Belgian Golden Shoe
In association football, the Belgian Golden Shoe (Dutch: Gouden Schoen, French: Soulier d'Or) is an award given in Belgium at the beginning of each civil year to the best footballer of the Belgian First Division A for the past year. The trophy is sponsored by the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.
The voters are a selection of Belgian press specialists and football personalities. They are invited to vote for the best player of the competition for both half seasons (previous season second half and current season first half) and each get to submit a top three, scoring 3, 2 and 1 point respectively. As a result, a player can receive all of his votes in one half season (e.g. if he joined the championship from abroad during summer), or he can receive votes for matches with two (or more) different teams, as with Philippe Albert in 1992 and Mbark Boussoufa in 2006.
Paul Van Himst has collected 4 Belgian Golden Shoes which is the current record. Jan Ceulemans and Wilfried Van Moer have both won the trophy three times. The first foreigner to win the trophy was the Dutchman Johan Boskamp, especially for his excellence during the second half of the 1974–75 season, when his club, RWDM (currently defunct), won its first and only championship title. The only foreigners who have won the award more than once are the Swede Pär Zetterberg and the Moroccan Mbark Boussoufa. In 2011, Argentinian Matías Suárez became the first South American to be awarded the Golden Shoe.
From 2000, an award was also given to the best Belgian footballer abroad, although this award was not handed out in certain years, specifically from 2003 to 2007 and 2010 to 2011. Since 2013, the best coach, best goalkeeper, and best youngster awards have also been handed out. Finally, in 2016, Tessa Wullaert was awarded the first-ever Golden Shoe for women football players. Contrary to the men's award which is awarded to the best player in Belgium, the women's award goes to the best Belgian footballer, playing either in Belgium or abroad.
Men[]
Golden Shoe[]
Year | Winner | Club(s) | Second | Club(s) | Third | Club(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1954 | Rik Coppens (BEL) | Beerschot | Jef Mermans (BEL) | Anderlecht | Louis Carré (BEL) | RFC Liège |
1955 | Fons Van Brandt (BEL) | Lierse | Vic Mees (BEL) | Antwerp | Jef Mermans (BEL) | Anderlecht |
1956 | Vic Mees (BEL) | Antwerp | Denis Houf (BEL) | Standard Liège | Robert Van Kerkhoven (BEL) | Daring Club Bruxelles |
1957 | Jef Jurion (BEL) | Anderlecht | Louis Carré (BEL) | RFC Liège | Vic Mees (BEL) | Antwerp |
1958 | Roland Storme (BEL) | Gent | André Vanderstappen (BEL) | Olympic Charleroi | Denis Houf (BEL) | Standard Liège |
1959 | Lucien Olieslagers (BEL) | Lierse | Armand Seghers (BEL) | Olympic Charleroi | Rik Coppens (BEL) | Beerschot |
1960 | Paul Van Himst (BEL) | Anderlecht | Paul Bonga Bonga (COD) | Standard Liège | Eric Lambert (BEL) | Gent |
1961 | Paul Van Himst (BEL) | Anderlecht | Denis Houf (BEL) | Standard Liège | Pierre Hanon (BEL) | Anderlecht |
1962 | Jef Jurion (BEL) | Anderlecht | Jean Nicolay (BEL) | Standard Liège | Laurent Verbiest (BEL) | Anderlecht |
1963 | Jean Nicolay (BEL) | Standard Liège | Paul Van Himst (BEL) | Anderlecht | Frans Vermeyen (BEL) | Lierse |
1964 | Wilfried Puis (BEL) | Anderlecht | Paul Van Himst (BEL) | Anderlecht | Jean Nicolay (BEL) | Standard Liège |
1965 | Paul Van Himst (BEL) | Anderlecht | Wilfried Puis (BEL) | Anderlecht | Georges Heylens (BEL) | Anderlecht |
1966 | Wilfried Van Moer (BEL) | Antwerp | Raoul Lambert (BEL) | Club Brugge | Yves Baré (BEL) | RFC Liège |
1967 | Fernand Boone (BEL) | Club Brugge | Roger Claessen (BEL) | Standard Liège | Nico Dewalque (BEL) | Standard Liège |
1968 | Lon Polleunis (BEL) | Sint-Truiden | Léon Semmeling (BEL) | Standard Liège | Jean Dockx (BEL) | Racing White |
1969 | Wilfried Van Moer (BEL) | Standard Liège | Nico Dewalque (BEL) | Standard Liège | Jean Dockx (BEL) | Racing White |
1970 | Wilfried Van Moer (BEL) | Standard Liège | Christian Piot (BEL) | Standard Liège | Jean Dockx (BEL) | Racing White |
1971 | Erwin Vandendaele (BEL) | Club Brugge | Paul Van Himst (BEL) | Anderlecht | Christian Piot (BEL) | Standard Liège |
1972 | Christian Piot (BEL) | Standard Liège | Maurice Martens (BEL) | Racing White | Jean Thissen (BEL) | Standard Liège |
1973 | Maurice Martens (BEL) | Racing White | Nico Dewalque (BEL) | Standard Liège | Erwin Vandendaele (BEL) | Club Brugge |
1974 | Paul Van Himst (BEL) | Anderlecht | Christian Piot (BEL) | Standard Liège | Maurice Martens (BEL) | RWDM |
1975 | Johan Boskamp (NED) | RWDM | Rob Rensenbrink (NED) | Anderlecht | Raoul Lambert (BEL) | Club Brugge |
1976 | Rob Rensenbrink (NED) | Anderlecht | François Van der Elst (BEL) | Anderlecht | Raoul Lambert (BEL) | Club Brugge |
1977 | Julien Cools (BEL) | Club Brugge | Jean-Marie Pfaff (BEL) | Beveren | Rob Rensenbrink (NED) | Anderlecht |
1978 | Jean-Marie Pfaff (BEL) | Beveren | René Vandereycken (BEL) | Club Brugge | Rob Rensenbrink (NED) | Anderlecht |
1979 | Jean Janssens (BEL) | Beveren | Jan Ceulemans (BEL) | Club Brugge | (GER) | Beveren |
1980 | Jan Ceulemans (BEL) | Club Brugge | Wilfried Van Moer (BEL) | Beringen | Erwin Vandenbergh (BEL) | Lierse |
1981 | Erwin Vandenbergh (BEL) | Lierse | Juan Lozano (ESP) | Anderlecht | Eric Gerets (BEL) | Standard Liège |
1982 | Eric Gerets (BEL) | Standard Liège | Ludo Coeck (BEL) | Anderlecht | Juan Lozano (ESP) | Anderlecht |
1983 | Franky Vercauteren (BEL) | Anderlecht | (GER) | Beveren | Jan Ceulemans (BEL) | Club Brugge |
1984 | Enzo Scifo (BEL) | Anderlecht | Jan Ceulemans (BEL) | Club Brugge | Morten Olsen (DEN) | Anderlecht |
1985 | Jan Ceulemans (BEL) | Club Brugge | Philippe Desmet (BEL) | Waregem | René Vandereycken (BEL) | Anderlecht |
1986 | Jan Ceulemans (BEL) | Club Brugge | Juan Lozano (ESP) | Anderlecht | Gilbert Bodart (BEL) | Standard Liège |
1987 | Michel Preud'homme (BEL) | Mechelen | Frans van Rooy (NED) | Antwerp | Marc Degryse (BEL) | Club Brugge |
1988 | Lei Clijsters (BEL) | Mechelen | Marc Degryse (BEL) | Club Brugge | Marc Emmers (BEL) | Mechelen |
1989 | Michel Preud'homme (BEL) | Mechelen | Marc Emmers (BEL) | Mechelen | Marc Degryse (BEL) | Club Brugge Anderlecht |
1990 | Franky Van Der Elst (BEL) | Club Brugge | Luís Oliveira (BRA) | Anderlecht | Luc Nilis (BEL) | Anderlecht |
1991 | Marc Degryse (BEL) | Anderlecht | Philippe Albert (BEL) | Mechelen | Luc Nilis (BEL) | Anderlecht |
1992 | Philippe Albert (BEL) | Mechelen Anderlecht |
Dany Verlinden (BEL) | Club Brugge | Josip Weber (CRO) | Cercle Brugge |
1993 | Pär Zetterberg (SWE) | Anderlecht | Lorenzo Staelens (BEL) | Club Brugge | Josip Weber (BEL) | Cercle Brugge |
1994 | Gilles De Bilde (BEL) | Anderlecht | Franky Van Der Elst (BEL) | Club Brugge | Paul Okon (AUS) | Club Brugge |
1995 | Paul Okon (AUS) | Club Brugge | Gilbert Bodart (BEL) | Standard Liège | Marc Degryse (BEL) | Anderlecht Sheffield Wednesday |
1996 | Franky Van Der Elst (BEL) | Club Brugge | Pär Zetterberg (SWE) | Anderlecht | Philippe Vande Walle (BEL) | Germinal Ekeren |
1997 | Pär Zetterberg (SWE) | Anderlecht | Franky Van Der Elst (BEL) | Club Brugge | Eric Van Meir (BEL) | Lierse |
1998 | Branko Strupar (BEL) | Genk | Souleymane Oularé (GUI) | Genk | Lorenzo Staelens (BEL) | Club Brugge Anderlecht |
1999 | Lorenzo Staelens (BEL) | Anderlecht | Jan Koller (CZE) | Lokeren Anderlecht |
Toni Brogno (BEL) | Westerlo |
2000 | Jan Koller (CZE) | Anderlecht | Yves Vanderhaeghe (BEL) | Mouscron Anderlecht |
Walter Baseggio (BEL) | Anderlecht |
2001 | Wesley Sonck (BEL) | Genk | Gert Verheyen (BEL) | Club Brugge | Walter Baseggio (BEL) | Anderlecht |
2002 | Timmy Simons (BEL) | Club Brugge | Wesley Sonck (BEL) | Genk | Danny Boffin (BEL) | Sint-Truiden |
2003 | Aruna Dindane (CIV) | Anderlecht | Walter Baseggio (BEL) | Anderlecht | Mbo Mpenza (BEL) | Mouscron |
2004 | Vincent Kompany (BEL) | Anderlecht | Luigi Pieroni (BEL) | Mouscron Auxerre |
Marius Mitu (ROM) | Lierse |
2005 | Sérgio Conceição (POR) | Standard Liège | Vincent Kompany (BEL) | Anderlecht | Christian Wilhelmsson (SWE) | Anderlecht |
2006 | Mbark Boussoufa (MAR) | Gent Anderlecht |
Mohammed Tchité (BDI) | Standard Liège Anderlecht |
Nicolás Frutos (ARG) | Anderlecht |
2007 | Steven Defour (BEL) | Standard Liège | Ahmed Hassan (EGY) | Anderlecht | Tom De Sutter (BEL) | Cercle Brugge |
2008 | Axel Witsel (BEL) | Standard Liège | Milan Jovanović (SRB) | Standard Liège | Marouane Fellaini (BEL) | Standard Liège Everton |
2009 | Milan Jovanović (SRB) | Standard Liège | Mbark Boussoufa (MAR) | Anderlecht | Romelu Lukaku (BEL) | Anderlecht |
2010 | Mbark Boussoufa (MAR) | Anderlecht | Romelu Lukaku (BEL) | Anderlecht | Jelle Vossen (BEL) | Cercle Brugge Genk |
2011 | Matías Suárez (ARG) | Anderlecht | Axel Witsel (BEL) | Standard Liège Benfica |
Thibaut Courtois (BEL) | Genk Atlético Madrid |
2012 | Dieumerci Mbokani (COD) | Anderlecht | Jelle Vossen (BEL) | Genk | Silvio Proto (BEL) | Anderlecht |
2013 | Thorgan Hazard (BEL) | Zulte Waregem | Maxime Lestienne (BEL) | Club Brugge | Silvio Proto (BEL) | Anderlecht |
2014 | Dennis Praet (BEL) | Anderlecht | Víctor Vázquez (ESP) | Club Brugge | Hans Vanaken (BEL) | Lokeren |
2015 | Sven Kums (BEL) | Gent | Laurent Depoitre (BEL) | Gent | Danijel Milićević (SUI) | Gent |
2016 | José Izquierdo (COL) | Club Brugge | Łukasz Teodorczyk (POL) | Anderlecht | Ruud Vormer (NED) | Club Brugge |
2017 | Ruud Vormer (NED) | Club Brugge | Youri Tielemans (BEL) | Anderlecht Monaco |
Leander Dendoncker (BEL) | Anderlecht |
2018 | Hans Vanaken (BEL) | Club Brugge | Mehdi Carcela (MAR) | Standard Liège | Alejandro Pozuelo (ESP) | Genk |
2019 | Hans Vanaken (BEL) | Club Brugge | Dieumerci Mbokani (COD) | Antwerp | Ruslan Malinovskyi (UKR) | Genk Atalanta |
2020 | Lior Refaelov (ISR) | Antwerp | Raphael Holzhauser (AUT) | Beerschot | Paul Onuachu (NGA) | Genk |
Breakdown of winners[]
Multiple winners[]
Country | Number of wins | Number of second places | Number of third places |
---|---|---|---|
Paul Van Himst | |||
Jan Ceulemans | |||
Wilfried Van Moer | |||
Franky Van der Elst | |||
Mbark Boussoufa | |||
Pär Zetterberg | |||
Hans Vanaken | |||
Jef Jurion | |||
Michel Preud'homme |
By nationality[]
Secondary awards[]
Year | Best Belgian Abroad | Best Coach | Best Goalkeeper | Best Youngster (U23) | Most beautiful goal | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Club | Winner | Club | Winner | Club | Winner | Club | Winner (opponent) | Club | ||
2000 | Émile Mpenza (BEL) | Schalke 04 | not awarded | not awarded | not awarded | not awarded | |||||
2001 | Geert De Vlieger (BEL) | Willem II | |||||||||
2002 | Marc Wilmots (BEL) | Schalke 04 | |||||||||
2003 | not awarded | ||||||||||
2004 | |||||||||||
2005 | |||||||||||
2006 | Mohamed Tchité (BDI) vs. Brussels | Anderlecht | |||||||||
2007 | Tom Soetaers (BEL) vs. Cercle Brugge | Genk | |||||||||
2008 | Marouane Fellaini (BEL) | Everton | Silvio Proto (BEL) vs. Gent | Germinal Beerschot | |||||||
2009 | Thomas Vermaelen (BEL) | Arsenal | Bart Goor (BEL) vs. Standard Liège | Germinal Beerschot | |||||||
2010 | Vincent Kompany (BEL) | Manchester City | Wesley Sonck (BEL) vs. Genk | Lierse | |||||||
2011 | not awarded | Benjamin De Ceulaer (BEL) vs. Club Brugge | Lokeren | ||||||||
2012 | Dalibor Veselinović (SRB) vs. Gent | Kortrijk | |||||||||
2013 | Thibaut Courtois (BEL) | Atlético Madrid | Francky Dury (BEL) | Zulte Waregem | Silvio Proto (BEL) | Anderlecht | Thorgan Hazard (BEL) | Zulte Waregem | Jelle Vossen (BEL) vs. Kortrijk | Genk | |
2014 | Thibaut Courtois (BEL) | Atlético Madrid Chelsea |
Besnik Hasi (ALB) | Anderlecht | Mathew Ryan (AUS) | Club Brugge | Youri Tielemans (BEL) | Anderlecht | Víctor Vázquez (ESP) vs. Anderlecht | Club Brugge | |
2015 | Kevin De Bruyne (BEL) | Wolfsburg Manchester City |
Hein Vanhaezebrouck (BEL) | Gent | Matz Sels (BEL) | Gent | Youri Tielemans (BEL) | Anderlecht | Nicklas Pedersen (DEN) vs. Standard Liège | Gent | |
2016 | Kevin De Bruyne (BEL) | Manchester City | Michel Preud'homme (BEL) | Club Brugge | Ludovic Butelle (FRA) | Club Brugge | Leon Bailey (JAM) | Genk | Wilfred Ndidi (NGA) vs. Club Brugge | Genk | |
2017 | Eden Hazard (BEL) | Chelsea | Felice Mazzù (BEL) | Charleroi | Lovre Kalinić (CRO) | Gent | Henry Onyekuru (NGA) | Eupen Anderlecht |
Ivo Rodrigues (POR) vs. Antwerp | Club Brugge | |
2018 | Eden Hazard (BEL) | Chelsea | Ivan Leko (CRO) | Club Brugge | Lovre Kalinić (CRO) | Gent | Wesley Moraes (BRA) | Club Brugge | Siebe Schrijvers (BEL) vs. Oostende | Antwerp | |
2019 | Eden Hazard (BEL) | Chelsea Real Madrid |
Philippe Clement (BEL) | Genk Club Brugge |
Simon Mignolet (BEL) | Club Brugge | Yari Verschaeren (BEL) | Anderlecht | Clinton Mata (ANG) vs. Gent | Club Brugge | |
2020 | Romelu Lukaku (BEL) | Inter Milan | Philippe Clement (BEL) | Club Brugge | Simon Mignolet (BEL) | Club Brugge | Charles De Ketelaere (BEL) | Club Brugge | Hans Vanaken (BEL) vs. Anderlecht | Club Brugge |
Women[]
While the men's golden shoe award goes to the best player in the Belgian league, irrespective of his nationality, the women's award is targeted at the best Belgian female player, either in Belgium or abroad.
Year | Winner | Club(s) | Second | Club(s) | Third | Club(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Tessa Wullaert (BEL) | Wolfsburg | Janice Cayman (BEL) | Montpellier | Aline Zeler (BEL) | Standard Liège |
2017 | Janice Cayman (BEL) | Montpellier | Tessa Wullaert (BEL) | Wolfsburg | Davina Philtjens (BEL) | Ajax |
2018 | Tessa Wullaert (BEL) | Wolfsburg Manchester City |
Janice Cayman (BEL) | Montpellier | Davina Philtjens (BEL) | Ajax Fiorentina |
2019 | Tessa Wullaert (BEL) | Manchester City | Janice Cayman (BEL) | Lyon | Tine De Caigny (BEL) | Anderlecht |
2020 | Tine De Caigny (BEL) | Anderlecht | Tessa Wullaert (BEL) | Manchester City Anderlecht |
Kassandra Missipo (BEL) | Gent Anderlecht |
References[]
- Golden Shoe – Royal Belgian Football Association
- Belgium - Player of the Year Awards – Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
- Belgian football trophies and awards
- Awards established in 1954
- 1954 establishments in Belgium
- Annual events in Belgium