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Few, if anything is as thrilling as scoring a goal in a football match and given the nature of their job, it is primarily the duty of strikers to put the ball into the back of the net. The most elite of strikers take great pride in finding the net regularly and as a reward for their proficiency in front of goal, Golden Boots in various competitions are handed out to them.
When it comes to Golden Boots, few are as prestigious as the European Golden Shoe as it signifies being the most lethal marksman on the whole continent and it is an accolade that has been won by some of the most legendary names in history including Ronaldo Nazario, Thierry Henry, Francesco Totti, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi.
The European Golden Shoe is an award given out to the top scorer in European leagues since 1967/1968 is handed out by European Sports media. Coefficients are given out to leagues based on their UEFA ranking. Hence, fewer goals scored in a tougher league are ranked higher than more goals in a weaker league.
The goals are multiplied by a factor of 2 in the leagues ranked one to five (LaLiga - Ligue 1), while leagues ranked six to twenty-one (Portugal Primeira Liga - Sweden Allvenskan) are multiplied by a factor of 1.5 and leagues ranked twenty-two and below are multiplied by one.
Lionel Messi is the current holder of the award, after winning it for a record-extending sixth time at the end of last season. Here, we shall be taking a look at the top 10 contenders for the 2020 European Golden Shoe.
Note: Stats and goals correct at the time of writing
10. Shon Weissman - Wolfsberger AC
League: Austrian Bundesliga (x1.5)
16 goals - 24 points
Shon Weissman has been in red-hot form since signing for Austrian club Wolfsberger in the summer. He had started his footballing career in the academy of Israeli side Maccabi Haifa and spent the next few years in the lower leagues in his native Israel, but it was his performances in his homeland that convinced Wolfsberger to sign him.
The 23-year-old Israeli international became the first man to score a goal in European competitions for the club when he netted the first goal in a 4-0 shock win over Borussia Monchengladbach in the Europa League and he has also been impressive domestically.
So far, Weissman has scored 16 goals from 16 league matches to help his club to third spot on the table.
9. Erling Braut Haaland - Red Bull Salzburg
Austrian Bundesliga (x1.5)
16 goals - 24 points
Erling Haaland made history when he scored nine goals in a single game at the Under-20 World Cup over the summer and he ended the tournament as the highest goalscorer despite Norway exiting the competition at the group stage. His displays earned him a move to Austrian giants RB Salzburg and he was earmarked as one of the most exciting teenagers to watch out for in the Champions League.
So far, the 19-year-old has not disappointed and he began his foray into the big-time with a well-taken hat-trick in Salzburg's 6-2 rout of Genk. He has scored in each of his subsequent matches and currently sits second on the scorers' chart in the Champions League with eight goals, which is no mean feat considering that he has come up against the likes of Liverpool and Napoli.
Domestically, Haaland has also been in pristine form, with 16 goals from just 14 matches as Salzburg look set for a 7th consecutive league title.
8. Lionel Messi - Barcelona
Spanish LaLiga (x2)
12 goals - 24 points
If this list had been made last week, Lionel Messi would not have been in the top 25. If it had been made two weeks ago, he would not have been in the top 40 but his greatness means that he can turn things around in an instant and his latest heroics means that he finds himself 8th in the race for the 2020 European Golden Shoe.
The Argentine international is the record winner of this award, having finished as the top scorer in Europe on six occasions and he looks on course to win his seventh overall and third consecutively come the end of the season.
Messi won a record-breaking sixth Ballon d'Or and followed that up by scoring his 53rd career hat-trick against RCD Mallorca to push him up to 12 goals and five assists in the league this season and if the 32-year-old can remain injury-free, there could be no stopping him or Barcelona this term.
#7 Kamil Wilczek (Brondby)
Danish Supaliga (x1.5)
17 goals - 25.5 points
Wilczek has been at Brondby since making the move to the Danish league from Italian side Carpi in 2016. In the three years since, he has underlined his ability in front of goal, with his goals return of over a goal just under every two matches indicative of his productivity.
The Polish international had earlier finished as the top scorer in the the Estraklassa with Piast Gliwice and was consequently named the best player in the league in 2014. At the start of the current season, Wilczek was appointed as the permanent captain of Brondby and he has taken to the honor with aplomb, scoring 17 goals from 17 league matches to help his club to 4th-place in the league standing.
He also weighed in with three goals from six qualification matches although Brondby failed to make it to the group stage of the Europa League.
6. Ilya Shkurin (Energetik-BGU Minsk)
Belarus Premier League (x1.5)
19 goals - 28.5 points
Ilia Shkurin finished the just concluded season of the Belarusian Premier League as the top scorer, with 19 goals scored from 26 matches.
This was enough to help his club Energetik-BGU Minsk to 12th place finish but it is highly unlikely that he would remain this high in the standing upon the conclusion of the leagues in mainstream Europe.
5. Timo Werner (Red Bull Leipzig)
German Bundesliga (x2)
15 goals - 30 points
Timo Werner made a name for himself as a teenager in the Bundesliga and became the youngest player to make 100, 150, and 200 appearances in the German top-flight, while he is also the youngest to score two goals in a single Bundesliga game. Since then, he has grown in stature and is now the first-choice striker for the German national team.
This season, he has scored 15 goals from 14 league matches to help RB Leipzig to second spot on the league table, while he has also chipped in with two goals from five matches in the Champions League.
4. Erik Sorga - FC Flora
Estonia Meitriliiga
31 goals - 31 points
Erik Sorga is a 20-year-old forward that stars for FC Flora in the Estonian Meitriliiga and he scored 31 goals from 34 matches to help the club win a record-extending 12th league title.
Unlike most of the other players on this list, Sorga can, however, not add to his tally.
3. Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich
German Bundesliga (x2)
16 goals 32 points
It can be argued that Robert Lewandowski can be considered the best striker of his generation and the Polish international is a regular in discussions for Golden Boots. This season, he has taken his goalscoring feats to new levels and has already scored 31 goals for club and country.
The 31-year-old went on an incredible run of scoring in the first 11 Bundesliga matches consecutively, while he has also scored in every Champions League fixture this season. Though he might have hit a dry spell in recent weeks, drawing blanks in each of his last three Bundesliga games, Lewandowski is still a shoo-in for a third consecutive Bundesliga Golden Boot and a fifth overall.
2. Jamie Vardy - Leicester City
English Premier League (x2)
16 goals - 32 points
Jamie Vardy had his breakout season when he scored 24 goals to help fire Leicester City to an unlikely Premier League title in 2016. For his efforts, he was named PWA Player of the Year and he has maintained a steady goal ratio since then.
Vardy has hit a good run of form this season and is the driving force behind The Foxes' push for a top-four finish. The East Midlands side have thoroughly impressed since the appointment of Brendan Rodgers and the Englishman has perhaps been the biggest beneficiary of the Northern Irishman's tactics.
He is currently on a spectacular run of having scored in each of his last eight matches consecutively, including a hat-trick in the 9-0 rout of Southampton to bring his total to 16 goals for the season and at this rate, he could win a maiden Premier League Golden Boot come the end of the season.
1. Ciro Immobile - Lazio
Italian Serie A (x2)
17 goals - 34 points
Ciro Immobile is no stranger to scoring goals and he has twice finished as the top-scorer in the Italian top-flight. The 29-year-old represented some stellar clubs in the past including Dortmund, Sevilla, and Juventus but it is with capital club Lazio that he really blossomed into global renown.
With the Biancocelesti, he won the Italian Capocannoniere in the 2017/2018 with 29 goals scored jointly with Mauro Icardi and it took him just 147 matches to reach a century of goals for the club in all competitions. This season, Immobile has been unplayable for Lazio and he is arguably the most in-form striker in all of Europe.
He started an incredible scoring streak that began from matchday 6 and lasted through matchday 14 in the Serie A, a run encompassing nine straight matches. He had a golden opportunity to make it 10 in a row, but surprisingly missed from the spot in Lazio's 3-1 victory over Juventus.
Even though the streak has ended, Immobile is running away with the Serie A Golden Boot and the 17 goals he has scored sees him leading the race for the 2020 European Golden Shoe.
