Video: One-legged footballer scores incredible volley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khaG2TV0w0I

This is one of the finest pieces of athleticism we’ve ever seen on a football pitch. And the man responsible for it has only one leg and was carrying two crutches. Amazing.

In the Paralympics recently, we caught a glimpse of the remarkable capabilities of athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities, not least from the likes of our own Jason Smyth and the other fantastic Irish representatives.

Not even a fortnight has passed since the closing ceremony, but an American soccer player, Nico Calabria, from Concord-Carlisle Regional High School, provided further evidence that physical disability doesn’t have to stall sporting progress with a quite brilliant goal in recent days.

How Nico - an amputee born with just one leg - managed to manoeuvre his leg to connect with the ball directly from a corner while also balancing himself on crutches is beyond our imagination, but the end result was spectacular. You’ll do well to find a goal better than this one anywhere in the world this season.

Check it out for yourself in the video above.

Hat-tip to Noel Taafe for pointing this one out to us on Facebook.