First, Polish star Marcin Oleksy scored a beautiful goal. Now, he has scored a breakthrough for amputee soccer players.
Oleksy this week became the first amputee player to win FIFA’s Puskas Award for goal of the year. He had previously made history just by being nominated for the award.
ESPN reported on the award. The article attempts to describe how Oleksy scored his goal for Warta Poznan against Stal Rzeszow in November, but it’s best just to watch the accompanying video to appreciate the accomplishment.
The other nominees for the Puskas Award were Richarlison of Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League and Dmitri Payet of Marseille in the French Ligue 1.
“For me and for the whole of amputee football it means that the impossible does not exist,” Oleksy said. “I hope that I have been seen by millions of people around the world today. And we rise.”