Terry Antonis’s long-range A-League stunner has been nominated for FIFA’s aim of the 12 months by a male participant at soccer’s governing physique’s annual awards evening.
Antonis is one in every of 11 nominees for the famed Puskás award, named after ahead Ferenc Puskás, who gained Olympic gold for Hungary on the 1952 Helsinki Video games.
There’s a statue of Puskás at Melbourne’s Olympic Park, the place he coached South Melbourne to a Nationwide Soccer League title in 1991.
Melbourne Metropolis’s Antonis launched his award contender from simply inside midway towards the Western Sydney Wanderers in spherical 12 of the 2023/24 A-League Males season.
The aim put Metropolis up 7-0 towards the Wanderers, who had let the 31-year-old depart the earlier season.
Antonis’s nod marks the sixth time and the third straight 12 months that an Australian has been nominated for the award.
Matildas captain Sam Kerr was nominated final 12 months for her 2023 World Cup semifinal strike towards England, and Alou Kuol was nominated in 2022 for a aim towards Iraq on the under-23 Asian Cup.
His scorpion kick was just like Riley McGree’s effort for Newcastle, which was nominated in 2018, whereas Tim Cahill was recognised for his gorgeous volley towards the Netherlands within the 2014 World Cup.
Lisa de Vanna in 2013 was the primary Australian nominated, for her bicycle kick within the US Nationwide Ladies’s Soccer League, however her strike was outshone by Zlatan Ibrahimović’s well-known effort for Sweden towards England.
For the primary 12 months, the FIFA awards have a separate class for the most effective ladies’s aim, named after retiring Brazil star Marta.
She is nominated for the award bearing her title, whereas Kyra Cooney-Cross’s good strike towards Germany in October fell two months exterior the eligibility window.
Voting for The Finest Awards closes on December 10.
