Although the UEFA Euro came late into recognition, it made its name in a very short period of time. The European countries battle once every four years for the silverware. However, the top scorer has a different award to his name, generally known as the golden boot. In this article, we take a look at the list of golden boot winners in the previous 10 editions of the Euros.
Also Read: Top 10 Highest scorers in the history of the UEFA Euros (Updated)
List of Golden Boot Winners from the past 10 editions (1984-2020):
Michel Platini (1984)
In 1984, Platini captained France to success in the European Championship on home soil. However, his individual impact on the tournament was huge with nine of Franceโs 14 goals in just five games. He was also the top goal scorer in Euro 1984. Platini also won the Ballon dโOr three times, in 1983, 1984 and 1985.
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Marco van Basten (1988)
West Germany hosted the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament from 10 to 25 June 1988. The Netherlands were the European champions for the first time in history. Marco van Basten was the top scorer of the tournament and won the golden boot after scoring 5 goals in the tournament.
Henrik Larsen (1992)
Sweden hosted the 1992 UEFA European Football Championship between 10 and 26 June 1992. Denmark won the 1992 championship having qualified only after Yugoslavia was disqualified as a result of the breakup of the country. Henrik Larsen was the top scorer with 3 goals. However, Dennis Bergkamp, Tomas Brolin and Karl-Heinz Riedle were also level with him on 3 goals.
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Alan Shearer (1996)
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 June 1996. It was the first European Championship to feature 16 finalists, following UEFAโs decision to expand the tournament from eight teams. Although Alan Shearer was the top scorer of the tournament with 5 goals, his team England lost against the eventual champions Germany in the semi-finals.
Savo Milosevic (2000)
Belgium and Netherlands jointly hosted the Euro 2000. It was also the first time the tournament had been held in more than one nation. Savo Miloลกeviฤ was the top scorer with 5 goals along with Patrick Kluivert. However, France won the tournament and Zinedine Zidane was the player of the tournament.
Also read: Players With the Most Assists In Football History
Milan Baroลก (2004)
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship. Milan Baroลก was the top scorer of the tournament with 5 goals in the tournament. The tournament was rich in surprises and upsets: Germany, Spain, and Italy were eliminated in the group stage while defending champions France were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Greece. Portugal recovered from an opening defeat against Greece to reach the final.
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David Villa (2008)
Austria and Switzerland jointly hosted the Euro 2008. David Villa was the top scorer in the tournament with 4 goals to his name. He played a very crucial part in Spainโs title-winning run in 2008. David Villa was their main man going forward. The golden period of Spain which started after winning the Euro โ08 saw the rise of players who went on to dominate world football.
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Fernando Torres (2012)
Poland and Ukraine jointly hosted the European Championship of 2012. Spain was literally unstoppable at that time, they crushed everyone that came in their way. The Spanish side was then the Euro 2008 champions, 2010 Worldcup winners and will further win the Euro โ12. Fernando Torres, Mario Gomez and Alan Dzagoevwere all tied up at 3 goals for the golden boot award. However, Torres bagged the award on the number of assists and lesser minutes played. He had 3 goals and 1 assist in 189 minutes however, his counterpart Mario Gomez had 3 goals and 1 assist in 282 minutes. Meanwhile, Alan Dzagoev didnโt provide an assist and was out of the golden boot contention.
Antoine Griezmann (2016)
France hosted the 15th edition of the tournament from 10 June to 10 July 2016. The hosts dominated the entire tournament but fell victim to Portugal at the extra time in the finals losing 0-1 against the Reds. Antoine Griezmann was one of the standout performers of the tournament. He won both the golden boot and the best player award for his heroic performances. The French-man had 6 goals and 2 assists in 555 minutes which rightfully earned him the above-mentioned awards.
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Cristiano Ronaldo (2020)
The Euro 2020 was postponed till 2021 because of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Although the tournament took place from 11 June to 11 July 2021 it will be known as Euro 2020. However, this version of Euro had no fixed hosts, the tournament revolved around 11 cities of Europe. Cristiano Ronaldo was named the top scorer of the tournament and won the golden boot despite a last-16 exit against Belgium. He managed to score 5 goals and provide 1 assist in the group of death. However, Patrik Schick of the Czech Republic had 5 goals to his name, Ronaldo clinched his award on the number of assists.
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