The main aim of a football match is scoring a goal. Whether you’re a striker, midfielder, defender, or even a goalkeeper scoring a goal is something that should naturally happen at some point in your career.
In some extremely rare instances, though, that doesn’t always happen.
Today we will be looking at the members of the not-so-proud club of outfield soccer players or footballers who never found the back of the net.
Here are 11 outfield soccer players who never scored a goal throughout their careers for both club and country.
1. Joe Gomez
Joe Gomez has built a reputation as one of Liverpool’s most reliable defenders, but he also carries the unusual tag of never scoring a goal in his senior career.
Since breaking through at Charlton Athletic and later joining Liverpool in 2015, Gomez has racked up well over 170 appearances across all competitions without once finding the back of the net.
His game has always been about composure, athleticism, and defensive solidity, not the glory of goals, which explains why he remains goalless despite featuring in some of Liverpool’s biggest matches.
Injuries have interrupted his rhythm at times, but even when fully fit and marauding forward from full-back, he has never managed to turn a chance into a personal milestone.
For Gomez, the clean sheet is his goal, and that’s why he comfortably sits among the list of outfield players who have never scored.
1. Frank Womack
Frank Womack is a former professional footballer who was active in the early part of the 20th century (1908–1929).
Francis, or Frank as he was popularly called, played over 500 games for various club sides, including Birmingham City, Worcester City, and Torquay United.
The former tough-tackling fullback holds the distinction as one of the few outfield players who never scored a goal throughout their career.
In fact, Frank Womack holds the league record for most games (511) played by an outfield football player without scoring a single goal.
Despite this, he was able to win a Second Division championship with Birmingham in 1921.
He would also later go on to enjoy a successful managerial career, coaching the likes of Leicester City, Notts County, and Oldham Athletic.
2. Tony Hibbert
Hibbert was a proud one-club man who featured for his boyhood team Everton FC between 1998-2016.
Originally a midfielder, Tony Hibbert changed to being right-back and spent his entire professional career with Everton, joining the club in 1991, when he was only 10.
Making his senior debut in 2001, he went on to make 328 appearances in all competitions for the Merseysiders without surprisingly registering a single goal.
Tony played 16 seasons in the English Premier League, and despite his lack of goals, he was highly respected for his discipline and solidity in defense.
Known for his loyalty and down-to-earth demeanor, Hibbert became a cult hero among Everton fans.
In his testimonial match with Everton, after he retired, Hibbert scored a free-kick.
Although he announced his retirement from football in 2016, Hibert returned to football in 2021 to play for amateur football club ES Louzy in France.
3. Alan Brown
Alan Brown was an ex-footballer who was active from the early 1930s to the late 1940s.
Alan was a centre-half who featured for 3 English sides, including Huddersfield, Burnley, and Notts County. In over 156 official games, he failed to find the back of the net even once till his retirement.
He later ventured into coaching and managed a few sides, such as Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday, and Burnley.
4. Carlos Henrique Raposo
Kaiser, as he was also known, was a ‘professional footballer’ active from 1979-1992.
The Brazilian is by far the most controversial entry on this list because not only did he never score a goal throughout his career.
He was such a poor player that no single club featured him even once in any official match.
Despite his obvious lack of talent, he was able to scam his way into signing for many top Brazilian clubs like Botafogo, Vasco da Gama, Flamengo, etc.
His apparent lack of goals despite being an infamous footballer earns him a spot on our list of footballers who never scored a goal.
5. Hugo Villaverde
Hugo Villarverde is an Argentine defender who played most of his professional career in his native Argentina.
Villaverde started his professional playing career in 1973 with his hometown club, Colón de Santa Fe, at the age of 19.
In 1975, he joined Independiente, where he became a key player throughout the 1970s and 1980s. During his tenure with the club, Villaverde won an impressive array of titles, including four league championships, the 1984 Copa Libertadores, and the Copa Intercontinental.
Despite his success at the club level, Villaverde’s international career was brief. He played for the Argentina national team in 1979 but never returned to the international scene after suffering an injury in a friendly match against Scotland.
The rugged centre-back featured in over 430 games, most of them for Independiente between 1976-1989. He won the Copa Libertadores with them in 1984.
Hugo also won a few caps for the Argentinian national team in 1979.
Villaverde, throughout his club and national team career, never scored a single goal but was respected and regarded as a competent defender.
He holds the record in Argentina for the player with the most first division matches without scoring a goal.
Interestingly, football talent runs in the family. Villaverde’s nephew, Alejandro “Papu” Gómez, is also a professional soccer player who has represented the Argentina national team.
6. Luis Cuartero
Luis Cuartero is one of the rare outfield soccer players who never scored a goal in his professional career, but in his case, injuries might be blamed.
He is a Spanish former footballer who played as a right-back or central defender. His professional career, which was unfortunately marred by several serious injuries, was devoted entirely to his hometown club, Real Zaragoza.
Cuartero made his senior debut for Real Zaragoza on 20 June 1993 in a 2–2 away draw against Atlético Madrid, at the tender age of 17.
Over the years, he went on to appear in 178 La Liga games, in addition to playing the 2002–03 season in the Segunda División.
From 2006 to 2009, Cuartero’s career was severely hindered by knee injuries, limiting him to just three league appearances during that period.
Nonetheless, his best league performance came in the 2003–04 campaign, where he featured in 24 matches, helping the team to a 12th-place finish.
He eventually retired at the end of the 2008–09 season, with Real Zaragoza again in the second tier of Spanish football.
Throughout his career, Cuartero earned several honors with Zaragoza, including two Copa del Rey titles (2000–01, 2003–04) and the Supercopa de España in 2004.
He also enjoyed success at the international level, winning the UEFA European Under-21 Championship with Spain in 1998.
Despite his defensive prowess and significant contributions to his team, he was never able to find the back of the net once in his career. His legacy, however, remains intact as a dedicated and resilient player who gave his all for his hometown club.
7. Luigi Perversi
Luigi Perversi, born on 22 May 1906 in Italy, was a dedicated full-back for A.C. Milan during the late 1920s and 1930s.
Over his career, he made 318 appearances for the club, becoming a reliable figure in their defense.
Despite playing so many games, he failed to score a goal, which is pretty unique for an outfield player with over 300 caps.
After a brief loan to Modena, he returned to Milan and continued to be a key player until he retired in 1940.
Perversi passed away in 1991, but his legacy as a loyal and solid defender lives on.
8. Francesco Morini
Another Italian soccer player who never scored a goal was Francesco Moroni.
Francesco Morini, born on 12 August 1944, was an Italian defender who had an illustrious career, playing over 450 for club and country, without ever scoring a goal.
He started with Sampdoria, making his Serie A debut in 1964, before moving to Juventus in 1969.
With Juventus, he won five Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia, and an UEFA Cup, also reaching the European Cup final in 1973.
Towards the end of his career, he moved to former club Toronto Blizzard in Canada.
Morini also earned 11 caps for Italy and played in the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
Nicknamed “Morgan the Pirate” for his powerful ball-winning abilities, Francesco Morini was known for his tenacious yet fair play, rarely committing aggressive challenges despite his physical style as a defender.
After his retirement he serves as Juventus’s sporting director for several years, before he passed away on 31 August 2021.
Although he never scored a goal, it was reported that he once appeared to score one goal during a friendly tournament, it was later disallowed.
9. Kenny Cunningham
Kenneth Edward Cunningham features on this list as a bonus because he played over 600 matches for both club and country, and scored only once.
Kenneth Edward Cunningham is a former Irish former footballer who played as a defender.
Though he played over 600 matches for both club and country, he scored only once in his entire career.
Cunningham’s professional club career spanned from 1989 to 2007 in England, where he made more than 500 appearances for Millwall, Wimbledon, Birmingham City, and Sunderland.
He made his Football League debut in 1990 and scored his lone career goal in 1994 while playing for Millwall.
On the international stage, Cunningham earned 72 caps for the Republic of Ireland before retiring in 2005, without bagging a goal for them once.
11. Fred Titmuss
Frederick Titmuss (1898–1966) was a dependable full-back who played for Southampton, Plymouth Argyle, and St Austell, even earning two caps for England.
Originally seeing himself as a winger, he was converted into a left-back after World War I and quickly made the position his own.
At Southampton, he formed a formidable partnership with Tom Parker, and together they were hailed as “the best pair of backs in the South.”
Titmuss was ever-present when Southampton won the Division Three (South) title in 1922, conceding just 21 goals all season.
Known for his immaculate positional sense and trademark slide tackles, he never scored a goal in his career, but his defensive mastery made him one of the most respected players of his generation.
