Win or lose, Faiz has made his mark
FAIZ Subri has a date with destiny after making the final shortlist for the 2016 Puskas Award when the online voting closed yesterday.
The Penang midfielder saw off the likes of Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Neymar after the vote by the world-wide public whittled the original list of 10 nominess down to three.
The two other players vying with Faiz for the honour of scoring the best goal in 2016 at the Best Fifa Football Awards in Zurich on Jan 9 are Corinthians midfielder Marlone and Venezuela’s Daniuska Rodriguez.
“It is a real honour for me to make the shortlist,” Faiz, 29, told
yesterday. “I never expected to be among the 10 nominees in the first place, let alone finish ahead of Messi and Neymar in the voting.
“I’m really happy to make the final three and I want to thank everyone who voted for me.”
Faiz is the only Asian player among the 10 nominees but whether he picks up the award in Zurich or not, he has put Malaysia on the world football map for the right reasons.
His delightful free-kick against Pahang in a Super League match in February is one which will surely live on in memory, for Faiz at least.
“Many people had been telling me that my goal would make the top 10, but I was doubtful as there are so many wonderful goals scored around the world,” Faiz told
“Being nominated is unbelievable. Win or lose, it has inspired me to become a better player. Nomination for the Puskas Award is the highest recognition throughout my career as a footballer. I feel like I’ve done enough to put Malaysian football on the world map.”
There have been some detractors who said that Faiz would never be able to replicate the knuckleball effort, which went one way and then the other to bamboozle Pahang goalkeeper Nasril Nourdin.
Soon after scoring the goal, Kedah-born Faiz said he meant to hit the ball that way and vowed to do it again.
“I meant to take it like that as I had been practising it in training. But this was the first time I tried it this way in a match,” added Faiz.
But his opportunity to repeat the trick was limited with Penang not enjoying the luxury of allowing Faiz to take regular free-kicks as they battled against relegation.
He failed to score again in the 2016 season, with both his goals for the year coming in Penang’s 4-1 against Pahang on Feb 16.
While another goal eluded him, Faiz had cause for celebration when the season ended with Penang securing Super League survival by beating Terengganu 1-0 in their last game.
Come Jan 9, he may just have even more reason to celebrate when fans from around the world have a fresh opportunity to vote, with the results of the second round added to the first to determine the overall winner.