Faiz wants a shot of Ronaldo

PETALING JAYA: Puskas Award finalist Faiz Subri is eyeing a selfie with his idol Cristiano Ronaldo at the Best FIFA Football Awards in Zurich today.

The 29-year-old Penang player is set to share the stage with Portugal international Ronaldo who will receive the Ballon d’Or 2016 award for the fourth time at the ceremony.

The Real Madrid winger is also in the running for the 2016 best player award with two other nominees, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid.

“I have always idolised Ronaldo. So if I get to meet him, I’ll definitely take a selfie with him,” said Faiz before boarding his flight at the KL International Airport yesterday.

“I’m going through a roller coaster of emotions. I’m a bit scared, thrilled and delighted that I will to be there. There’s pressure too, but I’ll try to stay calm. As I said before, making the top three finalists is an achievement itself for me.

Faiz’s physics-defying goal in the 4-1 win against Pahang in a Super League match at the City Stadium on Feb 16, last year, is among the three goals nominated for the Puskas Award after global online voting.

The other two footballers on the shortlist for the Puskas award are the 24-year-old Corinthians midfielder Marlone of Brazil and the 17-year-old Venezuela national women’s player Daniuska Rodri­­guez.

Family trip: Faiz accompanied by Nur Zawanis, Aqil and Akif, arriving at KL International Airport for their flight to Zurich.

The winner will be announced at the FIFA Football Awards in Zurich at 1.30am Malaysian time tomorrow. It will be shown live on Astro, Channel 811/814.

Faiz, his wife Nur Zawanis Ha­­shim, 29, and their two sons – Akif Fayyadh, four, and Aqil Zayyan, eight months, boarded the flight to Zurich.

They were accompanied by Football Association of Malaysia deputy president Datuk Seri Afandi Hamzah and Football Association of Penang vice-president Mohd Azizu­­din Shariffh.

Afandi hopes that Faiz would create history by being the first Puskas award winner from Asia since its inception in 2009.

“I call on Malaysians to pray for Faiz’s success,” he said.