Screamer, worldie, stunner, golazo: there are myriad ways of describing the goals that prompt the dropping of jaws and the placing of hands on heads in disbelief.
But even for a sport known as "the beautiful game," goals scored with a bicycle kick are treated with a certain reverence that elevates them above almost all others. Executing them perfectly requires an achingly complex combination of timing and special awareness that is more commonly displayed by astronauts touching lunar modules down on to the surface of the moon.
It's why FIFA's Puskas award -- given to the player considered to have scored the "most beautiful" goal of the year -- is littered with bicycle kicks. Indeed, since its inaugural year in 2009, 37.5% of the winning goals have been bicycle kicks, executed by stars including Zlatan Ibrahimović and Alejandro Garnacho. But nestled away in an unheralded corner of western France, a 35-year-old department store employee scored a bicycle kick -- or ciseaux retourné (returned scissors) -- that rivalled the best of them.
"In the moment, I didn't realise the move I had made, but thanks to the Veo, I was able to review my goal and see that I had done something beautiful, magnificent," goal scorer Jonathan Le Ner told ESPN.
The Veo to which Le Ner refers is an intelligent sports camera developed by a Danish company of the same name that enables teams of all levels to record matches and capture previously blink-and-you'll-miss-it goals automatically. With this new treasure trove of game and training footage available, Veo created the People's Puskas award to highlight some of the best goals scored at amateur level around the world.
More than 2,000 goals were submitted from Canada to Kenya for this year's award, with the entries eventually being whittled down to the final two via a series of public votes on social media. In the end, it came down to two Frenchmen separated by a three-hour drive and who play at the same amateur Regional 2 level of French football, Le Ner, who captains Avenir Sport Saint Pierre Montrevault, and Étoile Sportive Trouy's 24-year-old attacking midfielder Loubier scored strikingly different goals.
The fact Le Ner's goal was scored amid the rolling countryside of the Pays de La Loire certainly elevates its aesthetic appeal. The momentary pause where he rearranges his body as he waits for the precise moment to leap into the air to meet the cross is a joy.
Le Ner scrambled to get his hands on the Veo footage as quickly as he could after the full-time whistle blew, and has watched it more than 1,000 times. But despite his nonchalant celebration, raising a single arm in the air, making it look as though he has scored many like it in his life, he conceded: "This is the first one, and I think it will be the last."
Loubier, who transports ill and injured patients around the nearby Bourges hospital in his day job as a porter, made the final thanks to his dipping effort that finished off an elaborate passing move.
"Obviously, for me the goal is different from the others because it's a great personal goal, but also a collective one. It represents the full essence of football," Loubier told ESPN.
"I thought it was an exceptional goal because there were a lot of passes before my shot and when I scored, the ball rose very high before going into the goal. My teammates were delighted and told me it was one of the most beautiful goals they had ever seen, and the opponents also said that."
However, this year's People's Puskas was not just a beauty contest. The duo's progress to the final came via respective social media campaigns of which a seasoned political candidate would be proud. While Loubier enlisted the support of ex-Marseille and Aston Villa man Morgan Sanson, Le Ner was backed by Ligue 1 club Angers. In the end, after more than 12,000 votes were cast in approximately 48 hours, Le Ner's bicycle kick prevailed by a winning margin of just 88 votes.
"I would like to express my gratitude to my loved ones, my friends, my teammates, my coaches as well as my club and all the neighbouring clubs, the people of Mauges ... Your support means a lot to me," Le Ner wrote in a post on Instagram after his triumph was confirmed. "It's in moments like these that we realise that the club is much more than just a club; it's a true family. This is not an individual victory, but it's a collective victory. This trophy is mine, but it is also yours."
Both players were able to count upon the support of the citizens from their respective regions who appeared genuinely proud of their peers' achievements. "I think that we have a big community, a lot of support from a lot of clubs, supporters, regions. I think that helps at our small level," Le Ner said. "We shared as much as possible, we communicated with everyone, we sent a lot of messages of support so that it spread by word of mouth and things like that."
Le Ner's trump card, though, turned out to be the two years he spent in Angers' academy as a teenager where he played alongside Morocco international winger Sofiane Boufal. The club shared their former player's plea for votes with their 169,000 followers on Instagram, and likely played a big part in pushing him over the top.
As well as his colleagues in the hospital whom he described as developing a "buzz" for the People's Puskas, Loubier called upon Sanson, who is a friend of his uncle's, Sanson's Nice teammate Baptiste Santamaria, as well as France and Montreal Roses midfielder Charlotte Bilbault.
The social media traction the players were able to develop should come as little surprise. Automated cameras like Veo's have turbocharged the growing popularity of amateur football online. English teams such as SE Dons who play in the Southern Counties East Football League boast more YouTube subscribers (244,000) than the likes of Premier League clubs AFC Bournemouth and Southampton, and almost as many as two-time European Cup winners Nottingham Forest. Meanwhile, SE Dons' London rivals Baiteze FC are sponsored by New Balance. Traditionalists may turn their noses up, but amateur football is moving into the mainstream.
After the twists and turns of the campaign trail, though, it was a bicycle kick which won the day again. Perhaps there is a reason that every football movie seems to end with the main character thrashing one into the top corner in the last minute.
"It's not an action that you see in every match," Le Ner said. "Personally, I've never seen one in any of the matches I've played at a senior level ... And it's still an exceptional move compared to some other goals, even if they were all beautiful. But compared to some other goals, it's still exceptional."