 "FIFA Puskas Award: Mario Mandzukic, Olivier Giroud and Nemanja Matic among contenders for goal of the year")
Mario Mandzukic, Olivier Giroud and Kevin-Prince Boateng are among the 10 players nominated for the FIFA Puskas Award for the goal of the year. A star-studded panel made of legendary strikers Henrik Larsson, Predrag Mijatovic, Celia Sasic, Alan Shearer and Abby Wambach, chose the 10 nominees from over a thousand goals scored between 20 November 2016 to 2 July 2017 by players, both men and women across all age groups. FIFA has asked fans to vote online for the best goal scored with the winner being presented the Puskas Award in a star-studded ceremony at The Best FIFA Football Awards on 23 October in London. You can vote for your favourite goal here. Take a look at all the 10 nominees below. 1. Kevin-Prince Boateng Kevin-Prince Boateng has been nominated for the Puskas award for his scissor kick against Villareal in La Liga. The Ghanian international’s latched on to teammate Tana’s deft backheel flick to give Las Palmas the lead.
2. Alejandro Camargo Camargo, who plays for the Chilean side Universidad de Concepcion, has been nominated for the Puskas Award for his outrageous goal against O’Higgins. O’Higgins goalkeeper Miguel Pinto came out of the box to clear the ball, but his clearance fell to Camargo, who hit a first-time 60-yard volley that flew directly into the goal.
3. Deyna Castellanos What is with the Venezuelan U-17 female players and outrageous goals? One of the nominees for 2016’s Puskas Award was Daniuska Rodriguez of the Venezuelan U-17 women’s team. Her teammate Deyna Castellanos finds herself as one of the nominees after her goal at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Jordan 2016. The U-17 skipper scored directly from the kick-off after Cameroon had scored a stoppage-time equaliser to help her team win and secure all three points.
4. Moussa Dembele A goal for connoisseurs of the tiki-taka style of play, every Celtic player had a touch of the ball in the build-up to Moussa Dembele’s goal in their league match against St Johnstone. The passing move ended with defender Mikael Lustig executing Rabona flick which was back-heeled by Callum McGregor into the path of Dembele, who stroked it beyond the diving keeper.
5. Olivier Giroud Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored with a scorpion kick for Manchester United on Boxing Day in the Premier League only for Olivier Giroud to do it better on New Year’s Day. Alexis Sanchez whipped in a cross but Giroud mistimed his run as he ran into the box. The Frenchman improvised and his scorpion kick flew in off the crossbar beyond the diving Wayne Hennessey.
6. Aviles Hurtado While players generally try to head the ball into goal from corners, Tijuana’s Aviles Hurtado thought otherwise. In Tijuana’s Mexican league clash against Atlas, Hurtado went for the spectacular and his overhead kick left Atlas goalkeeper Miguel Fraga rooted to the spot.
7. Mario Mandzukic Mario Mandzukic chose the biggest stage of European club football to show off his acrobatic skills. In the 2017 UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid, the Juventus forward controlled Gonzalo Higuain’s pass on his chest before hitting the ball over his head and beyond Madrid keeper Keylor Navas.
8. Oscarine Masuluke It is always a special moment when goalkeepers score. What makes Oscarine Masuluke’s goal extra special is the timing as well as the execution of the goal. Trailing 1-0 to Orlando Pirates, Masuluke’s team Baroka won a corner in the 96th minute of the match. Pirates keeper Thapelo Mabokgwane’s weak punched clearance fell to Masuluke who, with his back to the goal, let the ball bounce once before scoring with a spectacular overhead kick
9. Nemanja Matic Nemanja Matic’s piledriver for Chelsea against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley ensure Chelsea’s passage to the final. Spurs’ keeper Hugo Lloris could do nothing as Matic latched on to Eden Hazard’s pass and let loose a fierce left-footed shot into the top corner.
10. Jordi Mboula In the UEFA Youth League encounter against Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona’s Jordi Mboula went on a mazy run after getting the ball near the half-line. He beat one defender with a roulette before tricking past two other defenders in the box to coolly slot it home past the Dortmund keeper.
