What’s your choice for the Puskas award (goal of the year)?

By Tony Alvarez

FIFA have announced their 10 nominations for the Puskas award, which you would recognise as the goal of the year award, the shortlist includes goals from international fixtures, youth team fixtures and woman’s football.

I will run through my thoughts on all of the contenders and give my view on who should take the award.

For those of you who have not seen the nominated goals, you can do so on the following link http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/puskasaward/index.html

Benjamin de Ceulaer, LOKEREN vs Club Brugge

A stunning piece of skill and control topped off with a nice finish, this truly is one of those goals had it been scored by Cristiano Ronaldo or Xavi we would be seeing it endlessly, however I don’t think it has enough to win the award.

 

Giovani dos Santos, MEXICO vs United States

FIFA love to pushing their own competitions (you will hear me say this throughout the article) which for me is the reason this goal is in the shortlist, had this goal come in a League Two match it would not find itself on the shortlist, it was however a delightful chipped finish from the Tottenham youngster whilst on international duty for Mexico in the Gold Cup.

Julio Gomez, MEXICO U17 vs Germany U17

Again another goal that was in a FIFA competition the under 17 World Cup. If this is one of the top 10 goals this year I have been watching a different sport. Not taking anything away from Gomez it was a nice finish but the top 10 goals this year……. Not a chance.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, AC MILAN vs Lecce

This is a real contender I believe from the huge talent that is Zlaten Ibrahimovic, he can so often flatter to deceive but he is so often capable of the sublime. This goal combines pace, strength, skill and huge technical ability its not common that you can describe a goal that was scored from 30 yards out as having all those aspects.

 

Lisandro ‘Licha’ Lopez, ARSENAL SARANDI vs Olimpo

This for me was the best goal that was nominated, not many of you will of heard of Lisandro Lopez of Argentinean side Arsenal but he is a defender that showed the technical ability of a accomplished striker.

Following a whipped in corner, running away from goal Lisandro executed the perfect overhead/ bicycle kick, this is difficult at the best of times but running away from goal makes it virtually impossible. Top Strike.

Lionel Messi, BARCELONA vs Arsenal

This is not me having an Arsenal bias as I am a huge Lionel Messi fan but had any other player on earth scored this goal it would not be any where near this shortlist, forget top 10 goals of the year this goal probably would not be the top 10 of any given week.

Neymar, SANTOS vs Flamengo

This is one of those goals I have watched over and over and im still not quite sure how he done it. The individual brilliance on display is supreme and shows off so many qualities, this is a real contender and will only help enhance Neymars reputation.

Heather O’Reilly, US Women vs Colombia Women

Yet again this is a case of promoting their own competitions and attempting to show equality in Football.

It was a stunning long range effort that found the top corner and dipped and swerved before hitting the back of the net.

I don’t think this is in the top 10 goals I’ve seen this year but it is also unfair to argue with its inclusion it is a fine strike.

Wayne Rooney, MAN UTD vs Man City

The probable winner of the award. It is certainly seen that way in England anyway not only is the quality of the goal recognised but also the circumstances it came in 1-1 with your local rivals who have newly become a threat and Rooney pulls out this act of brilliance.

I personally think Lopez scored the better goal but as there was no real significance that came with the goal I think Rooney will take the award.

Dejan Stankovic, INTER MILAN vs Schalke 04

The sheer technique and audacity shown in this strike by Stankovic mean that it deserves its place on this list.

Although he effectively scored an open goal having the ability and confidence to strike the ball from such distance on the volley set it apart from many other strikes.

This strike will not win the award but it is worthy of its place on the list.

What are your thoughts? Which of these will win the award? Have you seen any goals that trump all of the above efforts? Can you provide videos of any other lower league goals as FIFA tend to ignore lower leagues?

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Should there be a return of artificial pitches in professional football?

By Tony Alvarez

It has been revealed that a few clubs in the Football leagues are backing the return of artificial pitches into the professional game inEngland.

Clubs such as Wycombe Wanderers and Accrington Stanley have backed the idea due to lower costs of maintenance and also the increased revenue streams of it being able to be used 7 days a week without suffering damage, this would allow the clubs to train on the pitch as well as hiring out their facilities.

Whilst it is currently thought that the plan is being discussed by all 72 Football League clubs the majority of the Championship are thought to be against installing artificial pitches as Premier League rules state you must play on grass the Championship sides do not want to install something that could have to be removed in less than a year.

Of course artificial or Astroturf pitches are nothing new to English football with Luton Town, Oldham Athletic, Preston North End and Queens Park Rangers all possessing artificial pitches until they were outlawed by the Football Association in the late 1980s, although Preston continued to use theirs until the end of the 1993-94 season.

The pitches were outlawed due to fears over player safety and arguments that they caused a poor brand of Football to be played, however since then technological means the pitches have come on massively and take aside the top few pitches in the country artificial pitches are as consistent.

Artificial pitches are always completely flat by nature meaning no bobbles and as they don’t suffer from wear and tear you do not get unplayable areas as you see in many goal mouths and centre circles in the Football League.

They tend to play faster than grass especially when wet which could add to the fast football which is already played in England, unless there is such a thing as too fast which I don’t believe there is I don’t think artificial pitches would be detrimental to the quality of Football.

The player safety issue is a good one whilst technological advances mean they are a lot safer than in the 80’s hence FIFA’s acceptance of them and many teams throughout the world using them I do believe that grass is safer.

Whilst you can get your studs stuck in grass which causes more horrific injuries, Astroturf pitches are a lot harder meaning and fall hurts a lot more. As well as the hardness of the pitches I feel defenders would be less happy with any change, slide tackles can still not be properly perfected on artificial pitches without a carpet burn effect, the same can be said for any player taken down by a slide tackle, bloody knees would happen numerous times per match.

Whilst a bloody knee is unlikely to cause grave pain think of the amount of stoppages as players have to leave the field as you cannot play with any blood coming from your body.

As mentioned above both FIFA and UEFA already sanction the use of artificial pitches, you may remember England losing to Russia on an artificial pitch in a euro 2008 qualifier or Tottenham losing to Young Boys in a Champions League qualifier last season on an artificial pitch.

Whilst those cases are in Russia and Switzerland there are artificial pitches a lot closer to home, many teams in the lower divisions of the Scottish Leagues use them as they cost less to maintain and do not get damaged in the bad weather.

I happen to know many sides currently have artificial pitches at their training ground, Arsenal’s London Colney training ground has numerous out door grass pitches but also has indoor artificial pitches.

For me it is a tough call I am all for clubs to maximise their revenue by having cheaper maintenance as well as hiring out their pitches not to mention the reduction of postponements it would bring with it.

However I am not for a game that has to stop 10 times per match for a player to go off and get treated for a blood wound, the positives do out weigh the negatives but the negative is a pretty big one, if it could be proved that their would not be numerous blood wounds I am all for a club making their choice whether they want grass or an artificial pitch.

What are your thoughts? Are you for the use of artificial pitches? Would there be numerous blood injuries on artificial pitches? Do technological advantages mean the quality of Football is not affected? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts

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