While scoring a goal is widely accepted as one of the most difficult things to do in football, doing so as you shoulder the expectations of an entire nation comes with even more pressure unlike anything in club football. Only a handful of players have risen to the challenge in the past and have been rewarded with a Golden Boot for scoring the maximum number of goals in UEFA Euro.
Since the inception of the European championship in 1960, there have been 12 individual golden boot winners with Cristiano Ronaldo being the last after top-scoring in the 2020 edition of the Euros. In four instances, the award has been shared with two or more players.
What happens if there is more than one player with the same number of goals?
Since 2008, two specific criterias have been added to decide the eventual winner of the Golden Boot.
- If more than one player has the same number of goals, the player with the most assists wins.
- If more than one player has the same number of goals and assists, the player who achieved the record in less game time wins.
Which Golden Boot winner scored the most goals in a single edition of Euro?
France legend Michel Platini, who led his side to victory as hosts of the 1984 edition, scored the highest number of goals - nine. The record still stands to this date.
Antoine Griezmann, who won the Golden Boot in 2016, came close to the record with his six goals and had further added one more to his tally in the 2020 edition.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo won the Euro 2020 Golden Boot after he scored five goals in the tournament. Both Ronaldo and Czech Republic attacker Patrik Schick had registered five goals in the competition, however, the 36-year-old Juventus star won via the tie-breaker of assists.
List of Golden Boot winners
| UEFA Euro edition | Player | Goals |
| France (1960) |
Milan Galić François Heutte Valentin Ivanov Dražan Jerković Viktor Ponedelnik |
2 |
| Spain (1964) |
Ferenc Bene Dezső Novák Chus Pereda |
2 |
| Italy (1968) | Dragan Džajić | 2 |
| Belgium (1972) | Gerd Müller | 4 |
| Yugoslavia (1976) | Dieter Müller | 4 |
| Italy (1980) | Klaus Allofs | 3 |
| France (1984) | Michel Platini | 9 |
| West Germany (1988) | Marco van Basten | 5 |
| Sweden (1992) |
Dennis Bergkamp Tomas Brolin Henrik Larsen Karl-Heinz Riedle |
3 |
| England (1996) | Alan Shearer | 5 |
| Belgium and Netherlands (2000) |
Patrick Kluivert Savo Milošević |
5 |
| Portugal (2004) | Milan Baroš | 5 |
| Austria and Switzerland (2008) | David Villa | 4 |
| Poland and Ukraine (2012) | Fernando Torres | 3 goals, 1 assist (189 minutes) |
| France (2016) | Antoine Griezmann | 6 goals, 2 assists |
| Held in 11 cities across Europe (2020) | Cristiano Ronaldo | 5 goals, 1 assist |
Featured photo: AFP / Christof Stache
