Some goal celebrations are good. Take, for example, the classic knee slide, or ripping your shirt off. They aren’t anything special, perhaps even a bit overdone, but they get the job done.
Some, like the Griddy or sucking your thumb like a baby, are bad – no explanation needed.
Others are boring, like Alan Shearer’s trademark arm in the air, while some, like Indian footballer Peter Biaksangzuala’s failed somersault, are even fatal.
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Some celebrations, however, are simply iconic. We’ve listed some of them below, complete with the story behind them.
1 Facundo Sava Argentinian striker-turned-masked crusader
Former Fulham striker Facundo Sava might not be best remembered for his goalscoring abilities – he managed just seven goals in 43 appearances for the Cottagers.
What he is remembered for, however, is how he celebrated those seven goals. After finding the net, the Argentinian striker would pull out a Zorro-like mask from his sock.
Apparently, it came from his time at Gimnasia, where fans would throw masks onto the pitch every time the team scored.
2 Jimmy Bullard Midfielder pays homage to half-time rollicking
On Boxing Day in 2008, Hull City were trailing Manchester City 4-0 at half-time when Tigers manager Phil Brown decided to keep his players out on the pitch at the break, sit them in a circle, and reprimand them in front of the crowd.
The following year, Hull travelled back to the Etihad Stadium, and when midfielder Jimmy Bullard scored a late equaliser for Brown’s side from the penalty spot, he decided to emulate his coach, sitting his teammates down in a circle around him and wagging his finger at them.
“He took it well,” Bullard said of Brown after the match.
3 Roger Milla Dancing at the corner flag
At the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Cameroon surprised everyone by making it to the quarter-finals, where they were eventually beaten by England.
The star of the tournament for the Indomitable Lions was striker Roger Milla, and not just because he scored four goals. After each of his strikes, the veteran forward, who was 38 at the time, ran to the corner flag and performed a little dance in front of the fans.
His celebration appears to be nothing more than an outpouring of joy, but it is clear that it helped him become a global superstar.
4 Mario Balotelli Italian unveils "Why Always Me?" message
During his first spell in England with Manchester City between 2010 and 2013, Mario Balotelli often made headlines, more often than not for the wrong reasons.
Among other things, he crashed his car, drove into a women’s prison in Italy to ‘have a look around’, and even threw a dart at a City youth player.
In response to those stories, after scoring against Manchester United in October 2011, Balotelli lifted his shirt to reveal an undershirt that simply read: “Why Always Me?”
The Italian striker’s critics at the time saw it as a boast, but Balotelli later told Time Magazine it was his way of saying: “Just leave me alone.”
5 Cristiano Ronaldo The "siuuu"
Cristiano Ronaldo’s “SIUUU” celebration has arguably become the most iconic in football history.
For those that have been living under a rock for the last decade, the celebration involves Ronaldo running to the sidelines, jumping in the air, and landing with his hands down by his sides as he screams “SIUUU”.
But what does it actually mean? According to Ronaldo himself, who first performed the celebration in 2013 during his time at Real Madrid, the noise derives from sí, the Spanish word for yes.
“I was in the USA and we played against Chelsea and I don’t know where this is coming from, the celebration,” he once explained in an interview. “I just scored the goal, and it just came out. It was just natural, to be honest. Since that, I started to do it more often.”
6 Wayne Rooney Dealing a knockout blow
Wayne Rooney never had a trademark celebration like his former Manchester United teammate Ronaldo.
Over the years, however, he did perform his fair share of memorable one-offs, including a cartwheel after netting for England against Scotland, and standing with his arms wide as he was mobbed by his United teammates after scoring perhaps the greatest overhead kick in Premier League history.
One of his most famous celebrations came in 2015, when after scoring for United in a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, he ran to the corner flag and showed off his shadow-boxing skills – a reference to a video that had recently emerged of Rooney getting knocked out by former United teammate Phil Bardsley during a friendly sparring session.
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ByAlex CapleDec 24, 2023 7 Cole Palmer "Cold" Palmer lives up to his name
A new addition to the iconic celebrations club, Cole Palmer has celebrated most of his impressive 32 goals for Chelsea since moving to Stamford Bridge last summer by rubbing his arms as if he’s cold.
The celebration is a nod to Palmer’s nickname among his Chelsea teammates – “Cold” Palmer – which was given to him because of his cool demeanour on the pitch.
He wasn’t the first to do the celebration, however. It was former Manchester City academy teammate Morgan Rogers who first did so after scoring in a game for Middlesbrough last year.
8 Diego Maradona Delirium overshadows star at World Cup
Diego Maradona’s goal celebration after scoring for Argentina against Greece at the 1994 World Cup is iconic for the wrong reasons.
After netting the third of his side’s four goals, Maradona ran to the side of the pitch and screamed into a television camera with his eyes bulging wide. The celebration raised suspicion that the forward, who had previously been banned from football for taking cocaine, was again under the influence.
Those suspicions proved to be true, as just days later, a drug test revealed he had been taking illegal stimulant ephedrine. He was subsequently kicked out of the World Cup and never played for Argentina again.
9 Peter Crouch The robot
Peter Crouch excelled at two things during his playing days: towering above defenders to score goals with his head, and dancing like an awkward, lanky robot when he did.
The former Liverpool and Stoke City star first busted out the celebration, which he claimed was invented during a party at David Beckham’s house, during England’s 6-0 friendly win over Jamaica ahead of the 2006 World Cup.
It was so loved, that he continued to do it for the rest of his career, including after he netted his 100th Premier League goal against Everton in February 2017.
10 Robbie Keane Somersaults and guns
When former Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United striker Robbie Keane used to find the net – something he did almost 400 times in his career – he’d celebrate in an extremely unique way, performing a cartwheel followed by a forward roll and some gun fingers.
Explaining the origins of the celebration during an appearance on Monday Night Football a couple of years back, the Republic of Ireland legend said it came from his childhood.
“The celebration was something I used to do as a kid,” Keane said. “Then when it came to playing football one of my mates said, ‘you have to do that if you ever make it,’ so that’s where that came from.”
