FIFA Puskas Award: Best goal nominees for 2014 and past winners

Hisato Sato

Marco Fabian

Robin Van Persie

We have also looked back at 5 of the best from previous years, enjoy

The likes of James Rodríguez (13/10 favourite to win), Robin van Persie (7/2), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (10/1) and Irish woman Stephanie Roche (also 10/1) make this years’ shortlist. Tim Cahill, Diego Costa (both 8/1), Marco Fabian (25/1), Pajtim Kasami (14/1), Camilo Sanvezzo and Hisato Sato (both 50/1) are the other stars named. So who will be the one to emulate the five previous victors of this award?

Here is footage of that quintet of winners, from 2009-2013, who set the benchmark.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Manchester United v Porto (2009)
The current Ballon d’Or holder won the first edition of this award in a close four horse race to snatch the prize. But what a goal it was. The Portuguese attacker, now at Real Madrid, smashed a wonder strike from 40 yards in his homeland to help his side progress from the Champions league quarter-finals.

Hamit Altintop: Turkey v Kazakhstan (2010)
Turkey international and former Bayern Munich star midfielder Altintop scored the second in his nation’s 3-0 Euro 2012 qualifier away win over Kazakhstan. From a corner, the current Galatasaray player guided his effort on the volley on the far side edge of the area to the top corner of the net. Little known Northern Irishman Matty Burrows came third that year.

Neymar: Santos v Flamengo (2011)
This goal had everything, and it really had to be special to beat Wayne Rooney’s astonishing overhead kick in the Manchester derby. The then teenage sensation used his pace, passing ability and trickery to weave his way past the Flamengo side before his final finishing move. His team lost 5-4 that day, though.

Miroslav Stoch: Fenerbahce v Genclerbirligi (2012)
Another volley from the corner, former diminutive Chelsea player Stoch did it from the other side, to catch out the opposition keeper in a 6-1 Turkish Super Lig thrashing. The Slovakian gained a whopping 78 per cent of the votes that year.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Sweden v England (2013)
Last year’s edition was won by the evergreen Ibrahimovic, despite his goal being scored at the end of 2012, just past the cut-off point for the previous award. The inventive Swede took advantage of Joe Hart’s poor headed clearance to acrobatically loop the ball into the goal with a bicycle kick.