The Best FIFA Puskas Awards nominees of 2020. Make your choice!
2 min read
Named after the Hungarian legend, the FIFA Puskas Award emerged in 2009 to reward great goals in the world of football, with Cristiano Ronaldo being the first winner of the award thanks to his long shot goal against FC Porto for the UEFA Champions League when he was still playing for Manchester United.
Unlike other years, where we could find in the three finalists the FIFA Puskas award goals of little-known leagues or championships, in this edition, the 3 goals that remained in the final shortlist are from 3 world-class football leagues.
The first candidate is the one scored by the Korean superstar Son Heung Min of Tottenham against Burnley for the Premier League in which the attacker takes the ball on the edge of his own box and begins a sprint in which he leaves 5 players of the Clarets to score in front of the goalkeeper, in a demonstration of speed, skill and even patience and self-control since it is not easy to finish the play the way Son did after that enormous effort. I admit that this is my favorite.
The second nominee is the Uruguayan Giorgian De Arrascaeta’s bicycle kick goal against Ceará for Brasileirao, after Rafinha’s cross. A movement that has two main merits: one shot from the first intention without making any prior control and the second, shot from the edge of the box, which shows the great shot Giorgian De Arrascaeta achieved being so far from the goalkeeper that he could not stop it.
The third is Luis Suarez’s back heel goal when he was playing with FC Barcelona against RCD Mallorca for La Liga, after a great passing stage by the team that had an exquisite finish by the Uruguayan striker, as spectacular as it was unexpected. Definitely, a work of art and one of the few high points in Barcelona’s year.
This is one of the most difficult FIFA the Best awards to forecast (or the most difficult) because all three are huge goals and will depend a lot on the tastes of the voters, but I will personally go with Son’s because of how difficult it was to execute in terms of skill, endurance and finishing.
