Customary to our commitment to enlightening readers on footballing issues, we are here with another exciting edition of our famous “Soccer Vista” section.
The SoccerVista section of Betting Tips Africa is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the most significant contributors to the value that bettors acquire from their football understanding.
This recognition comes as a direct result of the fact that Betting Tips Africa has not relented in working hard behind the scenes.
However, Soccer Vista’s relevance is not just directly applicable to increasing football knowledge. Additionally, it helps increase one’s capacity to make better wagering selections. Because of this improvement in decision-making, our readers will see an increase in the amount of profit they generate from sports betting.
This week’s edition of Soccer Vista will get focused on one of the biggest footballing awards in the world, the European Golden Shoe.
This article will analyse the prestigious award, the players most likely to win it and, of course, how bettors can make more money from it.
However, as it is our model, we will be taking a brief overview of the award, and its history, before moving to how this can translate into more profit for our readers. So, sit back and ride with us;
What Is The European Golden Shoe Award?
The European Golden Shoe is an award that gets presented to the player who finishes the season as the top league scorer across all of Europe’s top divisions. The award gets occasionally referred to as the European Golden Boot.
The award is made in the model of a football boot on a stone base after it was sculpted. Over the years, different designs have been used for the award.
However, the one that is currently in use seems to have been inspired by the well-known Adidas Predator boot style, more notably the Predator Precision edition.
Initially, the European Golden Shoe Award was called the “Soulier d’Or“; this name literally translates to “Golden Shoe or Boot”.
The finest goal-scorers from around European leagues compete with one another for the Golden Shoe award at the end of each season. This race is known for being a fiercely contested one.
Europe has been home to some of the greatest goal-scorers in the history of football. However, despite the nonstop availability of hitmen, only a select few players have ever had the honour of taking home the Golden Shoe Award.
Brief History About The European Golden Boot
It was initially presented for the first time during the 1967–1968 season by the French football magazine L’Equipe. Since then, it has become an annual event.
Since the 1996–1997 season, European Sports Media (ESM), an alliance of football–themed publications, have been in charge of awarding the Golden Shoe.
The ESM includes Marca, La Gazzetta dello Sport, and Kicker, among others. This was done despite the fact that the award was initially conceived by L’Equipe.
How Is The European Golden Shoe Awarded?
In the 1996–1997 season, when ESM took over the management of the Golden Shoe award, a scoring system that got weighted according to the competitiveness of the league was implemented in order to select the best scorer.
The UEFA coefficient rule, which will soon be used to select the number of European teams qualifying for the Champions League, is the yardstick for points weighing.
The purpose behind using this method is to reward players who score goals in leagues that get deemed to be of a higher calibre and hence more difficult to score in. This is accomplished by making the coefficient of such goals a higher value.
To be put in better context, it is far more difficult to score in Europe’s top five leagues than in a league like the Norwegian league.
So, therefore, a goal scored in the EPL will be given a higher coefficient than one scored outside the top five leagues. Keep in mind that Europe’s top five leagues consist of the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, French Ligue 1, German Bundesliga, and the Italian Serie A.
The goals scored in the top five leagues in Europe get multiplied by a factor of two. The goals scored in leagues six through 21 get multiplied by a factor of 1.5, while the goals scored in the other leagues get multiplied by a factor of one.
Brief Facts About The European Golden Shoe Award
The average number of goals needed to win the European Golden Shoe Award is around thirty. However, in recent years, super players like Argentine wizard Lionel Messi and Portuguese machine Cristiano Ronaldo have taken things to a whole new level.
It won’t come as much of a surprise to the majority of football fans that Lionel Messi holds the record for the most Golden Shoe awards. Six times, the legendary player who recently won the world cup won the award. He won it in 2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19.
The Argentine wizard is followed by legendary goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese won a total of four Golden Shoes during his time with Real Madrid (2010-11, 2013-14, 2014-15) and Manchester United (2007-08).
No other player comes close to Messi and Ronaldo’s level of success in the European Golden Shoe award. Only a select few have been able to win the trophy on more than one occasion.
Those who did are Thierry Henry, Diego Forlan, Eusebio, Luis Suarez and Gerd Muller, as well as Mario Jardel, Fernando Gomes, and Dudu Georgescu.
Which player is most likely to win the Golden Shoe?
Erling Braut Haaland
Erling Braut Haaland was one of the most sought-after talents on the planet when he plied his trade in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund.
After his big-money move to the Etihad Stadium, he did not disappoint as he burst out of the blocks with multiple goals.
Pep Guardiola and his team knew what they were getting when they snatched Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. The Norwegian striker possessed an abundance of power, pace and brutal finishing.
Haaland currently has thirty-two goals in the Premier League. According to the coefficient rule, his tally would be multiplied by two, which brings his tally to sixty-four.
Harry Kane
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, who is also the captain of England, has built a name for himself as one of the most dangerous hitmen in the history of football.
While trophies elude him, he has been able to win numerous individual awards like the Premier League Golden Boot, which he won three times.
Also, Kane is fully deserving of his standing among the elites, as he already has over 180 Premier League goals to his name.
Kane currently has twenty-three goals in the Premier League. According to the coefficient rule used to award the European Golden Shoe, the Englishman’s tally would be multiplied by two, which brings his total to Forty-six.
Victor Osimhen
Napoli’s unstoppable run of success this year has been largely due to the contributions of Nigerian marksman Victor Osimhen.
He has grown in leaps and bounds this season, with his ruthless side coming to light, alongside his technical qualities and relentless attitude.
The 24-year-old player has had his fair share of fitness difficulties, but when he is fully fit, he is a powerful game-changer.
Osimhen, who currently has twenty-one Serie A goals this season, has the potential to propel Napoli to the Scudetto, provided he can avoid getting injured in the future.
Again, according to the coefficient rule used to award the European Golden Shoe, the Nigerian hitman’s tally would be doubled, which brings his total goals to Forty-two.
Kylian Mbappe
The French lighting-quick striker was close to making history when he powered his nation to the world cup final last December.
Kylian Mbappe, given everything that he has accomplished for Paris Saint-Germain and France in 2018, appears to be the most likely candidate to walk into the shoes now being vacated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Mbappe has twenty Ligue 1 goals, and according to UEFA’s coefficient rule, his goal tally has to be multiplied by two. This brings the quick striker’s tally to forty goals.
Jonathan David
It has been known for some time that Jonathan David is a quality player. This got further heightened by Arsenal’s interest in the Canadian a few seasons ago. Canada’s qualifying for the 2022 World Cup also helped to further this case.
Jonathan has twenty goals in Ligue 1, level with French jewel Kylian Mbappe. Going by the coefficient rule, he is on forty goals, as his tally would be multiplied by two.
Bettors can stake on any of the aforementioned strikers to win the European Golden Shoe with any of the prestigious Sportbooks hosted on Betting Tips Africa.
Bookies like 1xBet, Bet365, William Hill, Betway and more are ready to accept bets on the aforementioned players with good odds.
It is also important to read reviews of any of these Bookies on our site, as the first rule to winning sports betting is to understand the company you are gaming with.
