© Living the Dream...

A football match provokes a wide range of emotions, none more exciting than when a goal is scored. And when a goal changes the course of a match, wins a title and gives joy to thousands of supporters, the scorer can hardly be expected to hide his emotions.

Some do remain calm, while others go absolutely crazy, running in all directions or doing a little dance. Fans love it and children copy their heroes the following day in the playground. FIFAworldcup.com takes a look at some of the most famous, and infamous, goal celebrations.

Trademark celebrations

Somersaults – some acrobatic, some less so – have become the trademark of many a goalscorer. Legendary Mexico striker Hugo Sanchez was the innovator who has sparked off countless imitators around the world. The Sanchez somersault accompanied all of his goals, and while he only ever notched one in a FIFA World Cup™ – against Belgium on home soil in 1986 – he had far more success in Spain, wowing fans on both sides of the Madrid divide and finishing up top scorer in the league on four occasions.

The somersault is the calling card of other successful strikers and Korea/Japan 2002 saw enough triple Salchows to keep an Olympic judge happy. The Republic of Ireland's Robbie Keane rounded off all three of his goals with his very own machine-gun somersault, while Germany's Miroslav Klose scored twice as many and thus flew through the air on half-a-dozen occasions.

When it came to artistic impression, however, Nigeria's Julius Aghahowa came out the winner. When he scored the Super Eagles' only goal of the competition against Sweden, he performed an incredible eight somersaults and topped it all off with a back-flip!

Chile's Marcelo Salas prefers bullfighting to gymnastics. His four goals at France 98 gave him the chance to perfect a routine which boys across South America would come to imitate – one knee on the ground, head bowed, finger pointing to the sky. No wonder Salas came to be known as 'The Matador'.

Better halves
Some celebrations have a double meaning. Spain's leading international scorer Raul dedicates each of his goals to his wife, both for his club, Real Madrid, and his country, by kissing his wedding ring. Italy's Francesco Totti, meanwhile, celebrated the birth of his child after each of his goals last season. His choreographed routine saw him hide the ball under his jersey, then 'give birth' to it before sucking his thumb. This was not the first on-field show of paternal pride, however.

Twelve years earlier, at USA 94, Brazil's Bebeto showed the whole world how happy he was to be a dad. After he scored for the Seleção against the Netherlands, he began cradling an imaginary baby and up came Romario and Mazinho to do likewise alongside him, in an image which fans remember to this day.

"I wanted to do something special to mark the birth of my child two days earlier," Bebeto explained to FIFAworldcup.com, "but the cradling wasn't planned, it just came to me. Then I saw Romario and Mazinho either side of me doing the same, and I felt so emotional."

A few days earlier in Dallas, another birth was being celebrated, that of a great new team. Nigeria marked their first ever FIFA World Cup campaign by thrashing Bulgaria (who would go on to reach the semi-finals) 3-0 in their opening game. Rasheed Yekini has since become a legend in his home country, not merely due to the fact that he is Nigeria's leading international scorer, but also thanks to the way he celebrated their first goal that evening. With his fists clenched, he stood in the back of the net as tears of joy poured out on behalf of an entire nation.

Corner-flag capers
Africa has also given us some of the FIFA World Cup's best (or should that be worst?) dance routines. When Cameroon qualified for their second ever tournament at Italia 90, no one gave them much of a chance. By the time the Indomitable Lions had seen off Romania and Colombia, however, Roger Milla had become a household name. The 38 year-old rolled back the years, twice notching two goals in a game and each time showcasing his twinkle toes, with his corner-flag hip-swaying also going down in the annals.

In 2002, it was Senegal's turn to be the surprise package. Following in the footsteps of Cameroon, who beat holders Argentina in the opening match at Italia 90, Bruno Metsu's men pulled off an equally big upset by beating France. After scoring the only goal of the game against the defending champions, Papa Bouba Diop took his jersey off and hung it on the corner flag. Within seconds, all of his team-mates were dancing around the new-look pole.

That game brings back bitter memories for France's Lilian Thuram, but four years previously, all eyes were on him. In the semi-final against Croatia, the home nation found themselves 1-0 down and looking like they would miss out on their 'own' final. Then up stepped the defender to score not once, but twice – his only two international goals to date – to send Les Bleus into the promised land. It was tough to tell which emotion was dominant – joy or incredulity – as Thuram sank to his knees with a finger on his lips and a thousand-yard stare.

"The only thing I can compare it with is when a jazz musician improvises", Thuram explained. "He knows his instrument, and his fingers suddenly start moving more quickly than his brain, so he just lets go and forgets the notes on the sheet. That's what happened to me that evening. I forgot the stakes, the tactics, the opponents – it was just me and the ball. It was like a state of grace, or a trance. France-Croatia was my version of a Miles Davis solo."

In a recent conversation with FIFAworldcup.com, the Juventus defender described that moment as "something I had no control over". Perhaps Italy's Christian Vieri felt the same when he sat down cross-legged on the Stade Velodrome turf in Marseille after scoring against Norway in the Round of 16 at France 1998. Ditto Brian Laudrup, who calmly lay down on the turf after equalising for Denmark against Brazil in the quarter-finals of the same tournament.

Less calm was Italy's Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci, whose look of wide-eyed amazement accompanied his six goals at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. His Azzurri predecessor Marco Tardelli, who won the tournament in 1982, was even more euphoric. When the tough-tackling Juventus midfielder put Italy 2-1 up against West Germany in the final, he seemed to be delirious. Alain Giresse was another, running around fists clenched and shouting uncontrollably during the semi-final against West Germany in 1982. While he looked like he was on another planet, goals from Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Klaus Fischer soon brought him back down to earth.

Celebrations 2006-style
The race for the adidas Golden Shoe should see some interesting post-goal rituals this summer in Germany. After a season spent practising their routines, the marksmen will be looking forward to trying them out in front of a global audience.

Italy’s Luca Toni had 31 opportunities to perfect his "Are you listening?" celebration last year in Serie A, while Portugal's Pedro Pauleta spread his wings 21 times in the French Ligue 1. Brazilian Ronaldo has begun to imitate various animals to mark his goals, whereas his compatriot and fellow Spanish exile Ronaldinho prefers to surf on the wave of crowd adulation with his hands and arms outstretched. Korea Republic's Chu-Young Park prefers a more pious pose, kneeling in prayer after each goal.

Then there are the team efforts: FIFA World Cup newcomers Côte d'Ivoire have perfected a fine line in team celebrations with their synchronised mountain goat routine, while the Brazilian and French internationals at French club champions Lyon have their own version of the New Zealand haka.

If goals are the main ingredient at the FIFA World Cup, the celebrations after them are more than just the icing on the cake. While most will struggle to remember the final scorelines of Argentina-Greece in 1994 and France-South Africa in 1998, who can forget Diego Maradona's raging post-goal run, eyes ablaze, or Christophe Dugarry's clown impression, tongue hanging out? Goalkeepers beware: the strikers will be looking to make an impression this summer, with their shooting boots and their dancing shoes.

16 May 2006
by FIFAworldcup.com