Favourites for the World Cup Golden Boot

1. Lionel Messi

Argentina has relatively easier group when compared to other teams and Lionel Messi is expected to play the leading role in Argentina’s World Cup hopes and put in a string of performances which will make him one of the all time greats. Therefore, the four time Ballon D’Or winner needs to perform for his nation to have any chance of claiming glory on enemy soil.

2. Neymar

A lot is being expected from Neymar this World Cup, after all he is their Poster Boy. He showed the world what he is capable of last summer in the Confederations Cup by helping Brazil to victory. A similar set of performances will certainly make him a leading contender for this year’s World Cup Golden Boot award and may even help make A Seleção world champions for an unprecedented sixth time.

3. Thomas Muller

The 2010 Golden Boot winner could become the first man in history to win back-to-back Golden Boots. He is expected to play a major part in Germany’s bid to lift the famous trophy as he is almost a certain starter for Die Mannschaft. Can the Bayern Munich man create history in Brazil?

4. Sergio Aguero

Sergio Aguero has been in a lethal form of late and he has been destroying clubs in the Premier League with amazing goal scoring skills. His fitness levels are being closely monitored and if he is deemed fit, you can expect him to score a lot of goals. The fact that Argentina has easier fixtures in the group stages comes in as handy to him. Let us see how effective he is for Argentina.

5. Mario Balotelli

The lethal Italian striker is one of the most prolific strikers in the world and has a good international record with 13 goals in 31 appearances. Expect him to add to his goal tally and who knows, he may even fire the Azzurri to victory.

6. Cristiano Ronaldo

I know what you are wondering. What is Ronaldo doing so low? He’s the Ballon D’Or winner, he deserves to be higher! The answer is simple. Portugal rely heavily on the wing wizard and that pressure may get to him and cause him to become a flop during the tournament. Furthermore, Portugal do not have a strong squad and are unlikely to go far in Brazil, therefore Ronaldo’s chances of scoring goals will become limited as his rivals are all parts of superior teams who will progress to the latter stages of the competition.

7. Karim Benzema

Benzema will play a major role in the performance of the French national team. Now that the fan-favourite Ribery is out injured, his responsibility has doubled and his performance will be under the scanner. He had a decent campaign with Real Madrid, winning the Champions League and Copa Del Rey in the process. He will be motivated by the fact that his side has a relatively easier group when compared to other teams.

8. Luis Suarez

Most of you won’t agree, but Luis Suarez has been the best striker in the world for the past 1-2 years. His vision, passing, runs and goal scoring techniques have been one of the best, not to forget his free kicks. He is fighting to be fully fit because of the injury he got in the end of the Premier League campaign. This is expected to affect his chances a bit, that’s why he is this low in the list. One would have expected him to be in the top three otherwise.

9. Fred

This is the 30-year-old Fred’s first and most-probably-last World Cup and so he would really like to give his best for his country. Added to that, Brazil will be playing as the host nation and this certainly gives Fred an upper hand. His lethal performances helped Brazil to win the Confederations Cup last summer and he is expected to play a pivotal role in this year’s World Cup.

10. Romelu Lukaku

Surprised to see his name in the list? You should not be. He has been in a lethal form both in domestic and international football. Belgium find themselves in one of the easiest groups and they will face Algeria, Russia and South Korea. Belgium are expected to win all three matches and we can expect Lukaku to score 3-4 goals in the group stages alone. So it won’t be a surprise if this beast from Belgium wins the golden boot.

Written by Nadeem – @nadz_robbani//@100PercentAFC

Follow us on Twitter: @FutbolAfterDark

The Love Story of Ronaldo and Bale

Real Madrid this season at times have looked like they have been on another level to every team they’ve played. This has been made possible by the new and extremely expensive partnership between the two most expensive players in football, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. Some thought that when Bale moved to Madrid last summer from North London he wouldn’t be able to cope with the pressure of playing in the same team as Ronaldo and being his under-study. This was a complete change to how Bale used to play as the 24 year old from Cardiff used to carry his ex-club Tottenham Hotspur through all their struggles. However this change of club and change of play style has proved to be worth-while and maybe Tottenham fans will be gutted that they didn’t sell him for more. Gareth Bale has gone from strength to strength this season as he has managed to find the net 20 times in the 31 matches that he has played. Not to mention the 16 assists as well. Bare in mind that Bale picked up a couple of injuries throughout the season. These statistics show that Bale is deadly and hasn’t needed to take a full season to get used to the La Liga.

Now onto his counter-part Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano Ronaldo has had another thunderous season which has seen him score the joint most goals (league) with every player in Europe. He banged in 47 goals from 40 matches this season and this is a remarkable achievement for any player. Scoring more goals than the number of games you play in is an achievement that anyone would be proud of. This is why Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or earlier this season. Assists wise, he only picked up 12. I say only because that’s 4 less than his team-mate Gareth Bale and 10, yes 10 assists less than other Madrid player Ángel Di María. But needless to say 12 assists and 47 goals is still by far the best in the league.

Now to the partnership. The partnership between the two most expensive football player’s is quite spectacular. Sometimes it feels as though they have been playing together for years on end. They seem to subconsciously know where each other is on the field without even raising their heads. The chemistry between them is unbeatable. When comparing their strike-force to the one of Messi and Neymar there is no match. Ronaldo and Bale are totally supreme. This has resulted in an almost identical run as their rivals Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Where Real only lost one game. However there is still one more job to do. There is one game left this season. The UEFA Champions League Final in Lisboa at the Estadio da Luz. Can Ronaldo and Bale produce some magic one more time?

Make sure to return later this evening to find out our reactions to the Champions League Final.

Louis – @ItsLouiis // @AllAboutSpurs

Make sure to follow us on Twitter – @FutbolAfterDark

Ronaldo and Bale have formed a formidable partnership this season across Europe