Francesco Totti wins 2006/2007 European Golden Boot

It seemed like almost every time you saw Francesco Totti this past season in Serie A he was either scoring a goal or sucking his thumb as part of his post-goal celebration. My own theory is that he is in cahoots with orthodontists in Italy and that he is encouraging kids to ruin their teeth. Golden smile or no golden smile, Totti is smiling today because he has finished first in the race for Europe’s Golden Boot.

The award goes to the highest goalscorer in all of Europe’s top divisions. But wait a second, you say, how can Totti win the award when he only scored 26 goals while Afonso Alves scored 34 goals for SC Heerneveen in Holland and Eduardo da Silva scored 34 goals for Dinamo Zagreb?

Good question. The answer is that the award is based on a points system that weights the various European leagues. Because Serie A is weighted higher than the leagues in Holland and Croatia, Totti wins the award. I reckon a player in Moldova would have to score about 300 goals just to make the top 20.

Totti is just the second Italian to ever win the award. Luca Toni won it with Fiorentina last year.

Here’s the final top 20 for the 2006/2007 European Golden Boot

1 Francesco Totti AS Roma (ITA) 26 goals, 52pts
2 Afonso Alves SC Heerenveen (NED) 34, 51
3 Ruud van Nistelrooy Real Madrid CF (ESP) 25, 50
4 Diego Milito Real Zaragoza (ESP) 23, 46
5 Frédéric Kanouté Sevilla FC (ESP) 21, 42
Ronaldinho FC Barcelona (ESP) 21, 42
7 Didier Drogba Chelsea FC (ENG) 20, 40
Theofanis Gekas VfL Bochum 1848 (GER) 20, 40
Cristiano Lucarelli AS Livorno Calcio (ITA) 20, 40
10 Tsvetan Genkov PFC Lokomotiv Sofia (BUl) 26, 39
11 Diego Forlán Villarreal CF (ESP) 19, 38
Christian Rigano FC Messina Peloro (ITA) 19, 38
13 Todor Kolev PFC Slavia Sofia (BUL) 25, 37.5
14 Rolando Bianchi Reggina Calcio (ITA) 18, 36
Benni McCarthy Blackburn Rovers FC (ENG) 18, 36
16 Eduardo da Silva NK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) 34, 34
Nicola Amoruso Reggina Calcio (ITA) 17, 34
Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United FC (ENG) 17, 34
Gionatha Spinesi Catania Calcio (ITA) 17, 34
20 Blaise N’Kufo FC Twente (NED) 22, 33
Alexander Zickler FC Salzburg (AUT) 22, 33
Danny Koevermans AZ Alkmaar (NED) 22, 33

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Category: Europe, Serie A, World Football