The Puskas award is given out every year to the best goal across all competitions. The nominees for the 2015 award have been revealed.
Every year, FIFA awards the best goal of the year voted on by the fans. The award is named after the Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskas, one of the best players ever who scored an incredible 592 total goals in 610 games. Since last year was a World Cup year, the emphasis was heavily on goals from the Brazil tournament, with James Rodriguez’s amazing goal against Uruguay taking home the award:
This year’s shortlist gives recognition to some of the lower-tier leagues that not many people watch as well as giving fans a chance to relive some of the best moments of the year. It’s also an award that’s decided entirely by fan vote, so there can be no complaints about the winner accepting a bribe.
Choosing the winner for the Puskas is just like the Ballon d’Or in that they reveal an initial shortlist of candidates before it gets narrowed down to 3 with the winner being revealed at the Ballon d’Or ceremony. All of the candidates on this list are very deserving of their place, but be that as it may, the nature of fan voting means that the most recognizable names will be the ones who get rewarded in the end. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the ten candidates and analyze who is most likely to take home the prize.
David Ball
David Ball plays for Fleetwood Town, which is an English League One team, the third tier of English football. An amazing effort as he’s able to chip the goalkeeper and go off the crossbar and in from outside the box. Even the most skilled FIFA players would have a hard time replicating that.
Gonzalo Castro
This goal comes from Real Sociedad of Spain’s Primera Division. The goal itself is pretty superb, as he finishes a one-touch volley from a very tight angle. The cross in by Sergio Canales might be even better though.
Alessandro Florenzi
This goal by Roma’s Alessandro Florenzi came in this season’s Champions League group stage against Barcelona. While many thought the reigning treble winners were going to run rampant, Florenzi had other ideas as he hits a spectacular 45-yard shot to tie it at 1 (the final score would remain 1-1). This is clearly great awareness by Florenzi as he knew that Ter-Stegen was off his line and he capitalized on a clear path towards goal.
Wendell Lira
Who ever gets tired of a bicycle kick? Coming from the Brazilian Goiano division, Lira is at the right place at the right time. He does a great job of collecting the overhead through ball, and while any finish would’ve done the trick, Lira goes for the bicycle kick for added style points.
Carli Lloyd
In case you needed to watch this goal again, I could watch it 1000 times and never get tired of it, here’s Carli Lloyd’s goal in the Women’s World Cup Final to cap off a stunning first half hat-trick in just 16 minutes. This goal is very similar to Florenzi’s in that she caught the keeper out of position, but this one should be ahead because of the weight of the competition – it was in a World Cup final – that it was a game-winning goal, and a hat-trick goal. Carli Lloyd’s effort helped the women’s team clean up at the ESPYs, get a trip to the White House, and include women in FIFA 16. Not too shabby.
Lionel Messi
This one’s not likely to win it, it’s a virtual unknown in a second-tier competition. Kidding aside, this is a brilliant individual effort by Messi, running all the way from midfield and effortlessly beating past four defenders as if they were schoolchildren. This is the kind of goal that typifies Messi’s season and should see him pick up his fifth Ballon d’Or. It won Barcelona the Spanish domestic Cup and caught the attention of Kobe Bryant.
@FCBarcelona is playing some of the best football I've ever seen
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) May 30, 2015
Philippe Mexes
Even though this was in the International Champions Cup, a friendly competition, this is still a great effort by Mexes, and provides a rare moment of delight for AC Milan fans. Scoring in the Milan derby, it’s always fun to see goals from outside of the box, and a scissor kick to boot makes this very worthy of a Puskas nominee.
Marcel Ndjeng
Another goal from a friendly, but that allows for some more creativity since there’s not much focus on defending or trying to win. Marcel Ndjeng of Paderborn’s goal makes us think that there’s a pattern going on with these nominees as this is the third instance of a long-range effort made possible by the goalie being off his line. Or maybe I’m just crazy.
Esteban Ramirez
Coming from the Costa Rican league, this goal is very similar to James Rodriguez’s goal from last year. Ramirez does an excellent job of playing the pitch is hot lava by keeping the ball up with his head, then volleying it on the first touch from outside of the box. As a devout follower of the Costa Rican league, I really hope this goal gets more people to start watching it.
Carlos Tevez
In his last season with Juventus before joining Boca Juniors, Carlos Tevez played some amazing football. This goal really typified Tevez’s season, scoring on individual efforts before his compatriot stole his thunder, and on the finish the Parma goalkeeper could do nothing but watch. He would get called up by the Argentinian national team to play in a major competition for the first time in four years as he played a vital part in their Copa America success.
Who’s most likely to win?
Because this is a fan vote, it’s likely going to be a popularity contest – sorry Marcel Ndjeng. Of course, because Barcelona has millions of fans around the world, and Messi is considered to be the best player ever and will win another Ballon d’Or, his goal will be the most popular choice. However, my vote is for Carli Lloyd. It was in a final, she scored a hat-trick in 16 minutes, and it was from the halfway line. It wasn’t lucky, she caught the goalkeeper out of position.
The best way for people to know that Americans do care about soccer is to vote for Carli Lloyd. It’s a decision that’s sure to make Kobe Bryant lose sleep, but she should at least make it to November 30 when the candidates are narrowed down to three choices.