5 most unexpected Golden Boot winners at the Euros

The usual suspects to win the Golden Boot award at the Euros usually are from the big teams. Cristiano Ronaldo won the Golden Boot at EURO 2020, edging past Czech Republic's Patrik Schick, who also scored five goals, by an assist he registered at the tournament.

A look at the top scorers in the last few editions of the Euros include the likes of - Antoine Griezmann, Fernando Torres, David Villa, Alan Shearer and Marco Van Basten. But over 16 editions of the Euros, there have been a few surprise winners of the Golden Boot award.

On that note, here's a look at the five most unexpected Golden Boot winners at the Euros.

#5 Henrik Larsen - 3 goals (Euro 1992)

UEFA Euro '92 Final - Denmark vs Germany

Denmark did not even qualify for the Euros in 1992 but were called up to the finals after Yugoslavia were disqualified for the tournament after a war broke up the country into several sovereign states.

Very few expected Denmark to reach the knockout round of the Euros, much less go all the way, which makes Henrik Larsen winning the Golden Boot that year all the more surprising. The top-scorer's award was shared among four players that year, with Larsen being the only one from Denmark to top score at a major tournament.

He scored a brace in the semi-final against the Netherlands and also converted from the spot in the ensuing penalty shootout. Larsen scored just two more goals with Denmark in international competitions following that unexpected triumph in 1992.

#4 Savo Milosevic - 5 goals (Euro 2000)

Savo Milosevic scored five goals in four games.

Savo Milosevic of FR Yugoslavia scored five goals at the 2000 Euros.

That year, there were two winners of the Golden Boot, but none of them were from the winning team, France. The Yugoslavia team at Euro 2000 was full of talented players, including the likes of Sinisa Mihajlovic and Dejan Stankovic. But they were heavily reliant on the exploits of Milosevic, who scored five of their eight goals in that tournament.

Milosevic had made a name for himself as an accomplished finisher with his youth club Partizan and scored 21 goals in the 1999-00 campaign for Real Zaragoza.

#3 Tomas Brolin - 3 goals (Euro 1992)

Tomas Brolin had a great outing at Euro 1992. He was the star of an impressive Sweden team that secured a win on the last day of the group stage over England to seal a semi-final spot.

He scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute after a great move by Sweden. However, due to injury, the highly-rated star was forced to retire at the age of 28.

Brolin also scored in Sweden's semi-final loss to Germany. Earlier, he scored thrice in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where Sweden finished third.

#2 Milan Baros - 5 goals (Euro 2004)

The only active player on our list is Milan Baros, though the Czech international only plays at an amateur level now. Baros was the top scorer at the 2004 Euros, where the Czech Republic reached the semi-final of the competition for the fifth time.

He found the back of the net five times to become the outright top scorer at the tournament. After a brace in the quarter-final, Baros failed to score in the semis as Czech Republic were eliminated by eventual champions Greece.

Baros announced his international retirement in 2012. Nine years later, Patrik Schick emulated Baros' feat of scoring five times at a single edition of the Euros.

#1 Patrick Kluivert - 5 goals (Euro 2000)

Patrick Kluivert scored a hat-trick in the Euro 2000 quarter-final.

EURO 2000 was the last edition of the continental tournament in which the Golden Boot award was shared between multiple players. Since that tournament, the award was given to a single player after the criteria for the Golden Boot award was changed.

One of the players who left his mark with impressive performances at Euro 2000 was Netherlands' legendary forward Patrick Kluivert. The former Barcelona striker scored five goals in five appearances, including a hat-trick in the 6-1 win over Yugoslavia in the quarter-final.

Though he was already a known name across Europe, Kluivert reinforced his reputation as an effective finisher. Many expected the likes of Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet or even Zinedine Zidane to win the Golden Boot at Euro 2000, but it went to the then 24-year-old Kluivert.