Lamela, Schick and Taremi are vying for the FIFA Puskás Award
We deliver stats behind their goals and the previous winners
Will Cristiano Ronaldo lose a record?
103
Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal for Manchester United against Porto in 2009 travelled at an astonishing average speed of 103 kilometres per hour – a record for a FIFA Puskás Award winners that is in no danger of disappearing this month.
92
92 per cent of the FIFA Puskás Award-winning goals have helped their scorers’ sides to victory. The sole exception, Neymar’s in 2011, seemed all but certain to push Santos to three points. It put them 3-0 up, at home, only for a Ronaldinho hat-trick to inspire Flamengo to an implausible 5-4 success. Patrik Schick and Mehdi Taremi’s contenders helped Czech Republic and Porto win, while Erik Lamela’s put Tottenham Hotspur ahead en route to a 2-1 loss to arch-rivals Arsenal.
66.7
66.7 per cent of the FIFA Puskás Award winners have been right-footers. Taremi recorded his contender with his right, while Lamela and Schick scored theirs with their left.
50
50 yards would make Patrik Schick’s sensational lob the furthest-struck winner of the FIFA Puskás Award. The current holder is Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored for Manchester United against Porto from 40 yards in 2009.
18
Daniel Zsori was just 18 years old – and making his professional debut – when he scored the bicycle-kick which made him the youngest-ever FIFA Puskás winner in 2019, outranking Neymar, who was 19. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was nominated alongside Zsori that year, remains the trophy’s oldest-ever winner having been 31 when he dropped jaws with his iconic overhead-kick for Sweden against England in 2012.
12
Son Heungmin took 12 uninterrupted touches to score against Burnley – a record for a FIFA Puskás Award winner. This year’s three finalists are all first-touch goals, meaning eight of the 13 victors will have been netted with first touches on 17 January.
11
Neymar, Wendell Lira and Mohamed Salah have ensured that an unparalleled three FIFA Puskás Award winners have been registered by a No11. Two were scored by No7s and No10s apiece, with no other shirt number having multiple winners. Lamela, Schick and Taremi netted their contenders in the No11, No10 and No9 jerseys respectively.
6
An unprecedented six FIFA Puskás Awards have gone to Europeans. South Americans raank second with three. If Iranian Taremi tastes glory, though, three of the last six winners will be Asians after Malaysian Mohd Faiz Subri and South Korean Son won the award in 2016 and 2021 respectively.
4
Four straight Puskás Award winners will have surprisingly been scored inside the penalty area. That figure will rise to five if Lamela or Taremi triumph. Five of the first six were netted from outside the box.
3
Three FIFA Puskás Award winners have been scored in the English Premier League, with no other competition boasting more than one. If Lamela prevails, it would mean the English top flight has platformed four of the last five victors, with Olivier Giroud, Mo Salah and Son Heungmin successful in 2017, 2018 and 2020 respectively.
1
Just one of the 132 nominations for the FIFA Puskás Award has been a rabona: Lamela’s 2021 contender.
0
A new nationality will seize the FIFA Puskás Award this month: Argentinian, Czech or Iranian. The fact that an Argentinian has never claimed the prize is surprising given that Lamela’s nomination was their 12th – a record seven have come from Lionel Messi – giving them the outright lead they previously shared with Brazilians.