The 7 Most Surprising Winners of the European Golden Shoe Award
By David Ford
The European Golden Shoe is one of those awards that has lost a little bit of its sparkle in recent years - since Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo win it every year.
But there was a time before Messi and Ronaldo's duopoly that the race to the Golden Boot was hugely exciting, with a strikers around Europe vying for it.
For the 1996/97 season, European Sports Media were tasked with deciding the award, with the format changing from whoever scored the most goals, to a points based system that took the league’s quality into account.
While this did stop players playing in lesser leagues winning the award for scoring 40 goals against members of their local council, it still allowed for some shocks and here 90min list the seven players who most surprisingly won the European Golden Shoe, after its rebranding.
Roy Makaay - 2002/03, 29 Goals
We start with one of the more recognisable names on this list. Roy Makaay won the award while playing for Deportivo La Coruna.
His performances were enough to secure a club record move to Bayern Munich at the end of that season, winning two Bundesliga titles while in Germany, but his legacy at Deportivo is arguably more impressive.
He was the final piece of the Super Depor jigsaw during the 90s and his goals in the 1999/00 season were enough to win the Galician club their first ever La Liga title. Makaay is a worthy player to begin this list.
Main Competition: Mateja Kezman, Shabani Nonda
Henrik Larsson - 2000/2001, 35 Goals
Back before the Scottish league had a reputation for being, well, a bit of a joke, they had several world class players lighting up the division, especially in Glasgow. The best of the lot was Henrik Larsson.
Larsson really hit his peak in the 2000/01 season, bagging 35 goals in just 37 matches to claim the European goal crown, despite having missed almost the entirety of the previous campaign due a horrific leg break.
Larsson continued to show his class before moving to Barcelona and inspiring the Catalans famous comeback against Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League final.
Main Competition: Hernan Crespo, Raul, Andriy Shevchenko
Luca Toni - 2005/06 - 31 Goals
Luca Toni was one of the most feared strikers on the planet between 2006 and 2010, but his Golden Shoe victory in 2006 really came out of nowhere. A late bloomer, Toni was already 27 when his breakout campaign came about at Palermo, firing them into the UEFA Cup in 2004/05.
A big move to Fiorentina followed and he won the Golden Boot in his first year in Florence, before being Italy's number nine in their World Cup victory and announcing himself on the world stage.
Like Makaay, a move to Bayern followed and age caught up with him fast after two stellar seasons.
Toni however caught back up with age at the end of his career, topping the Serie A scoring charts at the age of 38 in the 2014/15 season. Renaissance man.
Main Competition: Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o
Mario Jardel - 1998/99, 36 Goals and 2001/02, 42 Goals
Remember that overweight Brazilian striker Sam Allardyce brought to Bolton in 2003? He came to Lancashire with a record of 235 goals in 232 top flight games in Europe which earned him two European Golden Shoes.
The first came in 1998/99 playing for Porto, and the other at Sporting CP for an eye watering 42, either side of an injury hit year at Galatasaray (where he still managed 34 goals).
He was a monstrous striker in his pomp.
His pomp was a far cry from what Trotters fans saw though, and within four years he was on trial at St. Mirren...who didn't sign him.
Main Competition: Ruud van Nistelrooy, Raul, Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet
Nikos Machlas - 1997/98, 34 Goals
Surely one of the least well known players on this list, Greek marksman Machlas was playing for the current Chelsea youth setup Vitesse Arnhem when he shocked the world by scoring 34 goals in 32 matches to pick up the Golden Shoe.
The feat was made all the more impressive by his tally of eight goals the previous season. Machlas earned a club record move to Ajax in 1999 where he continued to score regularly, although not as prolifically as he had done.
He would then be replaced at Ajax after a few years by a young Swedish striker called Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Machlas went back to Greece while Zlatan became, well, Zlatan. He never won the Golden Shoe though, did he?
Main Competition: Marco Negri, Oliver Bierhoff
Francesco Totti - 2006/07, 26 goals
Arguably the best player on this list, the King of Rome was the the king of European goalscoring in 2006/07. Fresh from inspiring performances at the 2006 World Cup, Totti slotted into a new role as a false nine at the focal point of Luciano Spalletti’s team and in true Totti style, was unplayable.
An icon of football, there’s not much to say about the Roma and Serie A legend that hasn’t already been said, but his European Golden Shoe win is something that isn’t talked about enough.
The award not only showed Totti’s brilliance as a footballer, but showed his genius as a tactician, his pragmatism as a leader, and put to rest any claim that he wasn’t as good in front of goal as Alessandro Del Piero. Magnifico.
Main Competition: Afonso Alves, Ruud van Nistelrooy
Kevin Phillips - 1999/00, 30 Goals
A surprise to the entire world, apart from to anyone on Wearside, Super Kev took the Premier League by storm in 1999, his partnership with Niall Quinn becoming part of Sunderland folklore.
The only Englishman to ever win the award, including before the 1996 rebrand, Phillips was the kind of striker who could score from anywhere on the pitch, and for a few years around the turn of the millennium he was genuinely world class.
The fact that he won while playing for Sunderland speaks volumes, as does the way his win was treated. He had to miss the FIFA ceremony due to Sunderland playing the same night, and his trophy was posted to the stadium, with the local adidas sales rep awarding him at the “official” presentation at the training ground. That would never happen to Messi, would it?
Main Competition: Ruud van Nistelrooy, Mario Jardel