page_title: Goal celebration
section_title: Common celebrations
hierarchical_section_title: Goal celebration / Celebration / Common celebrations
caption_attribution_description: English: Thierry Henry Statue Čeština: Socha Thierry Henryho před Emirates Stadium
context_page_description: In sports, a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration is normally performed by the goalscorer, and may involve their teammates, the manager or coaching staff 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 their shirt or performing a somersault. Celebrations are generally more substantial in lower-scoring sports, such as association football and ice hockey, where a score has greater significance.
  Many goal celebrations have been immortalised, such as in a statue, advertisements, postage stamps, magazine covers, or in video games: Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Lionel Messi among many others are featured in the FIFA series.
context_section_description: A group hug of the players on the pitch with the scorer underneath, or the players jumping on each other's shoulders.
  The scorer running to corner flag, standing with one of his hands holding the flagpole while screaming – Gabriel Batistuta’s similar celebration when he played for Fiorentina inspired the design of his life-size bronze statue.
  The scorer putting an index finger to his lips, as if telling the (opposition) crowd to be quiet – Real Madrid forward Raúl memorably celebrated in this manner when scoring against  fierce rivals Barcelona at the Nou Camp in 1999.
  The scorer pretending to fire a machine gun, as done by Gabriel Batistuta and Edinson Cavani.
  The scorer turning his wrist near his ear, this is usually done while running. It was used many times, if not at all times, by Luca Toni.
  The scorer diving onto the grass with arms and legs outstretched. This was supposedly first done by Jürgen Klinsmann, shortly after he joined Tottenham Hotspur. Klinsmann was actually performing this goal celebration to satirise his own (in his belief unjustified) reputation for diving to win free-kicks and penalties. It became known as "a Klinsmann".
  The scorer walking or running away in a nonchalant style with a "cocky" smirk as if to say, "I'm the best, that was easy, etc." An adaptation of this involves the scorer standing still and turning or looking around with said look. This was done by Manchester United striker Eric Cantona, and later by Zlatan Ibrahimović.
  Ibrahimovic also popularised shaping the fingers on both hands in the shape of a heart for his goal celebrations.
  The scorer kissing the ring finger – as Raúl always did. Married players are saluting to their husbands/wives with this celebration. Rivaldo also famously performed this celebration in the quarter-final match against Denmark in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
  The scorer sliding on his knees – often done by Didier Drogba and Eden Hazard.
  The scorer outstretching both arms and running around changing the angle of arms mimicking an aeroplane. This was made famous by former Brazilian striker Careca and later earned Italian forward Vincenzo Montella his nickname of "little aeroplane" (l'aeroplanino in Italian).
  The scorer outstretching both arms and running straight. Brazilian striker Ronaldo often celebrated in this manner in his early career – his goal celebration was the basis for Pirelli’s 1998 commercial where he replaced the figure of Christ from the Christ the Redeemer statue while in an Inter Milan strip. Zlatan Ibrahimović, whose idol was Ronaldo, often celebrates with both arms outstretched.
  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. It was brought to the world's attention by Brazilian striker Bebeto (joined by teammates Romário and Mazinho) at the 1994 FIFA World Cup after his quarter-final goal against the Netherlands, celebrating his son Mattheus, born two days before.
  The scorer putting the ball underneath their shirt to indicate the pregnancy of a loved one.
  The scorer sucking his thumb as a tribute to his child(ren) or to signify that scoring a goal is like child's play, over the years this has become a trademark celebration of Roma legend Francesco Totti.
  The scorer pointing towards the skies, either to express gratitude to God or to reference a person who is deceased – Kaká invariably gave thanks.
  The scorer putting his hands behind his ears as if to listen to the reaction of the crowd more. This is usually done when a player is getting booed during the game and then scores, or if a player returns to score against his former club – as Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku did when he cupped his ears to Everton fans after scoring (they had booed him throughout the game). Rarely, this celebration is aimed at club staff, players or officials for various internal reasons.
  The scorer exhibiting some kind of dancing after the goal, usually joined in by teammates. The first player to gain worldwide fame for this was probably C
caption: Thierry Henry statue outside Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. The statue recreates Henry's celebration where he slid to his knees after a goal for Arsenal against Spurs in November 2002.[58]
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