Nacional Potosí [1], a modest first-division football club from Bolivia, kicked off the 2012 football season playing against The Strongest [2] at home. During the second half of the match, Gastón Mealla, a 24-year-old Nacional Potosí striker, made an improbable heel volley, a ‘scorpion kick’, scoring from outside the box.
Mealla’s goal was nominated by FIFA [3] as one of the 10 best goals for the 2012 Puskás Award [4]; however, it was not selected among the final 3 [4].
Skrileks [5], an anonymous YouTube user based in France, commented on [6] FIFA’s YouTube Channel:
I can't understand how so much people can vote for the two bicycles in the penalty box, when you have a never seen scorpion kick from outside the box like that.
It's worthy of the taekwondo kicks of Zlatan [Ibrahimovic]. It's wonderful, powerful, and nobody ever done a scorpion kick from a so long distance.
PickleKunAMV, another YouTube user, also wrote [7]:
I'm Colombian and love [Radamel] Falcao [whose goal was nominated among the top 3] but this should win the Puskas award.
Roberto Acosta (@btoae [8]) [es], an active sport journalist and Twitter user based in La Paz, argues that such a spectacular goal was not among the most voted because,
@btoae [9]: Hay una sola toma del gol, quizá le quita algo de espectacularidad, la LFPB no se caracteriza por la calidad en transmisiones ni pensar en HD.
@btoae [9]: There is only one shot of the goal, maybe it takes some spectacularly away, HD or good quality broadcast is not a feature in the LFPB [Bolivian Professional Football League].
Moreover, Roberto Acosta also states that these awards are oriented towards big football stars:
@btoae [10]: El Balon de Oro 2012 de FIFA es como los Oscar para Blatter, es dificil imaginar una pelicula de bajo presupuesto en una terna.
@btoae [10]: The FIFA Ballon d'Or 2012 is like the Oscars for [Joseph] Blatter, hard to imagine a low budget film being short-listed.
Despite not making the top 3 goals of the year, Gastón Mealla's astonishing, but low-quality broadcast scorpion kick will remain as one of the most spectacular goals of Bolivian football history.