Who will get the Golden Boot?

In the past, the award given to the player who scores the most goals at a World Cup has gone to greats of the game like Portugal’s Eusebio, Germany’s Gerd Muller and Brazil’s Ronaldo.But it doesn’t always go to the striker you’d expect. Italian Salvatore Schillaci and Russia’s Oleg Salenko have been surprise winners since 1990. Who are the likely candidates to win the Golden Boot in South Africa? 

Reuters

David Villa (Spain)

Villa arrives in South Africa in excellent form and having just secured a 40-million-euro transfer to Barcelona.

A prolific scorer with Valencia before his big-money move, the 28-year-old has also found the net with ease for Spain. Villa is regularly on the mark in the games that really matter for his national team – he scored three goals in the 2006 World Cup and finished top scorer in the 2008 European Championships as Spain won the tournament.

The Spanish have an abundance of talented midfielders capable of supplying Villa with the service he needs and his fit-again strike colleague Fernando Torres should get among the goals as well.
 
Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Messi scored an amazing 47 times in all competitions with Barcelona this season, including 34 in the league as they won the La Liga title.

However, his record at international level - though impressive on paper - is not yet as telling.  

Granted, Messi has already led Argentina to a World Cup at under-20 level in 2005 and the Olympic title in 2008. But he’s found it more difficult to dominate at international level, perhaps because the pressure on him with Argentina is even higher than in Catalonia.

The teenager was injured ahead of the last World Cup in Germany and José Pekerman used him sparingly. But the 23-year-old is sure to make more of an impact this time around.  

Wayne Rooney (England)

Rooney had his injury problems towards the end of the English Premier League season, which arguably cost Manchester United the championship. After scoring 34 goals, he unsurprisingly took the player of the year accolades in England.

The 24-year-old burst onto the international scene in the 2004 European Championships, scoring four goals in four matches.

But the 2006 World Cup was not as good for Rooney, who was sent off during England’s quarter-final exit to Portugal.

After scoring 25 international goals so far, he’ll fancy his chances of adding to the total in England’s group matches against Algeria, Slovenia and the United States.

Robin Van Persie (Netherlands)

Given the injury problems he’s had this season, some people might be wondering why Van Persie is one of the likely candidates to win the Golden Boot award.

But his lack of game time is exactly why he features on the list. While most of the top strikers are travelling to South Africa after a gruelling season, Van Persie should be fresh and full of energy.

The Arsenal forward tends to score in spurts and in his most recent matches for club and country he’s often got on the score sheet. He’s also a real danger from free-kicks, and scored a great one in the Netherlands’ 2-1 victory over the Côte d’Ivoire in the last World Cup.

A favourable draw also helps a player’s chances of going home with the Golden Boot. The 2006 winner Miroslav Klose scored three of his five goals in the group stages, while Oleg Salenko won the award despite his team not making it into the knockout stages in 1994. The Russian scored five of his six goals in a 6-1 win over Cameroon.

The Netherlands face Denmark, Japan and Cameroon in Group E and with the winners likely to have an easier last 16 tie, Van Persie could be the man to benefit.