FIFA World Cup 2010: Who Will Be Honoured with The Golden Boot Award! Spain's David Villa, Germany's Mueller or Klose & Dutch Sneijder nominees
The FIFA World Cup may be coming to an end but the suspense behind the Who Will Win the Golden Boot Award deepens with some unexpected and some expected candidates. The Golden Boot is awarded to the World Cup's highest goal scorer and with less than a week remaining, the race is getting hotter.
It was quite evident that if Spain qualified for the semi finals, then David Villa will be amongst the Golden Boot nominees. Then, there were those who predicted an Argentina-Brazil final, a possibility that has faded with the exit of both the sides. A look at the most promising nominees for the award will make things easier for many, if not all.
Spain’s David Villa has so far emerged as the most promising candidate for the Golden Boot. He has been phenomenal for his side that has benched players like Fabregas & Torres. Villa has made it to the starting line up of all his side’s matches and if there is a dream team compiled for this World Cup, Villa will surely be on it. In his 448 minutes on the field, he has assisted in just one goal, and netted the ball as many as 5 times which is better than any other player in the event. His kick from a rebound from the goal post in the quarter final gave Spain its first semi final in 60 years, and the second in 12 World Cup appearances.
Germany’s Thomas Mueller may be suspended from his side’s semi final due to his second yellow card of the tournament in the quarter final, yet he has been phenomenal during the event. He made his presence felt with 2 goals against England in Germany’s first knock out match of the event, and continues to impress with every passing match. If Germany makes it to the final, they will bank on the might of Mueller to add to his 4 goals or 3 assists to steer them to their fourth World Cup title!
Wesley Sneijder’s rise as the goal scoring machine has not only helped Netherlands reach the semi finals of the event but also boosted his chances of taking the Golden Boot. He has played all 5 games for the Dutch and yielded as many as 4 goals, while assisting in 1 goal. If Netherlands reach the grand finale, Sneijder might have a great day in the field, since tough games bring the best in players. He may very well prove to be the difference between the past Dutch sides to have reached the last 4 and the current squad, since he has the ability to win matches on his own.
Not even Miroslav Klose would have believed he would net 4 goals in the event, had he been told just that before the World Cup. Yet the 2006 Golden Boot winner is on the list of probables, and might score a couple of goals more to prove that there is no match for experience. Young legs might be quicker, but experience always has the edge in big matches. He has scored 4 goals in his 4 appearance in 2010 edition and if he nets the ball two more times, he will break Ronaldo’s record of most goals in the World Cups, who leads the table with 15 goals. At 32, he is not only fitter than most of the players his age in the competition but also has the ability to penetrate through the most formidable of defence.
There are two more players to have scored more than 4 goals in the competition; Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain and Slovakia’s Robert Vittek. Yet they would be unable to add to their tally, since their sides have crashed out of the event, despite their brilliance with the ball. Had they received support from fellow mid fielders, who knows what the semi final line up would have been like!
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