When Wendell Lira soared through a rainy night sky to score the opening goal of a mid-season match in a Brazilian regional football league, there were 342 people in the stands.
None of them could have imagined that the unknown forward, who was released by his club, Goianesia, several months later, would end up competing with Lionel Messi for the Puskas Award, FIFA’s prize for the best goal of the year.
Lira, 26, was startled when he found out-quite literally. He had just left his house in Goiania, in the heart of Brazil, on Monday morning when a car suddenly pulled up and blocked his path.
None of them could have imagined that the unknown forward, who was released by his club, Goianesia, several months later, would end up competing with Lionel Messi for the Puskas Award, FIFA’s prize for the best goal of the year.
Lira, 26, was startled when he found out-quite literally. He had just left his house in Goiania, in the heart of Brazil, on Monday morning when a car suddenly pulled up and blocked his path.
