Mohd Faiz a deserving winner, say fans

Penang striker Mohd Faiz Subri's success in winning FIFA's Puskas Award for 2016 this morning was welcomed by fans who stayed up to watch the awards ceremony that was telecast live from Zurich, Switzerland.

A Bernama survey in the city revealed that many fans had stayed up for the awards night that started at 1.30am (Malaysian time) and ended at 3am, while the Puskas Award was announced at 2.30am.

For Public Relations officer Azlan Naif, 28, Mohd Faiz's success in winning the award and putting Malaysia on the world map was a proud moment.

"This is a win for Malaysia and I am very proud of Mohd Faiz," he told Bernama.

Khairul Bashar Mohd Idris, 31, a self-employed, said Mohd Faiz was a worthy winner as his freekick was simply mind blowing.

"It is not every day that you see such a wonder goal. And scoring such a goal is not an easy feat by any standards," he said.

Mohd Shaifulnizam Kornia, 31, who works in the private sector said his wish was to see more Malaysians on the world stage, especially in football.

The award was presented to Mohd Faiz by former Brazilian football great Ronaldo while Cristiano Ronaldo also clinched The Best FIFA Men's Player 2016 award in Zurich.

Mohd Faiz was the architect of what has been described as a physics-defying swerving goal against Pahang in the Malaysian Super League match on Feb 16, so spectacular that it catapulted him to international recognition.

The ball was heading towards one corner but ended up deceptively in the other, leaving the Pahang goalkeeper - and football fans - dumbfounded.

The Malaysian garnered 59.46 per cent of the votes to pip Brazil's Johnath Marlone Azevedo da Silva (22.86 per cent of votes) and Venezuela's woman player Daniuska Rodriguez (10.01 per cent) to the award, first won by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009. -- Bernama