Alves: Wants goals

I will be fighting to win the Golden Shoe this season.

Afonso Alves
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Middlesbrough star Afonso Alves insists he wants to top the Premier League goalscoring charts this season.

The Brazilian striker opened his account for the new season at the weekend with a superlative free-kick.

Alves top-scored in Holland whilst with Heerenveen and he just missed out on the Golden Shoe - awarded to the leading scorer in European football.

Now the South American ace has set his sights high this term.

"The goal I scored against Stoke City on Saturday was my first in this season, that's just the start. I'm setting my targets high," he told his official website.

"I will be fighting to win the Golden Shoe this season. I almost won it when I played in Holland.

"The only reason I missed out was that Uefa doesn't rank goals scored in the Dutch Eredivisie as highly as those scored in some other European leagues.

"My goals are worth more here in England, and I feel I can snatch the prize this season.

"The fact is that in the 2006/07 season, I scored 34 goals in 31 matches for SC Heerenveen.

"That was even better than Ronaldo and Romario managed when they played in Holland. And nobody else in Europe scored more than that."

Settled

Alves is now feeling fully settled in England following his move in January when Boro broke their transfer record to land him.

"I've had now the opportunity of enjoying a full pre-season with my team-mates in England, and that's a decisive factor for a good campaign. I managed to score a few in our friendlies and feel I played pretty well," he said.

"Now I have the chance to play a full season with Boro for the first time, I truly believe I can finish as top scorer in the Premier League - and in Europe too."

He is also looking to break back into the Brazilian national side.

"Besides that, I have a very strong and clear desire to get back into the Brazilian national team," he said.

"I won the Copa America in 2007, and I'm sure that some more good performances in England could earn me a fresh call-up from Dunga, our national team coach."