But there was a time, before the formidable duo, when the race for the Golden Boot was extremely exciting, with brilliant strikers all over Europe vying for it.
From the 1996/97 season the leading European media decided to make it more exciting. Its format has changed and the award is now accompanied by a degree of difficulty. That is, the harvest of goals by a factor of 2 or 1.5 or 1, depending on the importance of the league. For example, Harry Kane, who is this year’s favorite to win the “competition”, has amassed 62 points (31 goals x 2, which is the difficulty factor of the German league, gives him the aforementioned total). Essentially this change helps major league hitters win it. A minor league soccer player, whose goals should be multiplied by a difficulty factor of 1 (even 1.5), would need to score over 60 goals (70 to 80) to win the award.
Eusebius
The first winner was, in 1968, the Portuguese Eusebio, of Benfica, with 42 goals. From then until 1991, goals were counted purely for the selection of the best scorer. In this period of time (25 years) the most goals (47) were scored by Romanian Dudu Gheorgescu of Dinamo Bucharest.
From the first period of the institution, the 39 goals of the Cypriot Sotiris Caiaphas of Omonia and the double victories of Eusebio (1968 and 1973), Gerd Miller (1970 and 1972), Gheorgescu (1975 and 1977) and Fernando Gomes (1983 and 1985) stand out. . This was followed by the “turbulent” period of time 1991-1996, when initially there were disputes about the winner. Later the award was made and within this five-year period Scottish Ali McCoist of Rangers was the first in history to win the Golden Boot for two consecutive years (1992 and 1993).
Messi
From 1997 until today, the new format with the coefficients applies. Leading all, in the modern era of the institution, is Lionel Messi, who won it six times (2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019), all with Barcelona. He is followed with four (2008, 2011, 2014 and 2015) by his permanent “hated enemy”, Cristiano Ronaldo, who had success with Manchester United and Real Madrid (one of the three – Suarez and Diego Forlan the other two – who has won it with two different clubs).
Head Start
This year the battle for the top was decided early. Bayern’s Kane has pulled away from his pursuers and will (barring a shocking windfall) become the first English footballer to win the Golden Boot since 2000 and Sunderland’s Kevin Phillips (30 goals, 60 points). Incredible as it may seem, a representative of England has won the award only once. So after 24 years, Kane is at the forefront, far ahead of his main rivals, Kylian M’Bappe, Lautaro Martins and Seru Girassi.
An important fact of the current season is that there is also a Greek presence in the top ten. It is Vangelis Pavlidis from Alkmaar, who is following in the footsteps of Nikos Mahlas, 26 years later. His first goal is to become top scorer in the Dutch league, as his success for the Golden Boot is impossible. However, more goals and placing in the top six are possible for the 25-year-old Greek striker who was born in the year (1998) that Mahlas triumphed.
Kane, who has never won a trophy in his football career, moved to Bayern last summer, but again the kind of “curse” surrounding him has taken a toll on him. Bayern will lose the league to Leverkusen, so for him – until the new year, unless England are crowned European champions next July – his Golden Boot success will be his consolation for the current competition season.
FROM SIDERIS TO ANASTOPOULOS:
His feat Maybe the others too Greeks of the institution
Back in 1998, Nikos Mahlas, competing in the Dutch league with the shirt of Fitese, became the first European scorer with 34 goals.
The 1997-98 season was special for him Niko Mahla, as he won the Golden Boot and since then remains the only Greek footballer to have achieved this feat. He was the second footballer of the new era (since the goals were accompanied by the degree of difficulty) to win the award, with the new system, after the Brazilian Ronaldo, with 34 goals, who at that time wore the Barcelona jersey, had preceded him. Mahlas, who played in the Dutch Fites (he became the first foreign scorer in the Dutch league at the time), also scored 34 goals, leaving behind the Italian Marco Negri of Rangers (32) and the German Oliver Birkhoff of Udinese (27 ).
With a small difference, Mahlas emerged in 1998 as the first European scorer, achieving what was not achieved earlier by: George Sideris (Olympic), 1968-69, second with 35 goals, against 36 of the first, Bulgarian Petar Zhekov (CSKA Sofia), Antony Antoniadis (Panathinaikos), 1971-72, second with 39 goals, compared to 40 of the first, German Gerd Miller (Bayern), Thomas Mavros (AEK), 1978-79, second (together with the Hungarian László Fekete of Wipest) with 31 goals, compared to the 34 of the first, Dutch Case Kist (Alkmaar), Vassilis Dimitriadis (AEK), 1992-93, second with 33 goals, compared to 34 of the first, Scottish Ali McCoist of Rangers (in that year third with 32 goals was Ksistof Vazeha of Panathinaikos), George Dedes (Panionios), 1970-71, third with 28 goals, compared to the 44 of the first, Yugoslavian/Croatian Josip Skoblar (Marseille) and Nikos Anastopoulos (Olympic), 1982-83, third with 29 goals, compared to 36 of the first, Portuguese Fernando Gomes (Porto).
THIS YEAR’S LIST:
- Harry Kane Bayern 31 goals 62 points
- Kylian Mbappe PSG 24 48
- Seru Girassi Stuttgart 23 46
- Lautaro Martines Inter 23 46
- Louis Opena Leipzig 19 38
- Acor Adams Lillestrom/Montpellier 22 36.5
- Vangelis Pavlidis Alkmaar 24 36
- Amal Pellegrino Bodo/Glimt 24 36
- Arling-Brout Holland Manchester S. 18 36
- Kevin Denkey Circle Bridge 23 34.5
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