Top Three Funny Goal Celebrations In Recent Years

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In soccer over the years we have seen many memorable reactions to the ball hitting the back of the net, some pre-planned, others completely instantaneous. Some of these leave the offending player looking a more than a little silly, some have got the player into trouble (Robbie Fowler anyone?) but most of the time, it simply adds to the occasion, gives fans and pundits alike something to talk about and maybe even go viral on the socials. Here are three of the more memorable goal celebrations from recent memory.

Dries Mertens vs. Roma

When Napoli hosted Roma back in 2017, Belgian superstar Dries Mertens helped himself to a brace as his side ran out 2-1 winners. As fine as his performance was, the two goals were overshadowed somewhat by his rather odd decision to celebrate his first like a dog by getting down on all fours, cocking a leg and pretending to pee on the corner flag. What would prompt such a scene? Well, it turns out it was a, err, fitting tribute to Nigerian legend Finidi George who performed the same routine back at the  FIFA World Cup USA 94, for which there appears to be no apparent explanation other than George quite liked dogs.

 

Neymar JR vs. Paraguay

World Cups have provided happy hunting for lovers of obscure goal celebrations over the years and the 2017 qualifiers threw up a slightly more controversial entry from one of the superstars of the world game, Neymar Jr. Following his goal against Paraguay in Brazil’s 3-0 win, Neymar, who is 8/1 in the latest Copa America top scorer football betting odds for this summer’s tournament in Brazil, marked the occasion by removing the corner flag, taking a knee and using said flag pole to mimic shooting a gun, sniper style.

While the PSG star and £200m man meant no obvious offence and most chose to see the funny side, the sharpshooter’s bogus gun toting could have landed him in hot water. In fact, it did exactly that for his now club teammate Edison Cavani who performed a similar celebration when he found the net for PSG against Lens. Then, the Uruguayan was booked for his ‘sniping’ and shown another yellow for protesting, making Neymar Jr a very lucky, if funny, boy. Just as well too given his antics in the World Cup proper last summer where Neymar went viral for other on-field antics.