Afonso on high for Heerenveen

A terrific end to last year has put Afonso Alves of SC Heerenveen firmly in the race for the 2006/07 ESM Golden Shoe, although heavyweight African stars Frédéric Kanouté and Didier Drogba look most likely to compete for the crown.

First season
The 25-year-old Alves is up to joint-fourth in the standings after hitting 18 goals in 20 matches for the Dutch club this season, including one in each of the 2-0 victories against SC Excelsior and NEC Nijmegen on 23 and 27 December respectively. The prolific Brazilian is in his first campaign in the Eredivisie after five successful years in Swedish football, and also scored three goals for his new club in the UEFA Cup.

Established
The more established names of Kanouté and Drogba are also riding high in the Golden Shoe top ten, not least because goals in the Spanish and English leagues are doubled under the ESM system, unlike the 1.5 multiplier used in the Netherlands. Kanouté, the Malian international, is third with his 14 goals for Sevilla FC worth 28 points while Ivory Coast forward Drogba is eighth with 26 points after scoring 13 times for Chelsea FC.

Last updated: 2 January 2007

*Season finished

A player cannot first play in a summer league (eg. Norway) and then in a winter league (eg. Spain) and combine the points total for each season.

Figures from Voetbal International