[VIDEO PICK] Our holiday party wouldn't be complete without handing out some hardware for our favorite goals. Why six? Life is just mysterious like that sometimes.

Here are the winners from six categories we thought you'd enjoy, there were plenty of losers, but we go to great lengths to exclude such riffraff from our holiday festivities.

Swedish Rabona: Nicklas Bärkroth for Uniao de Leiria against Sporting Braga. Bruno Moraes finishes the 20-year-old Swede’s audacious bit of creativity in Portugal.

Author’s Choice: Jackson Martinez’s backpedaling backheel for FC Porto was my favorite goal 2012. Such astonishing balance, skill, and improvisation demands better replays.

Team Effort: Lokeren against Standard Liege in Belgium. The ball gets airborne and stays there until Ayanda Patosi, 20, from South Africa, pounds it into the back of the net.

Goalkeeper Golazo: Jakob Kohler’s ridiculous equalizer for Frem in Denmark’s second division demanded, and got, an over-the-top celebration.



Best Assist: Spanish 18-year-old Gerard Deulofeu mesmerizes Numencia’s entire defense, on his way to dishing out the most entertaining assist all year for Barcelona B.



Best Goal: Elis Bakaj for Chornomorets in Ukraine. A midfield pass into traffic becomes an Albanian’s two-touch masterpiece in the blink of an eye -- and his expression is priceless.