By Joel Lund
For football lovers, there isn´t much to do in these times of quarantine. All of the best leagues in the world have made the right decision to postpone matches. If there´s anyone with abstinence that wants to see live football, I can notify you that the league of Belarus had its premiere last weekend and have no plans of stopping! I actually saw one of the games… But in these times it´s important for everyone to try and find entertainment by any means. That’s why I have searched through the archives to find the best goal celebrations!
Here’s our top five goal celebrations ever made
#5: Robbie Fowler´s snorting
This one is from the year 1999 and is one of the most controversial goal celebrations ever. It´s not on the list to glorify the use of cocaine, it’s just too iconic, creative and funny to skip! In the Merseyside Derby between Liverpool and Everton, Robbie Fowler scored a penalty for his Liverpool. To celebrate the goal, Robbie ran to the sideline, went on his knees and pretended that the sideline was a line of cocaine…. His explanation for this act was that the Everton supporters had accused him of being a drug-addict. Robbie responding to these false allegations cost him 32 thousand pounds and a few games suspension!
#4: Luiz Suarez Dive
Luiz Suarez is a player that only his own mother and supporters can love. He is a world-class goal scorer and a unique player in the sense that he does EVERYTHING to win. One example of this is when he bit the Italian player Giorgio Chiellini at the world Cup in 2014, that wasn’t even the first or last time he bit an opponent… Except biting and scoring he is well known for diving. Before the Merseyside Derby in 2012, Everton’s former coach David Moyes talked about how Suarez’s habitwas becoming too much. When the match arrived, Suarez obviously scored. To celebrate he ran to Everton’s bench and dived in front of Moyes. Luiz Suarez might be hard to love, but I have to admit this was funny!
#3: Rooney´s Knockout
Wayne Rooney is one of Englands best football players of all time. He has been a hot topic for newspaper headlines because of his performances on the pitch but also because of his private life. The background to his celebration comes from when he was at his home, boxing with former teammate Phil Bardsley. The fight got a little bit too serious and Bardsley won on a knock out that would have made the great Conor McGregor proud! Even though this took place in Rooney’s home, it got leaked to the English press before Manchester United’s match against Tottenham. In the game, Rooney finished the scoring in a 3-0 victory. Despite the brain cells that Rooney must have lost when he was knocked down, he was quick-thinking, celebrating the goal by shadow boxing before he faked a knock out!
#2: FC Stjarnan – The Fisherman
Most of you have probably never heard of the Icelandic club FC Stjarnan. For those who have, I can almost promise it’s not because of their success on the football field. Instead it’s because of their innovative goal celebrations! They have many that could be on the list but this one felt extra special. When FC Stjarnan scored, they choose to honour Iceland’s most important export, which is fishing and comprises 60% of the country’s exports. The guy that jumps as a fish deserves extra credit, how do you learn to move like that? The guy who caught him also has a good fishing history to brag about at the bars in Iceland. “Once I caught a fish that weighted 80 kilos”…
#1: Julius Aghahowa Acrobatics
Julius Aghahowa is the winner of this list but he could easily have been a winner of the Olympics in gymnastics. I remember this goal especially because he scored it against Sweden in the World Cup 2002. When I saw it it just blew my mind, I was seven years old and had never seen anything like that before! For everyone that is bored of sitting home in quarantine, I challenge you to practice this celebration!
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