More than 50 ofthe players that are listed in the Golden Boot award list made by the European Sports Magazine (ESM), will represent their countries in the upcoming EURO 2008 tournament held in Switzerland and Austria.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese winger who plays for Manchester United, tops the Golden Boot list so far with 42 points; a result of his 21 goals up until the 10th of March. For players who are playing in the top leagues such as the English Premier League, the Serie A and La Liga, ESM multiplies the goals scored by "2" to determine the final points gained by the players. Other leagues, who may be considered weaker, receive lower coefficients such as 1.5 or 1. Thus a goal scored in England can count twice as much as a goal scored in a less reputable league. The purpose of these coefficient differences is to recognize the different standard of football played in various countries. Using this method, a player scoring 50 goals in a weaker league won't top the list over players who play in a much more competitive league.

Ronaldo is followed closely by fellow footballers, who pundits expect to rise and shine at Euro 2008, such as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Holland) of Ajax Amsterdam, Fernando Torres (Spain) of Liverpool, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden) of Inter Milan and Karim Benzema (France) who plays for Olympique Lyon.

From the Golden Boot list, a Russian player by the name of Dmitri Lipartov (JK Trans Nava) is also listed. Dmitri Lipartov tops the Russian league goal scorer list with 29 goals. Unfortunately, he has never been capped by the Russian national side. The striker has high hopes of getting called into the squad by Russian manager, Guus Hiddink, but somehow the odds seem to be against him primarily due to his 34 year old age disadvantage.


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