ATLANTA, GEORGIA—It’s now confirmed that Josef Martnez’s ninth goal of the year, which stunned everyone, is the best of the year. The league said that the stunning bicycle kick was named the 2022 MLS AT&T Goal of the Year on Thursday.
The striker wins the yearly prize over the other 15 nominees throughout the league. Through a vote on MLSSoccer.com, fans selected Martnez as the winner. According to the release, Atlanta United has now won the honor three times in the club’s six-year history. In 2019, Martnez was the previous AT&T Goal of the Year winner. A player from Atlanta received the distinction for the second time in three years, joining Héctor Villalba in 2017.
On October 1, Atlanta United’s game against the New England Revolution scored the year’s first goal. On the play, Brooks Lennon had some room on the right edge of the New England penalty area, so midfielder Marcelino Moreno played the ball wide to him. Martnez received a perfectly delivered cross from Lennon and bicycle-kicked it past Revolution goalie Djordje Petrovic. On the play, assists went to both Moreno and Lennon.
