Denis Bouanga won it last year. The year before that, it was Hany Mukhtar. And Taty Castellanos before that. Bradley Wright-Phillips, Carlos Vela, Sebastian Giovinco, Chris Wondolowski, Landon Donovan…They’ve all won the Golden Boot in Major League Soccer and Giorgos Giakoumakis candidly wants to be next to add his name to the list.
By Graham Ruthven
“The main goal is to win the Golden Boot this year, to stay healthy first of all,” said the Atlanta United centre-forward before the start of the 2024 season. “Winning the Golden Boot means you’ve probably scored lots of goals that will also the team win some points. That’s one of the main targets for this year.”
This wasn’t the first time Giakoumakis had mentioned his ambition to win the Golden Boot, and it wasn’t the last either. The Greek striker is brazenly open about his individual ambitions and this comes across in the way he plays. Giakoumakis is built to score goals. That’s all he cares about – and that’s a good thing for Atlanta.
Of course, this isn’t to say Giakoumakis isn’t mindful of Atlanta’s broader ambition. He wants to win MLS Cup – and the Supporters’ Shield and Leagues Cup all the rest – too. “When you play for a club like Atlanta United, you have to aim for titles. Simple as that,” he said. He knows, however, that winning the Gold Boot could lead to titles.
Giakoumakis got off the mark for the season with a stunning hat trick against the New England Revolution. All three goals demonstrated what the 29-year-old offers as a finisher – his first was a composed penalty kick, his second was a thunderous header from a cross and his third was a sensational strike back across goal and into the top corner from a tight angle.
Expectations are high for Atlanta United this season. Gonzalo Pineda has the attacking pieces to build one of the best teams in MLS. Thiago Almada is a highly-rated number 10 destined for one of Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues. If Messi doesn’t win the MVP award this season, his Argentina teammate will surely be a candidate.
Saba Lobjanidze and Xande Silva give Atlanta threat in the wide areas while Pineda’s style of play places an emphasis on the Five Stripes getting forward as often as they can. There are questions over Pineda’s ability as a coach to impose a pattern-based approach in the final third, but there’s no denying he wants his team to attack.
MLS is awash with top-quality centre forwards. Bouanga has recently signed a contract extension to stay at Los Angeles FC until 2027 and remains one of the sharpest finishers in the league. Cucho Hernández is the frontman of Wilfried Nancy’s swashbuckling Columbus Crew that won last year’s MLS Cup. Luis Suárez deserves a mention too.
None of these strikers, however, have the pure goalscoring ability of Giakoumakis. Suárez is considered one of the best finishers of his generation, but the Uruguayan doesn’t have the physicality of Giakoumakis whose frame allows him to bully opposition defenders. Giakoumakis is built to put the ball in the back of the net.
There are certainly better modern forwards in MLS who are more effective at pressing from the front and bringing teammates into the game. Giakoumakis, however, is an intelligent frontman who has a natural sense for where space will open up and where the ball will fall inside the penalty box.
Statistically, Giakoumakis excels in a number of different areas. He is in the 99th percentile for non-penalty Expected Goals (xG) among players in his position over the last 12 months. He ranks only in the 52nd percentile for touches per 90 minutes, but this highlights how the Greek striker squeezes the most out of his involvement in every match. He is one of the most efficient centre-forwards around.
Lionel Messi is certainly the defining talent in MLS right now, but this doesn’t mean there aren’t special players elsewhere in the league. Giakoumakis arrived at Mercedes-Benz Stadium last year and scored an impressive 19 goals in his first MLS campaign. He has already set a high bar for himself, but there’s no reason to believe he can’t clear it this season.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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