FIFA World History – The Golden Boot Award from 1930 – 2010- German, Thomas Muller awarded Golden Boot in 2010
The FIFA World Cup 2010 ended with the Spaniards being crowned as the World Champions. FIFA is a platform for different countries to show their football talent and score goals for the football fans around the globe and for their country. Throughout the history of the game, the goal scorers are hailed because of the technique with which they finish and the effort they put in it. To top it all, goals are the basic way to win the game and they provide excitement to the ones watching. In the FIFA World Cups, the player who scores the highest number of goals is presented with an award which is known to be "the golden boot award." Following are the golden boot award winners in the history of the game:
The first World Cup took place in Uruguay in the year 1930. The Argentinean national Guillermo Stabile scored 8 goals to help his team advance to the final. His hat-trick against the Mexicans cannot be forgotten, as the match ended 6-3. He also scored 4 goals against the Americans when the match ended 6-1. The final was won by the host nation Uruguay but he still managed to score a goal as the match ended 4-2, for the Uruguayans.
In 1934, the World Cup took place in the European nation Italy and it is recorded as the highest goal scoring world cup to date. In this FIFA World Cup the Czechoslovakian international, Oldrich Nejedly scored 5 goals to win the golden boot. However, 70 goals were scored in 17 matches; but 5 goals were enough for him to win the golden boot award. He scored a hat-trick in the semi finals to help his team advance, as he up his tally to 5 goals.
In 1938, the Italians won the FIFA World Cup but the Brazilian star Leonidas da Silva was able to help his team finish third. Even though the Brazilians did not enjoy the "success" but Silva enjoyed the 7 goals he scored to win the prestigious golden boot award.
After the World War took place, FIFA came back with the World Cup in 1950 which was won by the Uruguayans in the heart of the best football nation at the moment, Brazil. Even though the Brazilians had a disappointing finish to the World Cup, as they lost against Uruguay in the final; the Brazilian striker, Ademir, scored 9 goals to win the golden boot award.
In the FIFA World Cup 1954, Hungary was on fire. They scored 27 goals in 5 games and got a chance to reach the final. They were not able to capitalize, as they lost the final to West Germany even though they were unbeaten since 32 games. The Hungarian player Sandor Kocsis scored 11 goals to win the golden boot, which was then a record.
In 1958, the French national Just Fontaine scored 13 goals and made a new record of scoring the highest number of goals in a World Cup. His team, however, stood 3rd in the competition as he could not help them advance to the grand stage.
In 1962, there were 6 different scorers who scored 4 goals apiece. From Brazil, it was Garrincha and the legend Vava. From Chile, it was Sanchez. From Yugoslavia, it was Drazan Jerkovic. From Hungary, it was Florian Albert. From Soviet Union, it was Valentin Ivano. They all won the golden boot award but later the assist rule was introduced; the person who has scored most of the goals and given most assists would be handed the golden boot award.
In 1966, the Portuguese finished 3rd and performed at their best in World Cup History. Eusebio was the one player who helped them come to this stage by scoring 9 goals and winning the golden boot award. He is still regarded as one of the best strikers that Portugal has ever produced.
In 1970, the German player Gerd Muller scored in every game that he played. His matches against Bulgaria and Peru were breathtaking as he scored a hat-trick in both the matches. His team finished third in the world cup, as they suffered a loss from the Italians in the semi finals. He scored 10 goals to win the golden boot award.
In 1974, Poland were a great force in football as they defeated big teams with huge margins. Their player Grzegorz Lato was the one to watch out for as he scored 7 goals to help his team finish at number 3 after they defeated Brazil in an action pact match for the 3rd and 4th place.
In 1978, the Argentinean international Mario Kempes helped his team win the World Cup by scoring two goals in the final against Dutch. It was the first time the Argentineans won the FIFA World Cup as his tally of goals went up to 6 goals which awarded him with the golden boot award.
In 1982, the Italian legend Paolo Rossi proved to be the best player of the world cup. He won the golden ball, the golden boot and he also took home the FIFA World Cup. He scored 6 goals for his country as he was aided by his hat-trick against the Brazilians.
In 1986, the English striker Gary Linker won the golden boot. Even though his team could not advance to the semi finals, he still managed to score the highest number of goals in the tournament to secure his award for the golden boot.
In 1990, Salvatore Schillaci scored 6 goals in 7 matches to win the golden boot award. His team suffered a loss from the Argentineans over penalties; in the semi finals. He was outstanding throughout the World Cup as he won the golden boot and even the golden ball award.
In 1994, Hirsto Stoichkov and Oleg Salenko, both scored 6 goals for their country to win the golden boot award. Salenko scored 5 goals against Cameroon while Stoichov helped his team helped his team finish 4th in the competition, as he failed to score against Sweden.
In 1998, a very unusual player named Davor Suker who is a Croatian. It was for the first time in the history of the World Cup that Croatia finished 3rd. He scored the highest number of goals in the tournament and won the golden boot award.
In 2002, the Brazilian legend Ronaldo came back from the sad happening of the World Cup in 1998 where they lost the final to France. Ronaldo scored 8 goals in the tournament to set a record number of goals scored in the FIFA World Cups. He helped his team win the World Cup by scoring 2 goals in the final against Germany.
In 2006, the German Pele, Miroslav Klose won the golden boot award. He scored 5 goals to help his team finish 3rd the competition. In 2002, he scored 6 goals but did not manage to win the golden boot, but this year round he took what he deserved.
In 2010, the 20 year old striker Thomas Muller stole the show for the Germans along with the Germal Pele, Mirolsav Klose. The golden boot was won by Muller as he scored 5 goals tied with Deigo Forlan of Uruguay, David Villa of Spain and Wesley Sneijder of Netherlands; but his 3 assists helped him win the golden boot award.
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