The Top 5 Trending Football Celebrations

Any sport involves emotions. Be it Virat Kohli scoring a century at Lord’s or Andres Iniesta scoring the winner in extra-time for Spain in the World Cup 2010 final, moments such as these are bound to be accompanied with outbursts of emotions from the players. Scoring a goal for the club he’s always desired to play for, and under specific circumstances such as scoring at home against arch rivals, is as emotional a moment as any for a footballer. Such moments bring out unforgettable celebrations from the footballers. Here’s a list of the newest celebrations that have been added to the proliferating list of unconventional football celebrations:

The Hit Them Folks:

Manchester United youth academy star Jesse Lingard, widely known as the ‘dab connoisseur’ alongwith team-mate Paul Pogba, displayed an equally eccentric celebration when he scored a sublime solo goal on his FA Community Shield debut against Leicester City in August 2016, prior to Pogba’s move to Old Trafford. The celebration, whose picture Lingard captioned ‘Hit Them Folks’ on his Instagram account, is a dance move which involves raising the arms in a U-shape while lifting the right or left leg. Here’s the celebration:

The Hotline Bling:

Atletico Madrid and France Superstar, Antoine Griezmann’s trademark hand celebration caught the eye of the media and fans alike last year. Griezmann scores a goal, then crowns the moment by shaking his closed fists with the thumb and little finger pointed out. It wasn’t until the Euro 2016 that the Ballon d’Or 2016 nominee revealed the inspiration behind his unique celebration. “The celebration is a dance from Drake’s music video ‘Hotline Bling’. I started doing it at Atletico and then I couldn’t do it against Albania because the emotion was too strong, same for the first goal against Ireland. Then I remembered it, and just did it”, he said. Watch the celebration here:

The Dab:

Although made famous by NFL player Cam Newton in America, the dab celebration was pioneered in football by current Manchester United star Paul Pogba at his former club Juventus. Though Pogba’s United academy buddy Jesse Lingard was the first one to bring the Dab to British football in January 2016, Pogba and Lingard are now the ‘dab connoisseurs’ at Manchester United. The celebration doesn’t need any description, such is its popularity. Right from Sergio Ramos scoring injury-time winners for Real Madrid, to Cristiano Ronaldo’s son congratulating his father on winning the Ballon d’Or, everyone seems to be celebrating it the dab style! Here’s the celebration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhUsMnLneQs

The Dybalamask:

Paulo Dybala, who is one of the hottest prospects in club football right now, courtesy of the 23 goals he scored for Juventus last season, showcased a new celebration instead of his usual Messi-like celebration. In the 2-1 win against AC Milan on 25th January 2017, the Argentine striker netted an exquisite finish and celebrated by masking his face with his fist and placing his index finger and thumb below his eyes. Apparently, Dybala celebrated in a novel way because he scored the goal with his unfavoured right foot. It’s gone viral on social media ever since. Have a look at one of the most unique football celebrations here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc-3yy_gNyk

The Salt Bae celebration:

Not much in the news for his goal-scoring statistics, Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck had an unforgettable night as he won over the Internet in Arsenal’s 5-0 rout of Southampton, where he scored twice and celebrated his first goal in a fashion similar to recent Internet icon, Turkish chef Nusret Gokce’s meat-slicing and salting techniques. Here’s Welbeck’s celebration: