CONCACAF Year-End Awards: Nominees and Projected Winners
GOAL OF THE YEAR
Jun 20, 2014; Recife, Pernambuco, BRAZIL; Costa Rica forward Bryan Ruiz (10) heads the ball past Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon (1) for a goal during the first half of a 2014 World Cup game at Arena Pernambuco. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Okay, rather than type out a list of the goal of the year nominees, I’m simply going to post the link to the Goal of the Year Nominations as posted by CONCACAF official YouTube Account.
Pick To Win:
Esteban Ramirez- Herediano vs. Saprissa. While Bryan Ruiz and Jermaine Jones’s goals may have had a bigger international impact, the winner in terms of pure technical skill is painstakingly obvious this year. Ramirez, a Costa Rican soccer player who plays in the Costa Rican Primera Division, simply knocks this one out of the park.
He heads the ball to himself TWICE, (yes, that actually happened: you didn’t imagine it) before volleying it out of the air and sending it rocketing top shelf all the way from outside the penalty area. If you look closely, I think you can see a thin trail of smoke coming of the ball. This goal makes Mario Goetze;s heroics in the World Cup Final look like a run-of-the-mill putback: It simply one ups the German’s wonder strike by that much.
Fun fact: Ramirez scored this goal against his former team Saprissa, who he played for form 2007 up until 2009.
So what do you guys think? Who do you think has the edge in each category? Let us know below, and remember to vote for who YOU think deserves an award for his or her performances, be it on the pitch, in between the posts, or on the sideline, for their representation of CONCACAF in 2014. If you didn’t vote during the beginning of the article, here is YOUR SECOND CHANCE. GOO. Thank you for reading, and here’s to an even better 2015 for our favorite Confederation!