1. Paolo Rossi

The Golden Shoe award was initially awarded in the year 1982 and later in the 2010 world cup the same award was renamed to Golden Boot. The award is rewarded to the top goal scorer of the FIFA World Cup tournament.

Paolo Rossi's role was crucial in winning the 3rd World Cup for the Italian side. He scored 6 goals in the tournament including a 57 minute goal against Germany in the final. Along with the golden shoe, Rossi was also awarded with the Golden Ball for his exceptional performance for the side.

2. Gary Lineker

Gary Linekar was the top goal scorer of the 1986 Mexico World Cup. He blasted 6 goals for the England team. But the journey was not greatest for the England team, ending their World Cup hopes at the quarter finals against Argentina(1-2) with one of them being the controversial "Hand of God" performance from Maradona. But Linekar's performance was one of the best in the tournament scoring a hat trick against Poland.   

3. Salvatore Schillaci

Salvatore Schillaci was the Golden shoe winner of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The italian forward scored 6 goals in the edition with 1 each goal against Austria, Czechoslovakia, Uruguay, Ireland, Argentina and England. Although his achievement was well appreciated,Italy was not able to surpass the semi final facing a defeat from the Argentinian team in the penalty shoot-out(5-4). The World Cup was favored West Germany team.  

4. Oleg Salenko and Hristo Stoichkov

The 1994 US World Cup witnessed two equal goal scorers, Russia’s Oleg Salenko and Bulgaria’s Hristo Stoichkov, both scoring 6 goals each in the edition. Oleg Salenko's single hand performance wasn't enough to qualify Russia for the knock out stage. But Hristo Stoichkov was a real hero for the Bulgarian team and his contributions helped the team to reach the semi finals. He had a crucial role in defeating the Argentina team and German squad in the knock out stages. The tournament was won by Brazil team.

5. Davor Suker

Independent Croatian team debuted in the year 1998 and in the same year the team reached semi finals. Davor Suker of Croatia was the key player for the side scoring 6 goals in the tournament, which rewarded him the Golden Shoe award. He began the World Cup by scoring a goal against Jamaican team and one more in the group stage against Japan. The Croatian team dominated in the knock out stages in the wings of Suker. But the team was lost against France(2-1) in the semi's. But Croatia was placed in the 3rd rank with the courtesy of a 2-1 win over Netherlands.

6. Ronaldo

Disappointed from the 1998 World Cup Finals, Ronaldo made a herculean return to the upcoming World Cup. In the 2002 edition, the Brazilian star scored 8 goals which is highest in any World Cups till now. He made 2 goal performance in the tournament twice, with one in the group stage against Costa Rica and another in the final against the Germany. The entire tournament witnessed dominance of the Brazilain striker and was considered as one of the notable performances in the World Cup history.

7. Miroslav Klose

Klose was exceptional in the 2006 World Cup for Germany. Rather than just being a striker, Klose was amazing in giving assists. He scored 5 goals for the German side. In the year 2002, he missed the Golden Shoe award with a 3 goal difference with Ronaldo. Although Germany had world class players, they haven't succeeded the semi finals facing defeat against Italy. Germany was finished the World Cup journey as No.3 team by defeating Portugal in the losers final. Italy was the winner of 2006 World Cup.

8. Thomas Muller

In the 2010 South African edition, the name of the award was slightly modified to Golden Boot. Thomas Muller of Germany won the award with 5 goals in his stat. The striker was exceptional in guiding the German team to the semi finals. Klose and Muller made some great moves against the opponents. Presence of these two star players added wings to their 4th World Cup title. But their journey ended in the semi finals facing a 1-0 defeat against Spain, Champions of the year.

9. James Rodriguez

An unexpected winner of the award, James Rodríguez scored 6 goals in the 2014 World Cup. With Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Klose, Muller in the tournament young James Rodriguez was simply brilliant against the opponents. The striker scored 3 goals in the Group stages. Later he displayed 2 goal performance against Uruguay. Although scored a goal against Brazil, Uruguay's journey ended in the quarter finals with a 2-1 score card. The World Cup winners of the year was Germany.