Golden Boot

The Golden Boot betting is always a fun market to bet on as it lasts a long time and lets you enjoy every goal scored by your selection.

There are some simple factors to consider which will give players an advantage in this market.

What teams is your player going to play against?

An easy couple of group games is an ideal opportunity for a striker to score the main proportion of goals he is going to score all tournament. Being drawn against the tournament whipping boys is a massive positive for a player's potential to be Golden Boot.

What sort of tactics does your player's side employ?

First of all the team is going to need to be fairly attacking. A team that wins the tournament with a series of 1-0 wins is not likely to provide a Golden Boot winner. A team that has plenty of high scoring games is preferable. The team will also need to play to the player's strengths. Just because a player scores plenty of goals for his club doesn't mean he always transfers it to the International stage.

How far is your player's team likely to get?

Teams will play a minimum of three games and a maximum of six games. That's a big difference. A team that gets to the final is obviously going to get more games to score goals. In ten of the last thirteen European Championships the Golden Boot has played in the final. That's a very strong statistic.

Does your player take free kicks and penalties?

Taking free kicks and penalties can often add one or two goals to a player's tally that they may not have ordinarily scored. This can make all the difference between a winner and a loser. It should only take four or five goals to win the Golden Boot so that's a big proportion.

Euro 2012 Golden Boot Contenders

These are the leading contenders for the Euro 2012 Golden Boot. Check out our thoughts and their golden boot betting odds.

Euro 2012

Top Goalscorer

	Odds	Bookie
Mario Gomez	9.00
David Villa	10.00
Robin Van Persie	11.00
Cristiano Ronaldo	13.00
Miroslav Klose	13.00
Fernando Torres	17.00
Giampaolo Pazzini	19.00
Roberto Soldado	19.00
Fernando Llorente	21.00
Francesc Fabregas	21.00
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar	21.00
Lukas Podolski	21.00

Mario Gomez - Germany

Mario Gomez is the bookies' favourite to be the top scorer at Euro 2012 and it is easy to see why. His club scoring record this season has been phenomenal and he has also been doing the business in the national team unlike recent seasons. Gomez started just four games in qualifying and came on as sub in a further two games but still managed to net an impressive six goals, scoring in five different games. Germany are expected to reach the final of Euro 2012, that means they would play six matches, and Gomez's ability to score in most games would see him go very close here. The negative's for Gomez are playing in the group of death, but if Germany win that group as expected he will still probably have scored at least two or three goals, whilst perhaps the main negative is the fact that he has Miroslav Klose competing for his starting place, so he might not start each match at Euro 2012.

Should Gomez be viewed by Joachim Lowe as his team's best striker he will be a confident bet to be the Euro 2012 top scorer.

Miroslav Klose - Germany

If you fancy Gomez to be the top scorer at Euro 2012 then perhaps it is worth having a saver on Miroslav Klose. The former World Cup Golden Boot knows all about these major tournaments and he will be playing in a side that scores plenty of goals (averaged 3.4 a game in qualifying). Klose was the team's top scorer in qualifying with seven goals in six starts and even if he plays second fiddle to Gomez at Euro 2012 it would be no surprise to see him score three or four goals from the bench suggesting he remains an each way contender at the very least.

David Villa - Spain

David Villa was the top scorer at Euro 2008 and also the joint top scorer at the 2010 World Cup and it looked as though he would be Spain's main goal threat at Euro 2012 having scored seven goals in seven starts in qualifying. That was until he fractured his leg in December for Barcelona and he now faces a race to be fit for Euro 2012. Even if he makes the squad there are no guarantees he will be in top form as he was largely below par for Barcelona this season before his injury. David Villa will be a threat should he make it to Euro 2012 but he would still be a risky bet.

Robin Van Persie - Holland

Robin Van Persie had an amazing 2011 for his club Arsenal but his scoring record at international level doesn't quite match up and he has the habit of picking up injuries. Van Persie scored six goals in six games in qualifying but four goals against San Marino exaggerates his qualifying record a little and his ability to play every few days remains open to question. He'll get some goals but whether or not he can score four or five starting in a tough group remains open to question.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - Holland

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was Holland's top scorer in qualifying and in fact scored more goals in qualifying than any other player from any country. Huntelaar played eight games yet managed to score twelve goals, again his tally was helped by playing San Marino twice but he did score in seven of his eight games which is impressive. The fact that he is not even guaranteed to be Holland's top scorer at Euro 2012 makes relatively fairly short odds on the striker pretty risky although he is obviously going to be a threat in a tournament where Holland should reach the semi finals.

Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo has to be one of the favourites in the Golden Boot betting because of his undoubted ability and club scoring record but that doesn't quite translate to international level. Having said that seven goals in eight games in qualifying is a good return and the fact that he takes the team's set pieces and is a threat from anywhere makes him a serious contender. The problem for Ronaldo backers is Portugal's group. Portugal are third favourites in their group behind Germany and Holland and he might only get three (tough) games to score in making his task very difficult.

Mario Balotelli - Italy

Mario Balotelli has been made one of the favourites to be Euro 2012's top scorer despite the fact that he didn't score in their qualifying campaign for the finals. It seems the bookies are taking into account his club performances only when pricing up his odds and with Italy unlikely to make it past the quarter finals Balotelli will find it tough to be Euro 2012 Golden Boot even if he is Italy's top scorer in the tournament.

Gianpaolo Pazzini - Italy

Pazzini was mostly used as a sub in qualifying and was the country's second top scorer behind Antonio Cassano with two goals. Cassano could miss the finals because of health problems handing Pazzini a chance to impress but similar worries about Balotelli's chances apply to Pazzini, Italy look unlikely to provide the tournament with the Golden Boot.

Karim Bezema - France

Karim Benzema has been given a new lease of life at club level under Jose Mourinho and his goalscoring prowess has been there for all to see. He was France's joint top scorer in qualifying but only got three goals in seven matches and there has to be a doubt about France's ability as a team to score enough goals to make it to the latter stages of Euro 2012 and to provide a Golden Boot. Benzema is likely to be his team's top scorer at Euro 2012 but that might not be enough to trouble the top scorer's from other countries at Euro 2012.

Alan Dzagoev - Russia

If there is a lively outsider for the Euro 2012 Golden Boot it could be Russia's Alan Dzagoev who is a huge three figure price in the betting. Dzagoev scored in three different matches in qualifying and got a total of four goals, not a bad return for a midfielder who made just six starts. Russia will play Poland, Czech Republic and Greece as well as at least one more knockout match (should they finish in the top two in their group) and those games could see Dzagoev net a few goals. The fact that Russia might not make it past the quarter finals damages his win chances but he could easily place in the top scorer market and he looks an interesting each way bet in what has to be the kindest group at Euro 2012.