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Stephanie Roche Most Deserving Candidate For FIFA’s Puskas Award

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On Monday, the final three for the highly-anticipated Ferenc Puskas Award were revealed. Real Madrid‘s James Rodriguez, Manchester United‘s Robin van Persie and Republic of Ireland women’s international Stephanie Roche have all made the prestigious list.

An award given to the best or “most beautiful” goal of the year, it’s quite easily one of the most exciting draws of the calendar, with a lot of prestige and honor accompanying it. And it’s easy to see exactly why when you look at each of the strikes.

Undoubtedly the biggest story from this is the fact that Roche could very well become the first female professional footballer to win it in the competition’s history, something that would undoubtedly spark a wave of celebration in her homeland. But does she deserve it?

True, it would be an historic achievement for her, but that’s obviously not reason enough to see her crowned the winner — and she’ll realize that herself, you can be sure. Nevertheless, the sheer fact her goal has garnered more attention and views than any other goal previously scored by a female soccer player underlines just how special a goal it truly is. And if you’ve not seen in before, check it out on FIFA TV’s official Youtube channel. It really is a wondrously majestic strike served up by a series of quality touches from the now 25-year-old.

Facing incredibly stiff competition from both Rodriguez and van Persie, the ASPTT Albi player, now plying her trade in the French D1 Feminine, has rightfully earned her place near the top of the tree for her phenomenal goal over a year ago. At the time she scored it against Wexford Youths, she was with Irish outfit Peamount United in the WNL. But since then she’s gone on to become one of the biggest stars in world football, underlining just how good of a player she really is.

Make no mistake, this strike was no fluke and it deserves people’s attention. It’s not just because she’s now jockeying for position between two of the global game’s biggest names, but because she is a headline-grabbing player in her own right.

As for the other two brilliant goals, one of which Rodriguez scored for his native Colombia at this summer’s World Cup and the other being van Persie’s outrageous flying header for the Netherlands against Spain in the group stages, it’s clear the competition is beyond fierce.

And sure, one might argue that the pressure of that stage far outweighs the one on which Roche achieved her feat (a criterion that plays a part in deciding the winner), but again, that’s something that depends on personal opinion.

In fact, it seems impossible to deny the fact that in scoring such a goal she created her own importance of the match. Elevating the standard of women’s football to a global audience, she took a neglected side of the beautiful game and forced people to take notice. If that doesn’t show how important a goal it was, what does?

In essence, Roche’s goal is more unique than the other two. It manages to reach beyond its own sphere, skyrocketing into new pastures and, in my mind, is the most beautiful goal of the three because of it.

The list was originally at an inflated 10 but has since been whittle down to a short-list of just three after days of on-line voting saw the trio reach the final stage. No doubt, the underdog story of Roche’s meteoric rise to fame will appeal to many, but in reality it’s just impossible to write off the other two players at this stage.

Now, they face an agonizing wait of over a month to find out who exactly will be crowned the winner as the ceremony takes place on Jan. 12, 2015. But even if Roche doesn’t come away with the award she deserves, she’s done a magnificent job raising the profile of the game and deserves every ounce of praise she’s getting right now. Long may it continue.

Trevor Murray is a soccer writer at www.RantSports.com. You can follow him on twitter @TrevorM90, ‘”like” him on Facebook or add him to your circles in Google+.

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