Matthew Burrows (born 15 October 1985) is a former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player from Northern Ireland who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Burrows scored a jumping backheel volley goal against

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

to seal victory for Glentoran in injury-time of a match on 5 October 2010. The "astonishing goal" came from the back of Burrows' heel from 16 yards out in mid-air. The goal received international acclaim, with millions viewing the goal on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

, and football programmes around the world broadcasting the goal to audiences unfamiliar with the Irish league. The goal drew comparisons with the likes of

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

and Cristiano Ronaldo. The goal was shortlisted for the 2010 FIFA Puskás Award, which honours the player judged to have scored the "most beautiful" goal of the year. However, Burrows lost out at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony on 10 January 2011 to Bayern Munich and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

midfielder Hamit Altıntop, for his volleyed goal in Turkey's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying game against

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

on 3 September 2010. In January 2012, he asked to go out on loan. After no club would meet his entire salary costs, he asked to be released from Glentoran. This request was granted and he agreed terms and signed for Glenavon until the end of the season.

Personal life

Burrows attended Priory Integrated College in Holywood.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Matty 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Newtownards Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland 21st-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland Association footballers from County Down Men's association football forwards Dundela F.C. players Glentoran F.C. players Glenavon F.C. players Ards F.C. players Loughgall F.C. players Harland & Wolff Welders F.C. players NIFL Premiership players NIFL Championship players