Soccerway, Netherlands
April 1 2004

Ronaldo on course for Golden Boot

MADRID, Apr 1 (SW) – The Golden Boot is within reach for Ronaldo,
who currently stands as top scorer of all European leagues. The two
goals he scored against Sevilla have put him on top of the standings,
together with fellow countryman Ailton (Werder Bremen).

It should be remembered that all the goals scored by each player are
multiplied by a number of which the value depends on the level of
difficulty of the tournament they are playing in. That way those
footballers that are playing in the toughest championships have more
similar chances to the players of less demanding tournaments. This
correcting factor is fixed according to the UEFA rating for each
national championship.

The two targets that Ronaldo hit against Sevilla have put the
Brazilian player at the top of this rating that was led by Armenian
player Ara Hakobian (FC Banants) until last week.

Hakobian scored 45 goals in the already finished Armenian League.
However, one has to bear in mind the correcting factor that has been
applied since 1996 to cut down the advantage for the less competitive
tournaments. After applying this factor, it works out that the
Brazilian player is leading the Golden Boot standings. This factors
allows the players in major competitions (Spain, Germany, England,
Italy and France) to multiply their goals by two. Ronaldo’s 24 goals
give him 48 points, whereas Hakobian’s 45 targets are multiplied by
1.

Ronaldo is now sharing the top position with his fellow countryman
Ailton, who has also scored 24 goals in the Bundesliga, the latest
ones this weekend against Stuttgart. Ronaldo has scored 31 goals so
far this season, the same number as Henry, although the Arsenal
player only got 22 of
them in the Premier League, which leaves him in third place for the
Golden Boot.