Fernando Torres secured the adidas Golden Boot award at the UEFA EURO 2012, capping off Spain’s triumphant campaign. The Spanish striker’s pivotal contributions in the final stages of the tournament cemented his place as the top scorer, decided by a narrow yet decisive margin.
Torres concluded the tournament level on goals with five other prominent players, each netting three times. Notably, he and Germany’s Mario Gomez also shared an equal number of assists. However, the tie-breaker criteria favored Torres. The Spain forward, who entered as a substitute in the commanding 4-0 victory against Italy in the final, earned the coveted Golden Boot by virtue of having played fewer minutes on the pitch – a mere 189 minutes compared to Gomez’s 282.
This achievement marked a personal milestone for Torres at the European Championship. Four years prior, at UEFA EURO 2008, Torres scored the decisive goal in the final against Germany. Yet, on that occasion, his Spanish teammate David Villa claimed the Golden Boot. Villa’s 2008 accolade was historically significant as he became the first player since Henrik Larsen of Denmark in 1992 to simultaneously win the Golden Boot and the Henri Delaunay Cup, awarded to the tournament champions.
Interestingly, while Torres took home the Golden Boot for the final tournament, Netherlands’ Klaas-Jan Huntelaar emerged as the overall top scorer for UEFA EURO 2012. Huntelaar’s impressive tally of 12 goals during the qualifying rounds surpassed all others. This combined figure exceeded even Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Miroslav Klose of Germany, though Gomez himself accumulated a notable nine goals across both the qualifying and final tournament stages.
Looking at historical records, Michel Platini’s remarkable nine goals in the 1984 UEFA European Championship remains the benchmark for a single tournament. No other player has surpassed five goals in a single edition since then. Platini’s overall finals tally also leads, standing two goals ahead of Alan Shearer of England’s seven. Several players, including Zlatan Ibrahimović and Cristiano Ronaldo, both of whom scored at UEFA EURO 2012, have reached six goals in European Championship finals.
Golden Boot Deciding Criteria
When players are tied on the same number of goals, the adidas Golden Boot is awarded based on the following hierarchy:
a) Higher number of assists in the tournament.
b) Fewer minutes played in the tournament.
It’s important to note that only goals scored during regular play or extra time contribute to a player’s tournament total. Penalty shootout goals are not counted for the Golden Boot determination.
UEFA EURO 2012 Final Tournament Top Scorers:
3 Goals
Fernando Torres (Spain)
Mario Gomez (Germany)
Mario Balotelli (Italy)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Alan Dzagoev (Russia)
Mario Mandžukić (Croatia)
2 Goals
Nicklas Bendtner (Denmark)
Cesc Fàbregas (Spain)
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden)
Petr Jiráček (Czech Republic)
Michael Krohn-Dehli (Denmark)
Václav Pilař (Czech Republic)
Dimitris Salpingidis (Greece)
Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine)
Xabi Alonso (Spain)
David Silva (Spain)
UEFA EURO 2012 Overall Top Scorers (Including Qualifying):
12 Goals
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Netherlands)
10 Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Miroslav Klose (Germany)
9 Goals
Mario Gomez (Germany)
7 Goals
Antonio Cassano (Italy)
Alan Dzagoev (Russia)
Mikael Forssell (Finland)
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden)
Robbie Keane (Republic of Ireland)
Robin van Persie (Netherlands)
David Villa (Spain)
UEFA European Championship Finals Top Scorers Year by Year:
(1960-1976: from semi-finals; 1980-2008: from final tournament group stage)
2008: David Villa (Spain) – 4
2004: Milan Baroš (Czech Republic) – 5
2000: Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands), Savo Milošević (Yugoslavia) – 5
1996: Alan Shearer (England) – 5
1992: Dennis Bergkamp (Netherlands), Thomas Brolin (Sweden), Henrik Larsen (Denmark), Karl-Heinze Riedle (Germany) – 3
1988: Marco van Basten (Netherlands) – 5
1984: Michel Platini (France) – 9
1980: Klaus Allofs (West Germany) – 3
1976: Dieter Müller (West Germany) – 4
1972: Gerd Müller (West Germany) – 4
1968: Dragan Džajić (Yugoslavia) – 2
1964: Ferenc Bene (Hungary), Dezső Novák (Hungary), Jesús María Pereda (Spain) – 2
1960: Milan Galić (Yugoslavia), François Heutte (France), Valentin Ivanov (Soviet Union), Dražan Jerković (Yugoslavia), Viktor Ponedelnik (Soviet Union) – 2
UEFA European Championship Final Tournament Overall Top Scorers:
9 Goals: Michel Platini (France)
7 Goals: Alan Shearer (England)
6 Goals: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Thierry Henry (France), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden), Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands), Nuno Gomes (Portugal), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands)
5 Goals: Milan Baroš (Czech Republic), Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany), Savo Milošević (Serbia), Wayne Rooney (England), Marco van Basten (Netherlands), Zinédine Zidane (France)
