How does he stack up compared to Rufer now.
More goals in a better league but hasn’t played European football like Rufer did. A better national team record than Rufer as well.
More goals in a better league but hasn’t played European football like Rufer did. A better national team record than Rufer as well.
I think it's fair to say he's edging close. Rufer had more substantial achievements in his name, and was tie top scorer in the champions league to no other than Koeman, that's a hard stat to match. But in terms of longevity in top flight and consistency I think he's easily matched and arguably surpassed Rufer.
Wood's done incredibly well, and both his goals were great, but don't let recency bias take over here.
A more realistic comparison might be Ryan Nelsen.
Both Wood and Nelsen played very well, for a long period of time, for middling top-flight clubs. Rufer was a glamour player for a high flying club at a time when the Bundesliga was better than the EPL. Even his years in the Swiss League shouldn't be looked through the lens of today. Back then, the Swiss League was comparatively stronger than today.