Iran World Cup Fans Stuff the Golden Shoe Ballot Box

June 19th, 2006 | by: WC Bob | View Comments

Their team might already be eliminated from the World Cup, but that hasn’t stopped Iran fans from thinking Ali Karimi will end up winning the Golden Shoe. As of Monday, close to 136,000 people – 38% of the total vote – on the FIFA website have selected Ali Karimi as the player most likely to be the leading goalscorer in the tournament. Karimi has his work cut out for him considering he hasn’t scored yet and he only has one more game to distance himself from the rest of the contenders.

The voting is a little more reasonable for the best young player. Ecuador’s Luis Valencia leads the pack after playing well in his team’s two wins. Lionel Messi, who has barely played at all, is second in a dead heat with Cristiano Ronaldo, who is also a virtual lock for the award that goes to the player who is most prone to pout throughout a match.