Who are the contenders for the Golden Shoe this year? Will it be Klose, Crespo, Ronaldo or another one that no one expects?

Having hit an impressive five goals at his first FIFA World Cup finals back in 2002, Germany striker Miroslav Klose has picked up where he left off in Korea/Japan. The Werder Bremen striker has recorded four goals thus far and sits proudly atop the Germany 2006 scoring charts. Klose turned 28 on the day of the Opening Match with Costa Rica, and celebrated in style with a brace and a Germany win. Klose repeated the feat in his side’s final Group A game with Ecuador as the Nationalmannschaft strode to an impressive 3-0 success.

Lining up behind Klose are four more hotshots all tied on three goals. Looking particularly dangerous is Argentina’s Hernan Crespo, who is revelling in his role as the Albicelestes’ principal striker. The Chelsea centre-forward has scored three goals in three appearances here in Germany and supplied one assist, not bad for a total of just 227 minutes of action. “I love scoring goals, but only provided it helps Argentina get as far as they possibly can. That’s my biggest objective.”

Ronaldo’s goals so far in Germany have made him the leading scorer in the history of the FIFA World Cup. The Brazil No.9 came under heavy criticism from sections of the sporting press early on in the tournament but he has found his feet at just the right time. His three strikes so far have taken his overall tally to 15, breaking the previous record of 14 set by legendary German marksman Gerd Muller. And with potentially another three games still to play, the Seleção superstar may not be finished yet.

Two more players on three goals are Germany’s Lukas Podolski and Argentina’s Maxi Rodriguez, although Friday’s quarter-final clash between the two sides will leave one of them out the race for the prestigious individual award.

The dark horses
French midfielder Patrick Vieira and Portugal’s Maniche have both taken Germany 2006 by storm, displaying a penchant for scoring decisive goals to complement their usual hard-working displays in the middle of the park. Also on two goals are a number of players accustomed to grabbing both goals and headlines: Ukraine’s Andriy Shevchenko , Brazil’s Adriano, who celebrated the recent birth of his child with a goal against Australia, England’s lion-hearted midfielder Steven Gerrard and classy France forward Thierry Henry . All six players are still in with a chance of taking top spot, at least until the next round of games.

Lost along the way…
Given the ruthless nature of top-level competition, a number of fearsome penalty-box predators have had to bid their farewells to Germany. Such is the case with Spain’s front pairing of David Villa and Fernando Torres , who both hit three goals at their first-ever FIFA World Cup. Nor will we continue to be surprised by Ecuador’s goal-grabbing double act of Agustin Delgado and Carlos Tenorio , scorers of two goals apiece in the group stages.

Others who have lost their way on the goal trail are Switzerland’s Alexander Frei , Costa Rica striker Paulo Wanchope , Mexico’s Omar Bravo and Australia’s tigerish midfielder Tim Cahill . Defences beware, at South Africa 2010 many of these fine footballers will be back in action, with four years’ more goalscoring experience under their belts.

Source: WCoffsite