Battle for Golden Boot

Four matches are left to be played at the 19th World Cup in South Africa – two semifinals (Uruguay versus Netherlands tomorrow – Manila time – and Germany versus Spain on Thursday), the playoff for third on Sunday and the finals on Monday.

Only four teams are left standing from an initial cast of 32 with the surprise elimination of Brazil and Argentina in the quarterfinals. Pre-tournament favorite and European titlist Spain is tipped to bag the trophy but will encounter a stiff challenge from Germany while upset-conscious Uruguay attempts to advance at the Netherlands’ expense.

Aside from the title, several plums are up for grabs. An All-Star team made up of 23 players broken down into goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards will be named. The Fair Play trophy and the Lev Yashin award for best goalkeeper will be given out. Additionally, the most entertaining team and the best young player (21-and-under) will be announced. The MVP will be handed the Golden Ball with the runner-up the Silver Ball and third placer the Bronze Ball. In the last World Cup four years ago, France’s Zinedine Zidane took the Golden Ball honors.

But the most popular derby is the race for the Golden Boot prize, given to the player with the most goals scored. In 2006, Germany’s Miroslav Klose bagged the citation with five goals.

Klose, 32, is in contention for another Golden Boot award. He’s running second to Spain’s David Villa in the standings. Klose has knocked in four goals so far, two coming in Germany’s 4-0 romp over Argentina in the quarters. In the all-time ladder, Klose ranks second only to Brazil’s Ronaldo and two more goals will make the Polish-born striker from Bayern Munich the leading shotmaker in history.

Villa, 28, leads the World Cup standings with five goals, the last coming in Spain’s 1-0 squeaker over Paraguay in the quarterfinals. Villa’s marker banked in off both goalposts in the 83rd minute to seal the deal for Spain. Villa is No. 26 in the roster of all-time World Cup goal scorers.

According to World Soccer magazine, no one has found the net more than Villa in the last six years in Spanish football and only Raul has booted in more goals for the national team.

Others in the running for the Golden Boot are Germany’s Thomas Muller and the Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder with four each and Uruguay’s Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan with three apiece. Out of the race are Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain and Slovakia’s Robert Vittek with four goals each and Brazil’s Luis Fabiano and Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan with three apiece. Suarez’ chances are dim as he will serve a one-game suspension in the Netherlands semifinal match.

The most goals any Golden Boot awardee has ever scored were 13 by France’s Just Fontaine in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.

The Spain versus Germany semifinal showdown will also feature the duel between Klose and Villa.

Although picked to win the title, Spain isn’t taking Germany lightly. “We cannot believe that we are unbeatable,” said coach Vincent del Bosque. “We must act with the caution that sportsmen must have.” Spain posted a flawless qualifying record of 10-0 and has lost only once in 45 games, scoring 103 goals, since a 1-0 victory over England in 2007.

Known as La Furia Roja (The Red Fury), Spain has never won a World Cup in 12 previous bids dating back to 1934. Its World Cup record before South Africa was 22-12-15 with 80 goals scored and 57 against in 49 total matches. Spain is now in the Final Four for the first time in 60 years.

“This is the best national team Spain has had in their entire history,” wrote former Spanish striker Emilio Butragueno. “There has not been a generation of players like this before and I am not sure there will be one again.” Butragueno’s comment has prompted Spain to play with a sense of urgency – it’s almost like a now-or-never situation.

But Del Bosque isn’t falling into the trap of playing under pressure.

“It should not be seen as an obligation for us to win the tournament,” he said. “There are so many variables, so many factors that can influence the eventual outcome – some of which are out of your control. The good thing is that we have a very down-to-earth, humble group of players who are able to resist the pressure and not allow themselves to be carried away.”

Del Bosque’s formula for success is simple – don’t try to reinvent the wheel. He’s basically using the system his players are used to at the club level where Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Villarreal and Liverpool are the templates.