After another calendar year of football, there have been some fantastic goals and LiberoFootball is back to look back on some of the best:

Martin Palermo – Best Header (04/10/09)

Before this goal, in a 3-2 win against Velez Sarsfield, Martin Palermo was most famous for missing a trio of penalties in a 1999 Copa America first round tie against Columbia in a 3-0 loss. He never wore the Argentina shirt until a call-up this year by a desperate Diego Maradona, where his last-gasp winner against Peru gave their faltering campaign a much needed boost.

Velez Sarsfield goalkeeper German Montoya came out of his box to clear the ball, which sailed harmlessly, at head height, towards the centre circle, where Palermo was standing, 38.9 metres from goal. The rest is history. The veteran striker said afterwards, “It always happens to me. When I look for similar stories of other players there aren’t any. Things happen to me that I can’t explain”.

Juninho Pernambucano – Best Free Kick (24/02/09)

In this first leg at the Stade Gerland, Lyon were facing ‘the best team in the world’ according to their manager Claude Puel. For all of Barcelona’s class, Lyon had one player capable of matching the class of the Catalans on this February night.

Widely acknowledged as the best free-kick taker in the world, with several techniques of taking a dead ball (and far more accomplished than others like Beckham), this Brazilian playmaker took a shot when most would think a cross is most sensible.

The ball took a frightening dip at the end of its flight, rendering Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes totally helpless. We’ve seen players like Ronaldo and Drogba take some fantastic free-kicks from distance, but this one was far more to do with technique than power.

Seydou Keita – Best Passing Move (14/04/09)

Barcelona had effectively killed off the tie in the first leg, but this tie in the Allianz Arena was more to do with maintaining that aura of invincibility. Franck Ribery took the lead for Bayern, but the passing football that the Catalans are so famous for provided the perfect response.

Seydou Keita, remoulded by Pep Guardiola from a defensive shield into a more attacking midfielder, added the final touch, after striking a lethal effort from 25 yards after a fantastic 19-pass move, evoking comparisons to Cambiasso’s goal after Argentina’s fantastic passing move in 2006.

Yoann Gourcuff  – Best Fred Astaire Impression (11/01/09)

This effort against PSG in a 4-0 win was voted Goal of the Year in Ligue Un, as Yoann Gourcuff confirmed what many were suggesting, as a successor Zinedine Zidane was found. 

Zidane’s former France team-mate Christophe Dugarry said of this stunning piece of balletic magic: “That goal was no accident. It showed there was something magical about him. I felt ill when Zidane retired. Watching Gourcuff has cured me. When I see players like him, I feel like a small boy again.”

Grafite  - Best Dribble (04/04/09)

This goal was the icing on the cake as Wolfsburg stormed to the Bundesliga title, as the Brazilian Grafite scored the fifth in the 5-1 thrashing of the reigning champions Bayern Munich. Grafite was the top scorer in the league, ably assisted by Edin Dzeko and Misimovic in the most potent triumvirate in the Bundesliga.

Cristiano Ronaldo  - Best Long Range Goal (15/04/09)

This goal just won the inaugural FIFA Goal of the Year award, and such a decision is difficult to argue with. Ronaldo fired in a bullet from 40 yards to score the only goal of the game against Porto in this quarter-final second leg, clinching a semi-final against Arsenal. In what would turn out to be his final season at Old Trafford, Ronaldo led Manchester United to a third consecutive league title and another European Cup final.

Michael Essien - Best Volley (06/05/09)

On his weaker foot, Michael Essien scored the sweetest volley of his career against Barcelona. It could have been the most important goal of his career too; for Essien’s stunning effort to open the scoring in this semi-final second leg was overshadowed by a little Spaniard in the very same game.

Andres Iniesta - Best Last Gasp goal (06/05/09)

This stunning injury time equaliser sent ten-man Barcelona into the final against Manchester United, where they would eventually prevail. It was the little Spaniard who was said to have a refusal to shoot, always preferring to lay on one more pass.

Desperate times call for desperate measures as Iniesta immersed himself in the moment and into the history books. Of course, the game was far from over, as Chelsea had a penalty appeal turned down, prompting Ballack and Drogba to have massive tantrums in the direction of referee Tom Henning Ovrebo.

The most important moment in a year where Barcelona won all available (six!) trophies, scored 105 league goals, dominated the Champions League final and were a pleasure to watch in general.

Eliran Atar - Best Overhead Kick  (07/02/09)

The Bnei Yehuda player scored this fantastic acrobatic effort in an Israeli league match against Maccabi Netania. We know little about the context but this was a brilliant technical effort. Enjoy it.

Federico Macheda - Best Debut goal (05/04/09)

This young Italian kept Manchester United’s title challenge on track with a fantastic late winner against a stubborn Aston Villa side, with the game ending 3-2. Macheda was drafted into the squad as a reward for scoring a hat-trick against Newcastle in the Reserve League, as Ferguson had another fine piece of management attributed to him. He scored another winner in a subsequent game at Sunderland, as United eventually won their third consecutive title.