World Player of the Week: Custodio – Braga

Welcome to Goal.com's regular feature: Goal.com World Player of the Week. Each week our worldwide team of editors will put forward a selected candidate, as chosen by Goal.com International, who deserves recognition for achieving something special that matchday. It won't necessarily be the best player in the world - at least not usually - but whoever we nominate will have done something amazing. It might be for a particularly awesome performance or for something praiseworthy off the pitch - either way, the person in question deserves special attention...

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Goal.com World Player of the Week #103: Custodio (Castrol Ranking: N/A)
Club: Braga
Country: Portugal
Age: 27
Role: Midfielder
Achievement: Headed home the winner against Benfica in Europa League

Custodio scored the decisive goal on Thursday evening as Braga marched to the final of the Europa League at the expense of fellow Portuguese side Benfica.

The midfielder’s header on 19 minutes left the Eagles’ defence with no answer. He could have added to his tally on 85 minutes, too, but nevertheless his performance in the match was simply superb.

The former Dynamo Moscow man’s goal meant that the semi-final tie between Braga and Benfica ended in a 2-2 draw, with Domingos Paciencia’s side progressing to the final in Dublin on the away goals rule.

Custodio, though, refused to bask in the glory alone and said: "I'm no hero. We all are heroes - those who played, those who stayed on the bench, those who stayed in the stands, the fans.

The goal also saw Braga reach the final of a European competition for the first time in their history and helped them establish a side that is one of the forces to be reckoned with in Portugal at the current time.

Congratulations to Custodio, Goal.com's 103rd world player of the week!

Honourable Mentions

Antonio Valencia – Manchester United (Castrol Ranking: 1427)

The right-winger has suffered with injuries this season but had a fantastic week. Valencia was a livewire throughout Manchester United’s 4-1 defeat of Schalke in the second-leg of their Champions League semi-final tie in midweek. Then on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League encounter against Chelsea, he was a mencace down the flanks and caused all sorts of problems for Ashley Cole. His pace, energy and work ethic all were very much on show at Old Trafford.

Antonio Di Natale – Udinese (Castrol Ranking: 16)

Udinese moved into the top-four in Serie A on Sunday afternoon and at the heart of that triumph was Di Natale. The Italian veteran striker scored twice in their 2-1 victory over Lazio. The 33-year-old now leads the scoring charts in the league with 28 goals.

Steven Fletcher – Wolverhampton Wanderers (Castrol Ranking: 1377)

Wolves moved out of the relegation zone on Sunday with a 3-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion and the man responsible for the points was Fletcher. He scored twice and set up the other.

Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid (Castrol Ranking: 3)

Real Madrid destroyed Sevilla 6-2 in Seville on Saturday evening and Ronaldo was the man in form. The Portugal international scored no fewer than four goals to increase his tally to 46 in all competitions – a personal best. The former Manchester United winger is now the top scorer in La Liga with 33 goals, two more than Lionel Messi.

Marc Janko – Twente (Castrol Ranking: 1927)

Twente came from two down to defeat Ajax 3-2 in the final of the KNVB Beker on Sunday evening, and the winning goal was scored by Janko on 118 minutes. The triumph keeps the defending Dutch champions’ hopes of winning the league and cup double alive.

Andres Iniesta – Barcelona (Castrol Ranking: 22)

The Spain international emerged as Barcelona’s best player over the past week. Against Real Madrid in the second-leg of their Champions League semi-final tie last week, Iniesta’s majestic through pass to Pedro carved open the defence. Then on Sunday evening in the Catalan derby against Espanyol in the Primera Division, Iniesta broke the deadlock a minute before the half-hour mark with a sensational strike and was the most entertaining player on the pitch.

Leave your notes of congratulations for Custodio below, or discuss who else deserves a place in the spotlight this week...

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