GETTING THE BOOT
*--* The title of “tournament’s leading scorer” would seem lofty enough for an event such as the World Cup, but leave it to FIFA to add some glitz. Players now compete for The Golden Boot, given to the leading scorer, as opposed to the Golden Ball, which goes to the most outstanding player (and will be announced Tuesday). The top scorers for all the Cups: 1930 GUILLERMO STABILE, Argentina 8 After sitting out Argentina’s opener, Stabile got a chance to play against Mexico when captain Manuel Ferreira had to return to Buenos Aires to take a law school exam. Stabile scored a hat trick in that game, and later scored twice in a semifinal victory over the United States 1934 OLDRICH NEJEDLY, Czechoslovakia 5 A stylish forward for Sparta of Prague, Nejedly guided the Czechs into the final by scoring an 83rd-minute winner in the quarterfinals and all the goals in a 3-1 semifinal victory over Germany. The Italians’ physical play shut him down in the final 1938 LEONIDAS, Brazil 7 Leonidas scored a hat trick in Brazil’s opener and wasn’t the game’s leading scorer--Poland’s Ernest Willimowski scored four in Brazil’s wild 6-5 victory. Inexplicably, Leonidas was held out of the semifinals to rest for the final; the Brazilians didn’t make it, losing to Italy 1950 ADEMIR, Brazil 8 A star forward with Brazil’s Vasco de Gama, Ademir teamed with Jair and Zizinho in an offense that scored 22 goals in six games. But after scoring four goals against Sweden, he was held scoreless in a championship-game loss to Uruguay 1954 SANDOR KOCSIS, Hungary 11 One of the greatest scorers in soccer history, Kocsis had 75 goals in 68 internationals for the “Magical Magyars.” He scored at least two goals in each of his first four games but was shut out in a championship-game loss to Germany 1958 JUST FONTAINE, France 13 The Moroccan-born Fontaine wasn’t France’s first choice, only playing after Rene Bliard was injured. Partnering with standout playmaker Raymond Kopa, he scored in all six of France’s games, including four in the third-place game 1962 SIX TIED 4 There likely weren’t enough golden boots around to cover this group, which included Florian Albert of Hungary, Valentin Ivanov of Russia, Leonel Sanchez of Chile and Drazen Jerkovic of Yugoslavia. Garrincha and Vava were also part of the group, leading Brazil to the title 1966 EUSEBIO, Portugal 9 Born in Mozambique, Eusebio starred for Benefica of Lisbon and later in his career was a standout for Toronto of the NASL. He scored twice in a victory over Brazil, and four times in the quarterfinals against North Korea 1970 GERD MUELLER, Germany 10 The leading scorer for a career in the World Cup, Muller scored most of his 14 goals in Mexico. He scored hat tricks against Bulgaria and Peru, an overtime winner against England and two overtime goals in a semifinal loss to Italy 1974 GRZEGORZ LATO, Poland 7 One of the stars of Poland’s greatest generations of soccer players, he scored twice in a victory over Argentina, had game-winning goals against Sweden and Yugoslavia in second-round group play, and scored a goal in the third-place game 1978 MARIO KEMPES, Argentina 6 The only foreign-based player who had been included in the host nation’s squad, Kempes was scoreless in first-round group play, but finished with a flourish. In the final, his 104th-minute goal against the Netherlands broke a 1-1 tie in overtime 1982 PAOLO ROSSI, Italy 6 Rossi started the World Cup under a cloud, having just come off a suspension in a gambling scandal. But his hat trick against Brazil and two goals in a championship victory over West Germany restored him to hero status 1986 GARY LINEKER, England 6 Lineker was one of the top “poachers” of his era, a forward with a nose for scoring goals. He scored a hat trick to singlehandedly beat Poland, 3-0, then added two goals against Paraguay in the second round and one in a loss to Argentina 1990 SALVATORE SCHILLACI, Italy 6 No one dealt better with the pressure of playing for Italy in an Italian World Cup than Schillaci, a forward from Juventus of Turin, who scored the winning goal in five games. He won the Golden Boot with a penalty kick late in the third-place game 1994 OLEG SALENKO, Russia HRISTO STOICHKOV, Bulgaria 6 Neither player won their share of the Boot in a way that will inspire legends. Salenko scored five of his six goals in one game against a Cameroon team distracted by a feud with its national federation. Stoichkov scored half of his goals on penalty kicks 1998 DAVOR SUKER, Croatia 6 Suker was the leader of the surprise team of the tournament. He scored the lone goal in victories over Japan and Romania, and added an 85th-minute goal to cap an upset of Germany. He won the scoring title with a game-winning goal in the third-place game 2002 RONALDO, Brazil 8 After the failure of France ’98 and two years of injuries, Ronaldo promised to score in every game. He nearly did it, missing only in the 2-1 victory against England. His two goals against Germany make him only one of nine players to score at least that many in a final
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