Beating Richarlison to Puskas Award won’t ‘change who I am’, insists Polish history-maker Marcin Oleksy

Marcin Oleksy made history as he beat off competition from Dimitri Payet and Richarlison to land the 2022 FIFA Puskas Award for his sublime overhead finish – but the Polish ace insists he has not changed as a person.

Warta Pozna’s Oleksy became the first-ever amputee footballer to win the award as he joins the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the Puskas Award roll of honour.

The 35-year-old, who combines football with a full-time job as an excavator operator, displayed incredible athleticism and technique to pull off the goal against Stal Rzeszow last November.

Richarlison, who scored an acrobatic World Cup volley for Brazil against Serbia, sent a congratulatory message to Oleksy.

“I am still the same Marcin,” said Oleksey on Eurosport’s second season of Power of Sport which will air this spring. “I don’t think anything has changed.

“There are more phone calls and there is media interest but I haven’t changed. I watch the goal online with fans but it won’t change who I am.”

“I love scoring goals like this. You can see that when I train, it’s very much part of my game,” continued Oleksy, who suffered a life-changing accident in 2010.

“I often try to head the ball or execute a diving header. I think it was meant to be. I have dreamt about scoring a goal like this.

“When I started playing football, I told myself I was going to score a spectacular goal. You can see how pleased I was. I was proud of what I had done. I’d said I was going to do it, and I’m so happy with this goal.”

Recalling his horrific accident 13 years ago, Oleksy admitted that he was “afraid he wasn’t going to make it”.

He was plying his trade as a goalkeeper with Korona Kozuchow in the fourth tier of Polish football when the incident occurred.

“I decided I had to fight,” he said. “The fact that I was missing one leg wasn’t that bad. You can live with that. I am alive and that’s what matters most.”

The birth of his son was a huge driving force in his decision to return to football following the accident.

“I have always wanted to have a son and for him to play football,” he continued.

“I wanted to show him how to play and help him during his first steps. I didn’t help him in the beginning because I wasn’t able to but I think that later we made up for it.”

At 35, Oleksy has no intentions of retiring from the game just yet; in fact, he has more objectives in mind.

“I have been playing since I was a child and will continue to play. I just want to be the best at what I do.

“I’ve always wanted to be perfect and I hope that I can make it. I’d like to bring medals from the World Cup, from the [UEFA] European Championship with the Polish team, and to stand on the podium at Ekstraklasa [Polish Football League] with Warta Poznan. I will try to be the best.”

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