Terry Antonis’s long-range A-League stunner has been nominated for FIFA’s goal of the year by a male player at football’s governing body’s annual awards night.
Antonis is one of 11 nominees for the famed Puskás award, named after forward Ferenc Puskás, who won Olympic gold for Hungary at the 1952 Helsinki Games.
There is a statue of Puskás at Melbourne’s Olympic Park, where he coached South Melbourne to a National Soccer League title in 1991.
Melbourne City’s Antonis launched his award contender from just inside halfway against the Western Sydney Wanderers in round 12 of the 2023/24 A-League Men season.
The goal put City up 7-0 against the Wanderers, who had let the 31-year-old leave the previous season.
Antonis’s nod marks the sixth time and the third straight year that an Australian has been nominated for the award.
Matildas captain Sam Kerr was nominated last year for her 2023 World Cup semifinal strike against England, and Alou Kuol was nominated in 2022 for a goal against Iraq at the under-23 Asian Cup.
His scorpion kick was similar to Riley McGree’s effort for Newcastle, which was nominated in 2018, while Tim Cahill was recognised for his stunning volley against the Netherlands in the 2014 World Cup.
Lisa de Vanna in 2013 was the first Australian nominated, for her bicycle kick in the US National Women’s Soccer League, but her strike was outshone by Zlatan Ibrahimović’s famous effort for Sweden against England.
For the first year, the FIFA awards have a separate category for the best women’s goal, named after retiring Brazil star Marta.
She is nominated for the award bearing her name, while Kyra Cooney-Cross’s brilliant strike against Germany in October fell two months outside the eligibility window.
Voting for The Best Awards closes on December 10.
