9 Goals That Should Have Been Nominated for FIFA's 2014 Puskas Award

The 2014 FIFA Puskas Award nominations are in and the public now have the opportunity to vote for the most beautiful goal scored between 3rd October 2013 and 26th September 2014.

The shortlist of 10 contains some world-class efforts, but in a year when defending has taken a back seat to attacking, there have been plenty of incredible goals that have fallen outside of the final selection.

In an effort to redress the situation, here are nine brilliant goals that also deserve a 2014 Puskas Award nomination.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) vs. Valencia, May 2014

Cristiano Ronaldo won the first ever Puskas Award for his amazing Champions League goal in 2008-09, and he probably deserved a nomination for his incredible backheel flick against Valencia in May. 

It was good enough to win La Liga Goal of the Season, so why should it not get a Puskas nod? 

Joe Garner (Preston) vs. Rotherham, May 2014

Preston were trailing 1-0 to Rotherham in their League One play-off semi-final first leg when Joe Garner produced one of the greatest goals in play-off history. 

Controlling the ball with his chest around 25 yards from goal, Preston's top scorer then flicked the ball over an oncoming defender before unleashing an unstoppable volley.

From a quality perspective, is there much difference between this and James Rodriguez's World Cup strike? 

Hakan Calhanoglu (Hamburg) vs. Borussia Dortmund, February 2014

Hakan Calhanoglu is something of a dead-ball specialist. In February, the Turkish midfielder had the audacity to take a shot from 50 yards in the dying minutes of a Bundesliga match with Borussia Dortmund.

It caught everyone by surprise, and Calhanoglu ended up with what might have been the greatest Bundesliga goal of the season.  

Mario Balotelli (Milan) vs. Bologna, February 2014

Mario Balotelli may not have found his shooting boots at Liverpool yet, but he produced the greatest goal of his career for Milan back in February. 

From around 35 yards out, the Italian striker looped a superb long-range drive over the Bologna goalkeeper. It also carried further significance as an 86th-minute winner. 

Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) vs. Norwich, October 2013

Bogdan Maran/Associated Press

Arsenal's 4-1 win over Norwich last October featured one of the Premier League's greatest ever team goals.

A beautiful series of flicks and passes between Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud was finished off in style by the England international. Mesut Ozil described it as a PlayStation goal, and it won worldwide acclaim.

The goal certainly fulfils the Puskas beauty criteria, but might have been left off because it was a team effort, rather than an individual moment of brilliance. 

Fabian Klos (Arminia Bielefeld) vs. Sandhausen, August 2014

Arminia Bielefeld's Fabian Klos raised the roof in a DFB-Pokal match with Sandhausen in August with an unbelievably good volley straight from a corner.

It seems criminal that this goal did not warrant a nomination, but apparently FIFA only consider goals from the top leagues, which unfairly rules this and Joe Garner's aforementioned play-off strike out.  

Mario Gotze (Germany) vs. Argentina, June 2014

One of the key criteria for a goal to be considered for a Puskas Award nomination is the importance of the match—the more important, the better.

There is no more important game than the World Cup final, so surely Mario Gotze's superb extra-time winner should be in the running? 

Pablo Hernandez (Celta Vigo) vs. Atletico Madrid, September 2014

Celta Vigo managed to earn a point at the Vicente Calderon in September, thanks in part to an unbelievable backheel flick from Pablo Hernandez. 

Receiving a long ball from near the half-way line, Hernandez somehow managed to volley a backheel past Miguel Moya into the goal. It was a thing of beauty and surely worthy of some recognition. 

Andre-Pierre Gignac (Marseille) vs. Ajaccio, November 2013

Despite the Mighty Zlatan's best efforts, Andre-Pierre Gignac scored the best goal of the 2013-14 Ligue 1 season with his fantastic volley against Ajaccio in November 2013. 

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