.

1. Ousmane Dembele

Current club: Barcelona

Total goals in Europe’s top five leagues since 2015/16: 29
Right-footed: 14
Left-footed: 14

Which foot is Dembele stronger on? Do you know? Does anyone really know? The Barcelona winger bamboozles defenders with his ability to cut onto the other foot whenever possible.