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Puskás, one of the top scorers of the 20th century.

The FIFA Puskás Award [ˈpuʃkaːʃ] is an award established on 20 October 2009 by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) at the behest of its president, Sepp Blatter, in order to award the player, male or female, judged to have scored the most aesthetically significant, or "most beautiful", goal of the year.

The award is in honor of Ferenc Puskás, the striker for the Real Madrid team of the late 1950s and the 1960s, and central member of the highly successful Hungarian side of the same era. Puskás is widely considered by many to be the most powerful and prolific forward European football produced in first division football, and scored a once world record of 84 goals in 85 internationals. He is one of the top scorers of the 20th century with 512 goals in 528 matches.

"It is important to preserve the memory of those footballing greats who have left their mark on our history. Ferenc Puskás was not only a player with immense talent who won many honours, but also a remarkable man. FIFA is therefore delighted to pay tribute to him by dedicating this award to his memory," said Blatter at the inauguration of the award in Budapest.

The time-frame for the first award was July 2008 to July 2009. The annual award was presented for the first time during the 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year Gala on 21 December in Switzerland, with the Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo being the first prize winner.

Criteria[edit]

  • It should be a beautiful goal (subjective — the spread of goals should include long-range shots, team goals, overhead kicks, individual plays, etc.).
  • The award should be awarded "without distinction of championship, gender or nationality". [1]
  • The goal should not be the result of luck, mistakes or a deflection by a teammate or the other team.
  • The goal should support fair play, i.e. the player should not have behaved badly in the game or have been charged with doping, for example.

Winners and Nominees[edit]

2009[edit]

Rank Player Nationality Team Opponent Score Competition Vote percentage
1st Cristiano Ronaldo  Portugal England Manchester United Portugal Porto 1–0 2008–09 UEFA Champions League quarter-final 17.68%
2nd Andrés Iniesta  Spain Spain Barcelona England Chelsea 1–1 2008–09 UEFA Champions League semi-final 15.64%
3rd Grafite  Brazil Germany Wolfsburg Germany Bayern Munich 5–1 2008–09 Fußball-Bundesliga 13.39%
4th Eliran Atar  Israel Israel Bnei Yehuda Israel Maccabi Netanya 1–1 2008–09 Israeli Premier League 13.36%
5th Fernando Torres  Spain England Liverpool England Blackburn Rovers 4–0 2008–09 Premier League 9.44%
6th Nilmar  Brazil Brazil Internacional Brazil Corinthians 1–0 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 8.71%
7th Michael Essien  Ghana England Chelsea Spain Barcelona 1–1 2008–09 UEFA Champions League semi-final 7.85%
8th Luis Ángel Landín  Mexico Mexico Cruz Azul Mexico Morelia 1–1 Primera División de México Clausura 2009 7.30%
9th Emmanuel Adebayor  Togo England Arsenal Spain Villarreal 1–1 2008–09 UEFA Champions League quarter-final 4.04%
10th Katlego Mphela  South Africa South Africa South Africa Spain Spain 2–3 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Third place match 2.59%

2010[edit]

Rank Player Nationality Team Opponent Score Competition Vote percentage
1st Hamit Altıntop  Turkey Turkey Turkey Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 0–2 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group A 40.55%
2nd Linus Hallenius  Sweden Sweden Hammarby IF Sweden Syrianska FC 2–0 2010 Superettan 13.23%
3rd Matty Burrows  Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Glentoran Northern Ireland Portadown 1–0 2010–11 IFA Premiership 10.61%
Unranked Giovanni van Bronckhorst  Netherlands Netherlands Netherlands Uruguay Uruguay 1–0 2010 FIFA World Cup semi-final N/A
Lionel Messi  Argentina Spain Barcelona Spain Valencia 3–0 2009–10 La Liga
Samir Nasri  France England Arsenal Portugal Porto 5–0 2009–10 UEFA Champions League knockout phase
Neymar  Brazil Brazil Santos Brazil Santo André 2–1 2010 Campeonato Paulista
Arjen Robben  Netherlands Germany Bayern Munich Germany Schalke 04 1–0 2009–10 DFB-Pokal semifinals
Siphiwe Tshabalala  South Africa South Africa South Africa Mexico Mexico 1–1 2010 FIFA World Cup Group stage
Kumi Yokoyama  Japan Japan Japan North Korea North Korea 2–1 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup semifinals

2011[edit]

Rank Player Nationality Team Opponent Score Competition Vote percentage
1st Neymar  Brazil Brazil Santos Brazil Flamengo 4–5 2011 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A N/A
Unranked Lionel Messi  Argentina Spain Barcelona England Arsenal 3–1 2010–11 UEFA Champions League knockout phase
Wayne Rooney  England England Manchester United England Manchester City 2–1 2010–11 Premier League
Benjamin De Ceulaer  Belgium Belgium Lokeren Belgium Club Brugge 1–2 2011–12 Belgian Pro League
Giovani dos Santos  Mexico Mexico Mexico United States United States 4–2 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final
Julio Gómez  Mexico Mexico Mexico Germany Germany 3–2 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup Semifinals
Zlatan Ibrahimović  Sweden Italy Milan Italy Lecce 1–1 2010–11 Serie A
Lisandro López  Argentina Argentina Arsenal de Sarandí Argentina Olimpo 2–2 2011 Torneo Apertura
Heather O'Reilly  United States United States United States Colombia Colombia 3–0 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup group stage
Dejan Stanković  Serbia Italy Internazionale Germany Schalke 04 2–5 2010–11 UEFA Champions League quarter-final

2012[edit]

Rank Player Nationality Team Opponent Score Competition Vote percentage[2]
1st Miroslav Stoch  Slovakia Turkey Fenerbahçe Turkey Gençlerbirliği 6–1 2011–12 Süper Lig 78%
2nd Radamel Falcao  Colombia Spain Atlético Madrid Colombia América de Cali 2–1 Friendly Match 15%
3rd Neymar  Brazil Brazil Santos Brazil Internacional 3–1 2012 Copa Libertadores 7%
Unranked Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu  Ghana Ghana Ghana Guinea Guinea 1–1 CAF 2012 N/A
Hatem Ben Arfa  France England Newcastle United England Blackburn Rovers 2–1 2011-12 FA Cup
Eric Hassli  France Canada Vancouver Whitecaps Canada Toronto FC 1–1 2012 Canadian Championship
Olivia Jimenez  Mexico Mexico Mexico Switzerland Switzerland 2–0 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
Gastón Mealla  Bolivia Bolivia Nacional Potosí Bolivia The Strongest 2–2 Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano
Lionel Messi  Argentina Argentina Argentina Brazil Brazil 4–3 Friendly match
Moussa Sow  Senegal Turkey Fenerbahçe Turkey Galatasaray 2–2 2011–12 Süper Lig

2013[edit]

The following list includes the nominees for the 2013 award. Voting was possible through the FIFA.com website until 9 December 2013, after a second voting round was held between the top three goals from the first round. The award to the winning goal from the second round was presented on 13 January 2014.

Rank Player Nationality Team Opponent Score Competition Vote percentage[3]
1st Zlatan Ibrahimović  Sweden Sweden Sweden England England 4–2 Friendly international 48.7%
2nd Nemanja Matić  Serbia Portugal Benfica Portugal Porto 2–2 2012–13 Primeira Liga 30.8%
3rd Neymar  Brazil Brazil Brazil Japan Japan 3–0 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup 20.5%
Unranked Peter Ankersen  Denmark Denmark Esbjerg Denmark Aarhus 5–1 2013–14 Danish Superliga N/A
Lisa De Vanna  Australia United States Sky Blue United States Boston Breakers 5–1 2013 National Women's Soccer League season
Antonio Di Natale  Italy Italy Udinese Italy Chievo 3–1 2012–13 Serie A
Panagiotis Kone  Greece Italy Bologna Italy Napoli 2–3 2012–13 Serie A
Louisa Nécib  France France Lyon France Saint-Étienne 5–0 2012–13 Division 1 Féminine
Daniel Ludueña  Argentina Mexico Pachuca Mexico UANL 2–1 2013–14 Liga MX season
Juan Manuel Olivera  Uruguay Brazil Náutico Brazil Sport Recife 2–0 2013 Copa Sudamericana

2014[edit]

The nominees for 2014 were announced on 12 November.[4]

Rank Player Nationality Team Opponent Score Competition Vote percentage[5]
1st James Rodríguez  Colombia Colombia Colombia Uruguay Uruguay 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup 42%
2nd Stephanie Roche  Ireland Republic of Ireland Peamount United Republic of Ireland Wexford Youths 2–0 2013–14 Women's National League 33%
3rd Robin van Persie  Netherlands Netherlands Netherlands Spain Spain 5–1 2014 FIFA World Cup 11%
Unranked Tim Cahill  Australia Australia Australia Netherlands Netherlands 2–3 2014 FIFA World Cup N/A
Diego Costa  Spain Spain Atlético Madrid Spain Getafe 7–0 2013–14 La Liga
Marco Fabián  Mexico Mexico Cruz Azul Mexico Puebla 1–0 2013–14 Liga MX season
Zlatan Ibrahimović  Sweden France Paris Saint-Germain France Bastia 4–0 2013–14 Ligue 1
Pajtim Kasami   Switzerland England Fulham England Crystal Palace 4–1 2013–14 Premier League
Camilo Sanvezzo  Brazil Canada Vancouver Whitecaps United States Portland Timbers 2–2 2013 MLS
Hisato Satō  Japan Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima Japan Kawasaki Frontale 2–1 2014 J. League

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Rules Of Allocation" (PDF). Retrieved 12 January 2015. 
  2. ^ "FIFA Puskás Award 2012 – Results" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 4 February 2013. 
  3. ^ "FIFA Puskás Award 2013 – Results" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 11 January 2014. 
  4. ^ "FIFA Puskás Award: Ten best goals of the year announced". FIFA.com. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014. 
  5. ^ "FIFA Puskás award 2014 – results" (PDF). FIFA.com (Fédération Internationale de Football Association). 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015. 

External links[edit]

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