As leagues around Europe come to the end of their respective 2020-21 campaigns, attention is quickly starting to turn to the much-anticipated Euro 2020 — which will take place at various locations throughout the continent between June 10th and July 11th.
England are the current favourites with the bet exchange to win their first European Championship, but they’ll need captain Harry Kane to bring his shooting boots if they truly want football to come home this summer, as an in-form striker can be the difference in a major international competition.
So, as Kane looks to add a European Championship Golden Boot to his leading goalscorer award from the 2018 World Cup, let’s take a look back at the last four winners of the Euro top-scorer accolade.
Euro 2016 – Antoine Griezmann (6 goals)
Host nation France were largely expected to win the tournament on home soil back in 2016, and Antoine Griezmann was doing his utmost to try and get his hands on the trophy. The then Atlético Madrid forward scored just one goal in the group stage as France topped Group A. However, he came to life in the knockout rounds, scoring twice against the Republic of Ireland in the round of 16 before netting again in the 5-2 quarter-final victory over Iceland. His double against Germany secured France’s place in the final, but he was unable to make a further impact in the showpiece match as Portugal stunned the hosts in extra-time.
Euro 2012 – Fernando Torres (3 goals)
Given the two seasons Fernando Torres had endured at Chelsea prior to Euro 2012, it was somewhat of a surprise to see the striker win the tournament’s Golden Boot — albeit with a mere three goals. El Niño scored twice in the 4-0 group stage victory over the Republic of Ireland and the then 28-year-old didn’t find the back of the net again until the final, where Spain thrashed Italy 4-0. Five other players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Mario Balotelli and Mario Gómez, all finished the tournament with three goals. However, Torres’ assist for Juan Mata’s strike in the final and his three goals coming in just 189 minutes secured him the Golden Boot.
Euro 2008 – David Villa (4 goals)
Torres and David Villa formed a formidable partnership as they helped fire Spain to European Championship glory in 2008. However, despite Torres netting the winner in Spain’s 1-0 victory over Germany in the final, it was Villa who took home the Golden Boot. With a hat-trick in the opening game against Russia and another strike to secure a 2-1 win over Sweden, all four of the then Valencia striker’s goals came in the group stage. Villa missed the final against Germany due to a hamstring injury picked up early in the semi-final against Russia.
Euro 2004 – Milan Baroš (5 goals)
Euro 2004 was undoubtedly one of the most entertaining editions of the tournament to date. Not only did Greece provide us with a shock winner, as they beat hosts Portugal in the final, but many of the matches throughout the tournament were high-scoring thrillers. In the end, it was Liverpool’s Milan Baroš who took home the top-scorer accolade. The forward scored in the Czech Republic’s group stage victories over Latvia, Netherlands and Germany before netting twice in their 3-0 quarter-final victory over Demark. The Czech’s good run was eventually ended by Greece in the semi-finals.