Marc Janko’s Attempt To Turn In Modern Europe’s Greatest Season

By: chris | November 17th, 2008

Less than 10 days ago Marc Janko was a Name To Remember. Since then, he’s gone from “hey, remember my name” to “hey, I think I’ll make European history”.

Marc’s played two games since that post (three technically, since it was amended to include the hat trick he scored that day) and in those two games he has scored, of course, five goals. Bringing him to 25, setting a club record now exactly halfway through the Austrian Bundesliga campaign – they play 36 and he’s played 17 of 18 thus far. Breaking out my trusty abacus, this says that Marc is on pace for…..one moment……50 goals this year. Three more than the highest total by a Golden Boot winner since its inception in 1968.

Even more astounding is that 15 of those 25 have come in five of the last 6 games, including three hat tricks and a four goal performance against Altach – when he came on at half. Clearly there’s no one hotter on the planet (he’s got 2 in 3 for Austria in WC Qualifying as well – somehow scoring against France and Serbia but not the Faroe Islands….go figure).

So far the record for a Golden Boot winner is 47 goals, scored by Dudu Georgescu of Dinamo Bucharest in 74-45. Trying to find the highest total for any European league becomes and exercise in banging one’s head against the wall, but Dixie Dean of Everton did score 60 in 1927-28 (82 in all competitions – fair to say the league wasn’t exactly top notch back then). As of now, that’s the highest I can find – though you can be damn sure someone in Malta has scored 192 or so. So if we’re to stand on 60 it’s a tough climb, but insanely not out of the question.

Cruelly, winning the award is probably out of Marc’s reach after taking into account UEFA Coefficients. The 6th-21st rated leagues get a 1.5 multiplier. After that, goals equal points. So if Marc gets his 50, it’ll be 50 points. But next year, Austria is the 20th ranked league (UEFA is always one step ahead), and that 50 would magically turn into 75 points, the highest total ever. But if he does score 50, an insane number as it stands, someone in one of the top 5 leagues would only need to score 25 to match him, and 26 to win it. Considering 25 is the lowest winning total since the beginning of the points system…Marc’s going to have to continue this torrid, torrid pace he’s been on for the last month plus.

Whether he wins the award or not, Marc is turning in perhaps one of the greatest seasons for a striker ever. Without a doubt well worth watching until one of the big boys from abroad snaps him up.

Then again, he’s no Djimi Traore.