Who will win the 'Pichichi' top scorer award? Ronaldo or Messi?

04 May 2015 10:37

With Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick in Real Madrid’s close run victory over Sevilla to keep their title hopes alive and Messi scoring twice as Barcelona smash Cordoba 8-0 away from, the battle for the top scorer award is heating up.

As this article goes to press, Ronaldo is on 42 league goals, Messi 40 and Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid far behind on 22. And with only 3 games to go it is very likely that it will be the two super stars fighting it out.

A scenario which is becoming a part of the furniture in Spanish football, with last years winner Cristiano Ronaldo netting 31 followed by Lionel Messi’s 28. Messi was injured for part of that season however.

In 2012/13 Messi walked it with 46 goals and Ronaldo on 34. The year before that it was closer, with Messi scoring 50 and Ronaldo 463. Cristiano Ronaldo won it for the first time in 2010/11 with 40 goals, followed by Messi on 31. However you would have to look back the year before to break the dominance of the top 2. In 2009/10 Messi won his first Pichichi award with 34 goals followed by Gonzalo Higuain on 27 and Ronaldo trailing on 264.

Each year the top scorer in Spain receives the ‘Trofeo Pichichi’. The award was introduced in 1953 by the ‘Marca’ newspaper. Pichichi, meaning little duck, was the nickname given to one of the finest Spanish goalscorers of the pre-war and pre-Primera Liga era playing for Athletic Bilbao between 1911 and 1921.

‘Pichichi’s’ record. In Copa Del Rey matches he scored 77 goals in 89 games and 200 goals in 170 matches (more than one a game) in total. Not a bad record at all and even more impressive because he was only 5 foot tall and weighed 8 stone playing in a barbaric age.

With the two heavyweights of La Liga, Messi and Ronaldo, unlikely to be transferred any time soon, the battle for the Pichichi award is expected to be a two horse race for the foreseeable future. I am only hoping it is a close one.

Source: DSG