association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, the Belgian Golden Shoe ( nl, Gouden Schoen, french: Soulier d'Or) is an

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

given in Belgium at the beginning of each civil year to the best footballer of the

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

for the past year. The trophy is sponsored by the Belgian newspaper ''

Het Laatste Nieuws ''Het Laatste Nieuws'' (; in English ''The Latest News'') is a Dutch-language newspaper based in Antwerp, Belgium. It was founded by Julius Hoste Sr. on 7 June 1888. It is now part of DPG Media, and is the most popular newspaper in Flanders and ...

''. 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 Philippe Julien Albert (born 10 August 1967) is a Belgian former professional footballer and television pundit. As a player he was a defender. He played for Charleroi, KV Mechelen and Anderlecht in his native Belgium, and for English clubs N ...

in 1992 and Mbark Boussoufa in 2006.

Paul Van Himst Paul Van Himst (born 2 October 1943) is a Belgian former football player and a football manager who played as a forward, most notably for R.S.C. Anderlecht. Career Van Himst was nicknamed ''Polle Gazon'' (''Polle'' is Paul in Brussels dialect, ...

has collected 4 Belgian Golden Shoes which is the current record.

Jan Ceulemans Jan Anna Gumaar Ceulemans (; born 28 February 1957) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. A prolific goalscorer, Ceulemans was known for his stamina, aerial ability and technique. He was also known ...

and

Wilfried Van Moer Wilfried van Moer (1 March 1945 – 24 August 2021) was a Belgian footballer who won the Belgian Golden Shoe three times, first in 1966 while at Antwerp then in 1969 and in 1970 while at Standard Liège. Prior to 1966 Van Moer played with Bev ...

have both won the trophy three times. The first foreigner to win the trophy was the Dutchman

Johan Boskamp Johannes "Johan/Jan" Boskamp (born 21 October 1948) is a Dutch former football player and manager. He played the majority of his career for hometown club Feyenoord and Belgian side RWDM and managed primarily in the Belgian leagues. Currently he ...

, especially for his excellence during the second half of the 1974–75 season, when his club,

RWDM RWDM may refer to: * Royal White Daring Molenbeek, a former football club which dissolved in 2002 after financial difficulties. * RWDM47, a football club founded in 2015 to reinstate the history of the former club. See also * R.W.D.M. Brussels F.C. ...

(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 Pär Johan Zetterberg (; born 14 October 1970) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is best remembered for his time with R.S.C. Anderlecht, but also represented Falkenbergs FF, Charleroi, and Olympiacos duri ...

and the Moroccan Mbark Boussoufa. In 2011,

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

Matías Suárez Matías Ezequiel Suárez (; born 9 May 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for River Plate as a forward. Club career Club Atlético Belgrano Suárez started his professional career at Club Atlético Belgrano in 2006. He wa ...

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 Tessa Wullaert (born 19 March 1993) is a Belgian professional Women's association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Dutch club Fortuna Sittard and the Belgium women's national football team, Belgium na ...

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

Breakdown of winners

Multiple winners

By nationality

Secondary awards

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.

References

Golden Shoe
– Royal Belgian Football Association

– Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation {{National Footballer of the Year Golden Shoe Awards established in 1954 1954 establishments in Belgium Annual events in Belgium