Goal celebration

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A player celebrating after scoring a goal
A player celebrating after scoring a goal

In football (soccer), a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration may be performed by the goalscorer (most notably), his or her teammates, the manager or coaching staff and/or the supporters of the team. Whilst referring to the celebration of a goal in general, the term can also be applied to specific actions, such as a player removing his shirt or performing a somersault.

Contents

[edit] Common celebrations

  • Nicholas Anelka of Chelsea and Aiyegbeni Yakubu of Everton celebrate by making a butterfly with their hands.
  • The scorer rocking his arms from side to side, as though rocking a baby. This usually signifies that the scorer recently became a parent, whether or not for the first time. This was started by Brazil striker Bebeto at the 1994 FIFA World Cup after his quarter-final goal against the Netherlands. He was joined by teammates Romário and Mazinho. One of the most recent being Chelsea's Andriy Shevchenko who was joined by all his team mates to celebrate the birth of Sheva's second son. The celebration was also done by Blackburn Rovers Matt Derbyshire when he scored the winner against Newcastle to celebrate the birth of his twin boys. The same was performed by Chelsea captain John Terry.
  • "Diving" onto the pitch with arms and legs outstretched. Supposedly first done by Jürgen Klinsmann, shortly after he joined Tottenham. Klinsmann was actually performing this goal celebration to satire his own (in his belief unjustified) reputation for diving to win free-kicks and penalties. It became known as "a Klinsmann".
  • The scorer putting a finger to his mouth, as if telling the (opposition) crowd to be quiet. Middlesbrough striker Tuncay Sanli does this after scoring a goal
  • The scorer putting his hand to his ear, taunting the opposing supporters for having suddenly gone silent following his goal which is what Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni does after scoring a goal
  • The scorer kissing the club badge on his or her shirt, to show his or her love for the club.
Real Madrid players celebrate after scoring
Real Madrid players celebrate after scoring
  • The scorer sliding on his knees, made famous by Dragan Mance of Partizan Belgrade.
  • Fabrizio Ravanelli's signature celebration when scoring a goal was pulling his shirt over his head and running around the field.
  • Raúl kisses the ring finger of his right hand after a goal, a salute to his wife. A number of other married players, for example the Korean Ahn Jung Hwan, Dutchman Dirk Kuyt and Frank Lampard, do the same.
  • Kaká of AC Milan points to the sky. This is a symbol of thanks to God, as Kaka is a devout Christian.
  • Australian players sometimes "box" the corner flag in celebration of a goal. Most notably Tim Cahill, who ran to box the corner flag, when he scored Australia's first ever World Cup goal in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It was a trend that began with teammate Archie Thompson.
  • A growing number of players in the English Premiership show an "A" by holding their index and middle fingers down, while crossing them with the index finger of the other hand. This is to promote an organisation known as A-Star, founded by Fitz Hall.
  • Former Swindon Town and Middlesbrough striker Jan Åge Fjørtoft made the aeroplane celebration famous. The celebration involves outstreching both arms and running around changing the angle of arms mimicking an aeroplane. This style was also used by the former Israeli striker Alon Mizrahi who was nicknamed "The aeroplane".

[edit] Notable celebrations

Most celebrations are modest and merely involve the goalscorer being congratulated by team-mates, however some players, such as Lomana LuaLua, Nani and Roger Milla amongst others, have a trademark and often extravagant celebration that follows scoring a goal. LuaLua, a former gymnast, is capable of multiple flips and somersaults. Nani used to practice capoeira when he was a kid. Milla used to dance around the corner flag. Other famous celebrations in England include the Chelsea team gathering around Dennis Wise, as if posing for a team photo; and the Aylesbury United team, nicknamed The Ducks, going down on their knees, and waddling in a line, with their elbows flapping. German forward Miroslav Klose does a forward somersault after scoring, though he omitted his routine in favour of a more modest pointing to the sky action after scoring Germany's equaliser against Argentina in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Another famous celebration, especially in the United States, is the shirt-stripping moment by American Brandi Chastain after she converted the winning penalty in the 1999 Women's World Cup final against China. The image of Chastain with her shirt off and revealing her bare stomach and her sports bra, immortalized on the covers of Time, Newsweek, People, and Sports Illustrated, is one of the most famous in women's sports history.

One of the most memorable choreographed celebrations came when Paul Gascoigne scored against Scotland during the Euro 96 championships. He lay on his back while other England players (including Teddy Sheringham and Gary Neville) grabbed water bottles from the touchline and poured water into his open mouth. This celebration mimicked a controversial pre-tournament incident when England players were photographed in a nightclub, sitting in a dentist's chair having alcoholic drinks poured down their throats.

The 1982 FIFA World Cup saw some of the most memorable celebrations. The usually quiet Falcão ran the pitch screaming with both his hands raised after scoring Brazil's second goal against Italy. The most memorable celebration came from Italian midfielder Marco Tardelli after scoring Italy's second goal against West Germany in the final. With tears in his eyes, he sprinted into his own half, fists beating against his chest, tears pouring down his face, screaming his name as he shook his head wildly. This is also called the "Tardelli cry". In the 2006 FIFA World Cup Fabio Grosso did his best Tardelli impression after scoring against Germany in the semi-final. With tears in his eyes, he ran into his own half waving his finger shouting "I Don't Believe It". In the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korean forward Ahn Jung-Hwan imitated a speed skater after tying the game against the United States, in reference to the controversial disqualification of Korean short track speed skater Kim Dong-Sung in the 1500 m at the 2002 Winter Olympics, allowing American Apolo Anton Ohno to win the gold medal.

Atletico's Luis Garcia celebrates after every goal he scores by sucking his thumb as a sign of love for Joel, his first son. In 2001 during England's 5-1 rout of Germany, Emile Heskey put in England's fifth goal and celebrated by simulating a golfer hitting a putt. This celebration was indicative of how easily England demolished Germany on the day.

[edit] Punishment

In recent seasons, The Football Association have tried to crack down on some of the more enthusiastic celebrations in the FA Premier League. If a player incites the crowd and/or takes his shirt off after scoring a goal he is likely to get booked by the referee (e.g., Bastian Schweinsteiger during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Marlon Harewood for West Ham after scoring in the 2006 FA Cup Semi-Final against Boro, and Carlos Alberto Gomes during the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final). This can cause huge controversy if the player has already been booked, since he would then be sent off. Carlos Tevez for Boca Juniors was even sent off when celebrating a goal against archrivals River Plate during 2004 Copa Libertadores, imitating a chicken, clearly mocking the opposite crowd, in spite of not being booked previously. Similarly, in American women's soccer at school and collegiate levels, the practice of taking the shirt off to celebrate a goal (made popular by Brandi Chastain), has been prohibited. However, some players get around this rule by pulling the hem of their shirts over the head, without taking the shirt off entirely, but this is not always overturned by the referees as shown by Italian Stefano Farina, referee of the 28th October, 2006 famous Milan Derby which Inter won 4-3 away in San Siro, he gave Marco Materazzi a second booking and thus a red card for doing that exact act after Materazzi gave Inter a 4-1 lead over Milan.

Jumping into the crowd is also a bookable offence ("deliberately leaving the field of play without the referee's permission", as identified in Law 12), one which caused Arjen Robben to be sent off in a Premier League match in 2006. Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack were both shown yellow cards after they jumped into the crowd to celebrate their goals for Chelsea against Portsmouth in the 2006-07 season. Carlos Tevez also got booked when he dived into the crowd in a Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, actually he also removed his shirt which should have warranted another yellow card, however he was only given a single booking and thus not sent of.

In 1999 former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler was fined £60,000 by his club and the FA Premier League for having celebrated his penalty goal against Everton by getting down on all fours and miming the snorting of cocaine off of the white touchline. Although it was seen as Fowler's response to being accused of drug abuse in the tabloid press, then-manager Gérard Houllier famously claimed that he was merely imitating "a cow eating grass" which, Houllier claimed, teammate Rigobert Song had regularly joked about in training.

Thierry Henry was fined a sum of money by UEFA after he removed his Arsenal shirt to reveal a T-shirt reading "To the new-born Kyd". This was a comment directed to his friend Texas lead singer Sharleen Spiteri who had just given birth.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Languages