Euro 2012 Golden Boot Betting
Who will be the top goalscorer during the European Championship Finals 2012 in Poland and Ukraine? The betting for the Golden Boot winner is always one of the hottest and most exciting competitions with so many players capable of snatching the second-most coveted trophy after the Euro crown itself. Having been held by such illustrious names in the past as Marco van Basten, Alan Shearer, Michel Platini, Patrick Kluivert and Denis Bergkamp, the fight for the Golden Boot is always a tight battle, with the number of potential winners rising into double figures.
Seasoned football fans will already have a good idea about some of the most likely suspects to be heading the Poland/Ukraine goalscoring charts come the end of the tournament – the big nations of Spain, Italy, France, Germany, England, Holland and Portugal, should they qualify, are sure to make their presence felt yet again, and rarely does the Golden Boot winner come from outside one of these countries.
While we are waiting for the final draw of the group stages to be announced, which will give us a much clearer picture of the likely Golden Boot winners, let’s take a look at the biggest names and the impact they are likely to have.
Spain
It’s hard not to look past the tournament’s red hot favourites Spain as the nation most likely to provide the Golden Boot winner along with our outright winner betting strategy, and they have to huge candidates in the shape of Barcelona’s David Villa and Chelsea’s Fernando Torres.
David Villa really is Spain’s man of the moment – having enjoyed a cracking first season at Champions League winners Barcelona, netting 18 goals in just 34 matches played as they marched to the Primera Liga title in convincing style. Villa, along with midfield maestro Xavi and his strike partner Lionel Messi is one of the biggest reasons why Barcelona are Europe’s most dominant club side and will surely make his impact felt on Europe’s biggest stage next summer. On top of his club performances, Villa has a fantastic strike rate for the Spanish team as well – hitting 47 goals in 75 international caps, including 4 goals in 5 qualifying appearances at the time of writing. Should Spain, as expected, progress to the latter stages of the finals in Poland/Ukraine, then expect Villa to be very close to the top of the goalscoring charts.
Another man who could make his presence felt in the top goalscorer betting field, is the out-of-sorts Fernando Torres, who will have a point to prove following a disappointing spell of form since leaving Liverpool for Chelsea in a £50 million pound deal last January. While Torres only managed to notch one goal in his first six months in a blue shirt, there is no doubting the man’s quality – his 27 goal haul in 85 international appearances is a testament to his ability to find the net when it counts, and only a fool would bet against him rediscovering his form over the next season.
England
Could the 2012 Golden Boot winner be an Englishman? At a first glance that might seem unlikely, given the fact that England traditionally seem to get their goals from all over the field, with midfielders like Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard chipping in as much as the forwards seem to.
However, there are a few men who could well catapult themselves into contention if England can step out of their shell and finally show the rest of the world how good they really are. The most obvious choice is Man United’s Wayne Rooney, easily the team’s most naturally gifted attacker and a man who has terrorized some of Europe’s best defenders over the years while wearing the red shirt. 26 goals in 70 matches for England so far shows that he knows where the net is, but as always a lot will depend on his temperament – Rooney has his ups and downs and whether he makes his mark on the tournament or not will probably have a big say in the England team’s fortunes as well. He might also be a good season bet for the Premier League.
Jermaine Defoe, with 3 goals so far in qualifying, is the team’s leading goalscorer and always a dangerous threat, yet whether or not he will get a look in come the finals may well rest on him leaving Spurs or not. A lack of first team opportunities for Tottenham has meant his England starts are infrequent at best, and so he is by no means a first choice starter.
One man who could force his way into the team is Liverpool’s Andy Carroll. The 6 foot 4 inches target man is big and strong in the classic centre-forward mould and is easily able to tower ahead of rival defenders and cause problems. Should Carroll remain free from injury, he could well force himself into the starting line-up and might be worth an outside bet.
Germany
Generally perceived to be second favourites to win the tournament outright after Spain, the Germans will be raring to go following a fantastic showing at the South Africa World Cup, where their young starlets tore apart some of the best defences in the world before being soundly beaten by the Spanish.
The Germans have smashed 22 goals in just 7 qualifying games so far, the most of any team, and the lion’s share of those have fallen to veteran marksman Miroslav Klose who is currently playing in the German Bundesliga. Klose’s game is all about power – he can unleash a thunderous shot with his right foot, and his aerial ability is second-to-none. He has led the line for Germany ever since he won the 2002 World Cup Golden Boot, and his record of 61 goals in 109 games for Germany shows that he is a force to be reckoned with. Without doubt, Klose is one of the red hot favourites.
However, Klose is far from Germany’s only attacking threat. Europe’s most out-and-out attacking team have a whole range of attacking options to call upon. Mario Gomez, the Bayern Munich striker, has chipped in with 4 goals in just 4 qualifying appearances and will surely be somewhere near the top of the scoring charts if he gets on the team sheet. Gomez will be fighting Lukas Podolski for a place in the line-up alongside Klose, who remains an equally dangerous threat. While he has struck only 2 goals in 7 games in qualifying, Podolski has an impressive record for Germany overall – hitting a staggering 46 goals in 81 matches. For a man who is just 26 years old, it’s hard to beat that kind of record.
One outside bet that could be worth a punt is 21-year old attacking midfielder Thomas Muller of Bayern Munich. Muller burst onto the world stage during the last World Cup finals and is an awesome threat, regularly advancing from midfield to support the strikers and chipping in with goals. An impressive ratio of 7 goals in 19 starts for Germany means that you can dismiss him at your peril.
Italy
Italy has struggled to find a regular goalscorer of late, but there is no doubt that their front men are lacking in talent. With 3 goals in 6 games in qualifying so far, leading scorer Antonio Cassano of AC Milan is the man that many Italian fans will be pinning their hopes on, although his overall record of just 6 in 23 games for Italy suggests that he has struggled to reproduce his club form out on the pitch.
Perhaps, just perhaps, Alberto Gilardino will finally be able to find his goalscoring boots for the national team. The 29-year old striker is consistently one of the leading marksmen in Serie A for his club Fiorentina, yet his haul of only 17 goals in 47 Italy appearances shows that he has often failed to adjust to the international stage.
However, we must not forget Italy’s ability to spring surprises – we only have to look back to the Italia ’90 World Cup and the exploits of “Toto” Schillachi, who won the Golden Boot with 6 goals following a last-minute call up, for evidence of that. Two men who could well force their way into the reckoning are Villareal’s Giuseppe Rossi and Manchester City’s Mario Ballotelli. Rossi has been prolific for Villareal in Spain’s Primera Liga, yet like Cassano and Gilardino he has so far failed to take his chances for the Azzuri, yet he possesses undoubted quality and could be a good outside bet if Italy shine. Meanwhile, the temperamental yet exceptionally talented Balotelli, at just 21-years old, has yet to make his mark on the national team. A good season with Manchester City could change all that however – with Italy still unsure of their best front pairing he could well force his way in, and if he does he could well be one of the men to light up the tournament.
Netherlands
With 21 qualifying goals so far, the Dutch clearly possess multiple attacking threats. Add to that their disappointment at losing the World Cup Final to Spain last year and you have a team that is just itching to take the tournament by storm.
Having hit 8 goals in just 4 games, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is clearly the man of the moment for Holland. His impressive tally of 28 goals in just 44 matches speaks wonders of his incredible talent for finding the net. Huntelaar is considered to be one of the best finishers in the world from inside the penalty box and will surely be somewhere near the top of the charts this summer.
Robin van Persie of Arsenal is also a danger – though his qualification campaign has been hit by injury, limiting him to just 2 goals in 2 games, he is undeniably one of the Dutch’s key men – as his record of 21 goals in 56 games attests. With Arsenal looking set to lose stars Fabregas and Nasri this summer, they will be looking for a big season from Van Persie, and should the Dutchman respond then there’s no telling what he could do next summer.
Best of the Rest
Aside from the traditional big guns, there are a few other names that could well hit the goalscoring heights next summer, although a lot will depend on who actually ends up making the final 16.
One country that is looking very likely to qualify is Sweden, who has done incredibly well to keep pace with the Dutch team in Group E. The main reason for Sweden’s impressive showing has been their number one attacking threat, Zlatan Ibramhimovic. With 5 goals in just 5 matches so far, the gifted AC Milan forward is one of the most dangerous in all of Europe, and will no doubt be desperate to prove himself on Europe’s biggest stage if the Swedes can get there.
Of the two host nations, it is Ukraine who look most likely to put forward a candidate for your Golden Boot betting. Home soil will favour the Ukrainians, who are good enough to mix it with the best of them on their day, and one man who will be looking to end his career on a high note is the legendary Andriy Shevchenko. He might be 34-years old now, but he continues to stake a regular place in the national team and there is no denying he knows where the goal is, probably even for the Euro Cup 2012. Since his dismal failure with Chelsea in the English Premiership, Shevchenko will be desperate to show the world how good he is and may just be able to spring a surprise.
Poland are considered to be the weaker of the two teams, one reason being they don’t really have a recognized goalscorer in their ranks. Robert Lewandowski, with 10 goals in 35 matches, is their biggest threat.
Elsewhere, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo will always be a big danger, while France’s Karim Benzema has the skills to threaten even the meanest of defences, but a lot will depend on whether or not their team’s can progress into the latter rounds.
Good long shots include Robbie Keane of Ireland, who has already hit 5 goals in qualifying, Bosnia’s Edin Dzeko, Belgium’s front pair of Romelu Lukaku and Marvin Ogunjimi, and also Slovenia’s Tim Matavž, although these teams are by no means certain of qualifying for the final tournament.
