Ex-Tottenham Hotspur winger Erik Lamela gives his views on the rabona goal against Arsenal that won the Puskas Award
Former Tottenham Hotspur winger Erik Lamela has won the Puskas Award for the rabona goal that he scored against Arsenal when he was still at N17 last season. He was named the winner during The Best FIFA Football Awards 2021 that took place yesterday.
The 29-year-old left Spurs to join Sevilla ahead of this season but would be delighted to enjoy this moment with his former club. Patrick Schick for the goal Czech Republic against Scotland at Euro 2020 and Mehdi Taremi scoring for Porto away to Chelsea in the Champions League was nominated alongside him.
Speaking at the FIFA ceremony (h/t Tottenham Hotspur official website), Lamela has revealed that he is ecstatic about winning the award, but he has admitted that he did not know how special the goal was. The La Liga ace conveyed that it just came to him at that moment, and he never pre-planned or trained to net such a beauty.
“Thank you so much, I’m very happy. I didn’t think how special the goal was, I just kicked the ball and started running around the pitch with my team-mates! I never practice this shot in training, it normally just comes in that second, finding the best way to shoot.”
Deserved!
The Argentinian took to Twitter to express his gratitude towards the fans and the North London club after he was named the winner of the Puskas Award. Jan Vertonghen also chimed in on the news and quoted his old tweet where he stated that “Coco” would win the award.
It was the second campaign in a row that we have won the award for the best goal after Son Heung-Min was crowned the winner in the previous season for his solo effort against Burnley in 2019. That means we are the only club to receive the Puskas Award twice in succession, which is a magnificent feat indeed.
Even though the Sevilla forward mentioned that the rabona just came to him at that moment, he had scored a similar goal in a Europa League group match against Asteras Tripolis in 2014. Clearly, it wasn’t all a fluke and he has the ability to strike a ball like that.
We are delighted for the Argentine to win the prestigious award since it would be a moment to remember all the great times he had with us over the past few years. Even if we lost the North London Derby on that day, the goal would always be commemorated for its rarity and quality.
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Now in La Liga, it’s not wrong to say that we are missing his presence a bit. Steven Bergwijn and Son have had fitness issues recently and we have been left devoid of options on the bench at times. Bryan Gil is a good young prospect, but he is yet to mature into a player starting for us week in, week out.
Nevertheless, it seems like Lamela’s move was the ideal scenario for all parties involved. He is clearly an important player for them and was playing weekly for them before a shoulder injury this season. Good luck to him!
