Giroud's Arsenal wondergoal wins FIFA Puskas Award

Dom Farrell

Giroud's Arsenal wondergoal wins FIFA Puskas Award image

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has won FIFA's Puskas Award for the best goal of 2016-17.

Giroud took home the prize for his stunning scorpion kick at the end of a superb team move against Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on January 1.

Giroud 11/4 to score 2+ v Swansea

The Frenchman's remarkable goal saw him meet Alexis Sanchez's cross with an audacious volley that looped over Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and went in via the crossbar.

It was one of 16 goals in all competitions Giroud scored for the Gunners last term.

Speaking at the The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony at London Palladium, the 31-year-old dedicated the prize to his father.

"It's an honour for me and I'm delighted to receive this trophy today," he said.

"I would like to thank the people who voted for me. I would like to congratulate the three [finalists], who scored amazing goals too.

"Obviously, I would like to thank my team-mates – without them I could not score this goal – and my family.

"I also would like to dedicate this trophy to my Dad."


THE PUSKAS AWARD NOMINEES IN FULL


Giroud saw off competition from Venezuela women's international Deyna Castellanos and Baroka goalkeeper Oscarine Masuluke to win the award.

Castellanos scored a 94th-minute winner from the halfway line against Cameroon at the Under-17 Women's World Cup last year immediately after her team had conceded what seemed to be a last-minute equaliser.

Masuluke, meanwhile, went up for a corner and netted a stunning last-gasp leveller for Baroka against the Orlando Pirates in the South African Premiership last November.

A 10-goal shortlist was initially unveiled in September before fan voting narrowed it down to the final three.

A panel of experts, which included the likes of Henrik Larsson, Alan Shearer and Predrag Mijatovic, sifted through thousands of entries to pick 10 candidates worthy of taking the crown from 2016 winner Mohd Faiz Subri.

The initial nominees were:

Player Team
Kevin Prince Boateng Las Palmas (vs. Villarreal)
Alejandro Camargo Universidad de Concepcion (vs. O'Higgins)
Deyna Castellanos Venezuela U17 (vs. Cameroon)
Moussa Dembele Celtic (vs. St. Johnstone)
Olivier Giroud Arsenal (vs. Crystal Palace)
Aviles Hurtado Xolos (vs. Atlas)
Mario Mandzukic Juventus (vs. Real Madrid)
Oscarine Masuluke Baroka (vs. Orlando Pirates)
Nemanja Matic Chelsea (vs. Tottenham)
Jordi Mboula Barcelona U19 (vs. Borussia Dortmund)

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.