FIFA Puskas Award 2015: Voting Results, Twitter Reaction for Wendell Lira's Goal

Brazilian forward Wendell Lira won the 2015 FIFA Puskas Award, the award for the best goal of the past calendar year, beating out Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Roma's Alessandro Florenzi.

Per Bleacher Report UK, the result came as a bit of a shock:

According to Jack Lang of the Daily Mirror, over 1.6 million people voted for the winner, and the majority voted for spectacular overhead kick from the little-known Lira—even though Messi's long run against Athletic Bilbao was the favourite to win.

"

1.6 milioni di voti per il FIFA Puskas Award Wendell Lira 46.7% Lionel Messi 33.3% Alessandro Florenzi 7.1%

— calciomercato.it (@calciomercatoit) January 11, 2016"

The Dirty Tackle's Brooks Peck did not see that coming:

Playing for Goianesia at the time, Lira scored his superb goal in March, beating the offside trap in the match against Atletico-Go before blasting the ball past the goalkeeper with a sensational overhead kick in the driving rain.

Here's a look at his fantastic effort:

Voters valued his moment of brilliance over Florenzi's long-range strike against Barcelona—where he caught goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen off his line—and Messi's solo run during the Copa Del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao.

Here's a look at the other finalists for the 2015 Puskas Award:

Unlike his fellow finalists, Lira isn't a well-known international star, as the 27-year-old has been a bit of a career journeyman in Brazil. This award just goes to show everyone can score wonder goals with a moment of brilliance―and a lot of skill, as Lira's effort was incredibly hard to pull off.

The Brazilian may not have a ton of Brazilian titles or individual awards on his mantelpiece, but this is one award they'll never be able to take from him. Winning the Puskas Award is undoubtedly the highlight of his career, and it's a well-deserved honour.

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