Golden Boot Award Winners 1962 – 1978
Soccer Statistics – World Cup Top Scorers Eusebio, Müller & More
Aug 22, 2009
While World Cup Golden Boot award winners from the Eighties to the present day such as Lineker, Ronaldo and Klose may be more familiar with younger soccer fans, the Sixties and Seventies had their own legends of the game.
Names like Garrincha, Eusebio and Gerd Müller will live on forever in World Cup history, World Cup top scorers and Golden Boot award winners who have earned a place in the World Cup top scorer list.
Chile 1962 World Cup Golden Boot Award: 6 World Cup Top Scorers with 4 Goals Each
Before the introduction of a tie-breaker system after the USA 1994 World Cup the Golden Boot award could be shared between players. Chile 1962 saw six players split the award: Garrincha and Vava of Brazil, Florian Albert (Hungary), Leonel Sanchez (Chile), Drazan Jerkovic (Yugoslavia) and Valentin Ivanov (USSR) were all joint World Cup top scorers.
Garrincha scored two in the quarter final against England and two more in the semi versus Chile. His team-mate Vaya scored one against England, two in the semi-final and one against Czechoslovakia in the final. Their goals helped Brazil lift the World Cup in 1962.
England 1966 World Cup Golden Boot Award: Eusebio, Portugal, 9 Goals
A record four penalties helped Eusebio on his way to being the World Cup top scorer in 1966. Eusebio also masterminded one of the greatest ever World Cup comebacks. Portugal trailed 3-0 to Korea DPR in the quarter final before the majestic striker put the finishing touches to four goals, Portugal eventually winning 5-3.
Portugal found themselves 2-0 down to England in the semi-final before Eusebio netted a penalty in the 82nd minute. However, the goal was not enough to stop England from advancing towards the final and their first World Cup title.
Mexico 1970 World Cup Golden Boot Award: Gerd Müller, West Germany, 10 Goals
Gerd Müller, West Germany’s ‘Bomber der Nation’ (‘the Nation’s Bomber’), was arguably the most lethal striker of his era, a fact reflected in World Cup statistics. The Mexico World Cup of 1970 help to cement his reputation. Seven goals in Group 4, including back-to-back hat tricks against Bulgaria and then Peru, set him on the road to Golden Boot glory. His extra time goal in the quarter-final against England put West Germany through to the semis.
The semi-final against Italy would go down in World Cup history. Known as ‘The Game of the Century’, Italy led for almost the entire match until Karl-Heinz Schnellinger equalized in the 90th minute. A record five goals were to follow in a grueling extra time. Müller put the Germans ahead in the opening minutes before Italy scored twice. Müller then equalized at 3-3 before Gianni Rivera scored in the 111th minute to clinch the game.
Despite not progressing to the final, Müller’s heroic efforts got him a much deserved World Cup top scorer Golden Boot award. Four more goals in the following 1974 World Cup made Müller the all-time top scorer in World Cup history until Ronaldo netted his 15th in the 2006 World Cup.
West Germany 1974 World Cup Golden Boot Award: Grzegorz Lato, Poland, 7 Goals
Fleet-footed Polish striker Grzegorz Lato had a huge impact upon the 1974 World Cup. Poland won all their games in a tough Group 4. Lato scored twice in their opening group game to record an impressive 3-2 win against Argentina. Two more goals followed in the 7-0 thrashing of Haiti. Lato was unable to score against Italy, but Poland still won 2-1.
In the second round Group B, Lato netted the winning goals against both Sweden and Yugoslavia, before a 1-0 loss to West Germany denied them a place in the final. Lato then added to his tally with the only goal in the third place match, Poland recording an impressive victory against Brazil, with Lato securing his Golden Boot award.
Argentina 1978 World Cup Golden Boot Award: Mario Kempes, Argentina, 6 Goals
Mario Kempes, nicknamed ‘The Matador’ due to his goal scoring success with Valencia, was instrumental in Argentina’s 1978 World Cup title win. Despite not scoring in the first round group games, he went on to score six goals in Argentina’s successful home-turf campaign. In the Group B second round games Kempes scored twice against Poland and two more in the 6-0 thrashing of Peru, taking Argentina to the final.
In the final against the Netherlands Kempes scored the opening goal before the Dutch equalized in the 82nd minute, taking the game to extra time. Kempes once again put Argentina in front before Bertoni secured the win. Argentina won their first World Cup, and Kempes added his name to the World Cup history books by claiming the Golden Boot award.
For all the World Cup Golden Boot Award Winners from the tournament's early days, have a look at Early Era Golden Boot Award Winners.
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