Puskas Award: Onuachu’s back-heel loses to Garnacho’s kick

Super Eagles and Southampton forward Onuachu Paul has been beaten to the prestigious FIFA Puskas Award presented in Doha, Qatar by Argentina and Manchester United starlet Alejandro Garnacho, Soccernet.ng reports.

The award, named after Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskas, debuted in the year 2009 for the purpose of recognizing the best goal scored in world football every year.

Onuachu’s acrobatic back-heel goal, came during his loan spell at Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor, sealing a dramatic 2-1 win over Konyaspor and causing football fans worldwide to marvel at his ingenuity.

That stunning goal deservedly earned the 30-year-old striker a place on the list of Puskas nominees, joining the likes of Inter Milan’s Federico Dimarco, West Ham’s Mohamed Kudus and eventual award recipient Garnacho.

Garnacho’s bicycle-kick to give United a 1-0 lead against Everton last season was reminiscent of Red Devils legend and maiden Puskas recipient Cristiano Ronaldo’s effort against Juventus for Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The 20-year-old winger now joins his idol on the list of Puskas Award winners. Other notable names to have received the honour include Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mohamed Salah, Neymar, Olivier Giroud, James Rodriguez and Son Heung-Min.

Despite missing out on the prize, Onuachu can take great pride in his nomination for such a prestigious award. The Nigeria international will certainly hold fond memories of his time in Turkey, having impressed at Trabzonspor where he notched 21 goal contributions (17G, 4A) in 25 appearances.

Now back in the English Premier League with relegation threatened Southampton, Onuachu finds himself struggling to have the same level of impact. In 16 games so far this season, the towering forward has managed just 6 appearances, making the starting XI just once.

With the Saints recently parting ways with their manager Russell Martin, the Super Eagles forward will be desperately hoping for a change of fortunes under the new regime at Saint Mary’s.