You don’t see it much nowadays, but the little-and-large strike partnership was a staple of the game for many years.
Typically seen in an old-school 4-4-2 formation, such duos took on various forms but in their purest form comprised a big target man and a shorter instinctive finisher.
Here, we take a look at some of the greatest examples from football history…
Kenny Dalglish & Ian Rush
Two of the greatest players in Liverpool’s history, Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush were Anfield teammates for most of the 80s, scoring almost 200 goals combined during the decade – and helping the Reds to First Division, FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup success.
Dalglish excelled playing just off the prolific Rush, winning the 1983 PFA Players’ Player of the Year award – a prize scooped by Rush the following year.
Jermain Defoe & Peter Crouch
Separated by a foot in height, Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch formed effective attacking duos for Portsmouth and Tottenham, playing under Harry Redknapp at both clubs.
Their most fruitful season was the 2009/10 campaign, when they found the net 26 times between them (Defoe 18, Crouch eight) to help Spurs clinch Champions League qualification for the very first time.
Alessandro Del Piero & David Trezeguet
Two of the finest attacking players of their era, Italian and French greats Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet joined forces at Juventus.
The pair chalked up a combined 40 goals en route to the 2001/02 Serie A title – Trezeguet finishing as the league’s leading marksman with 24 – then helped Juve retain their crown the following campaign.
Darren Huckerby & Dion Dublin
Ok, at five-foot-ten, Darren Huckerby isn’t short, but he was the little man alongside six-foot-two Dion Dublin in Coventry City’s classic late 90s frontline.
The 1997/98 season was the duo’s most memorable for the Sky Blues, Dublin notching a Golden Boot-winning 18 Premier League goals and Huckerby helping himself to 14.
Robbie Keane & Dimitar Berbatov
Record scorers for their respective nations, the Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria, Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov linked up to great effect at Tottenham between 2006 and 2008.
Cartwheeling Keane found the net 55 times in all competitions across the 2006/07 and 2007/08 campaigns – the latter of which saw Spurs lift the League Cup – with big man Berbatov going one better and bagging 56 goals.
Kevin Keegan & John Toshack
Another classic Liverpool little-and-large partnership, Kevin Keegan and John Toshack were instrumental to the Reds’ success of the 70s, winning three First Division titles and three European trophies together.
So formidable an attack was it, with Toshack regularly bringing the ball down for Keegan to finish, that the two were said to have a telepathic understanding.
Michael Laudrup & Preben Elkjaer
Undoubtedly two of the very best players ever to come out of Denmark, Michael Laudrup and Preben Elkjaer notably excelled for the national team at the 1986 World Cup, helping their country reach the last 16 on their first appearance at the tournament.
Both players were on target in a 6-1 group stage drubbing of Uruguay, with Elkjaer hitting a hat-trick.
Lautaro Martinez & Romelu Lukaku
Two players who have thrived in Serie A, Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku joined forces to brilliant effect at Inter.
The Argentine and Belgian scored 21 and 34 goals respectively in all competitions during the 2019/20 season, then 19 and 30 in 2020/21 – including 17 and 24 in the league to fire the Nerazurri to the title.
Ally McCoist & Mark Hateley
Scotland’s dominant side at the time, Rangers found the net a whopping 97 times in all competitions over the course the 1992/93 season – and they were spearheaded by Ally McCoist and Mark Hateley, who accounted for 76 of those 97 goals.
Top-class target man Hateley was the perfect partner for instinctive poacher McCoist, who claimed back-to-back European Golden Shoes in 1992 and 1993 thanks to successive 34-goal hauls in the Scottish top flight.
Michael Owen & Emile Heskey
Michael Owen had already passed the 50-goal mark for Liverpool when Emile Heskey signed from Leicester in 2000, but the Anfield arrival of his England colleague helped him go from strength to strength.
The duo were at peak effectiveness in Heskey’s first season with the Reds, scoring 46 times in all competitions (Owen 24, Heskey 22) as Gerard Houllier’s team won the FA, League and UEFA Cups.
They worked their magic for England too, memorably starring and scoring (Owen a hat-trick) in that 5-1 thrashing of Germany in September 2001.
Kevin Phillips & Niall Quinn
Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn formed arguably the most iconic little-and-large strike partnership of the Premier League era, helping Sunderland to an impressive seventh-placed finish upon their return to the top flight in the 1999/2000 campaign.
Quinn was the target man, Phillips (playing in the Prem for the first time) the poacher, and they netted 14 and a Golden Boot-winning 30 times respectively that term – having fired the Black Cats to promotion the previous season.
Serhiy Rebrov & Andriy Shevchenko
Two of Ukraine’s best-ever players, Serhiy Rebrov and Andriy Shevchenko led Dynamo Kyiv’s charge to the semi-finals of the 1998/99 Champions League, under legendary coach Valeriy Lobanovskyi.
Shevchenko left for Milan that summer, but he would continue to play with Rebrov for the national team, including at their very first World Cup in 2006.
Romario & Hristo Stoichkov
Romario and Hristo Stoichkov were two of the most formidable attacking forces of the 90s, and their powers were united at Barcelona.
The Brazilian – whose nickname Baixinho translates as Little One – and Bulgarian superstars only had one full season together – but what a season it was, as they chalked up 46 goals between them (Romario 30, Stoichkov 16) as Johan Cruyff’s Barca won the 1993/94 LaLiga title.
Alexis Sanchez & Antonio Di Natale
Alexis Sanchez and Antonio Di Natale racked up 94 goals between them across their three seasons together at Udinese – and, in something of an anomaly, it was the big man, Di Natale, who got most of them (73 to Sanchez’s 21).
Di Natale claimed consecutive Serie A top scorer awards in 2010 and 2011, as Sanchez emerged as one of the most electric young talents in world football, earning a £23m move to Barcelona.
Brian Stein & Mick Harford
Brian Stein and Mick Harford led the line during Luton Town’s most successful period, starring in the Hatters’ League Cup triumph of 1988 – with Stein bagging a match-winning brace against Arsenal in the final.
Both players were capped by England while at Luton, who they helped to successive top-half finishes in the old First Division in 1986 and 1987.
Gianfranco Zola & Tore Andre Flo
Chelsea fan favourites Gianfranco Zola and Tore Andre Flo formed quite the strikeforce at Stamford Bridge around the turn of the 21st century, helping the Blues to FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup glory.
Italian icon Zola produced no shortage of magic moments in front of goal, while Norwegian great Flo really did have good feet for a big man and scored double figures three seasons running from 1997/98 to 1999/2000.
