Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi pictured gawping at Stephanie Roche as she walks by at Ballon d'Or ceremony
Roche was one of the three finalists for the 2014 Puskas Award but left a lasting impression on Messrs Ronaldo and Messi
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.It takes something special to attract the interest of the two best players in world football at the Ballon d’Or award ceremony, especially given the drawn out process of the entire day in Zurich that saw press conferences start many hours before the final announcement was made.
So take a bow Stephanie Roche, who left Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi visibly in awe as she walked by to take her seat ahead of the Fifa Gala yesterday evening. Republic of Ireland international Roche was up for the Puskas Award for her stunning goal in October 2013 in a low-key match for Peamount United against Wexford Youth.
Roche retweeted a post on Twitter that simply read “AH LADS! Picture of The Day From The #BallondOr with @StephanieRoche9” while she later posted herself: “Very Proud to receive 1.1million votes. Congrats to James. A fantastic experience & thanks to everyone (across the world) for your support!”
Unfortunately, she was not able to take the award as James Rodriguez’s World Cup volley beat her to top spot, but her runners-up berth has still gone down as a breakthrough for women’s football in what has been a hugely successful year for the female side of the game.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments