Eight iconic player celebrations and what they mean

Score a major goal in a major tournament and it'll be replayed again and again. So you better think about how you're going to celebrate. Here are eight ways to go about it.

Gazza and the dentist's chair
Prior to Euro 96, on a pre-tournament trip to Hong Kong, tabloid photos showed the England players in a bar somewhat worse for wear. The most notorious incident involved 'the dentist's chair' in which players sat while drink was squirted into their mouths. Naturally, it caused a storm of controversy, particularly for Paul Gascoigne. So when he scored that remarkable goal against Scotland, he decided to get his own back with a little re-enactment.

Gareth Bale makes the heart gesture
Gareth Bale first came up with the 'hand heart' celebration in 2010, later revealing that it was done as a romantic gesture to his childhood sweetheart Emma Rhys-Jones. It's since become synonymous with the Welsh dynamo, so much so that in 2013 he applied to have a logo based on the gesture trademarked.

Roger Milla and the corner flag wiggle
Cameroon lit up the World Cup in 1990, and one of their stars was veteran striker Roger Milla, who at 38 was still banging in the goals, scoring four in the tournament. With every goal, he'd run to the corner flag to dance, a celebration that summed up the energy, spirit and joy of the team. They eventually made it to the quarter-finals, narrowly missing out on a semi-final place to England.

Peter Crouch does the robot
In a World Cup warm-up friendly against Jamaica in 2006, Peter Crouch scored a hat-trick and decided to celebrate in style – with a robot dance. The 'robocrouch' became something of a trademark for the 6ft 7in striker, a man who's never been short of a sense of humour. He once offered an in-depth study of teammate Charlie Adam's attempt to do the robot after scoring against Chelsea: "He's obviously got genuine intent and love for the robot, but he's just got a lot of it wrong," said Crouch.

Bebeto rocks the baby
When Bebeto scored against Holland in the 1994 World Cup, his wife had only recently given birth to a baby boy. So in honour of the event, Bebeto decided to mimic rocking the baby, and was soon joined by teammates Romário and Mazinho in a celebration that has been emulated ever since. The baby boy in question, Mattheus Oliviera, is now a professional footballer himself, playing for Brazilian side Flamengo.

Stjarnan FC reel in the fish
Iceland's Stjarnan FC are the kings of brilliant and bizarre goal celebrations, and this has to be among their best. After successfully scoring a penalty, the goal-scorer ropes in seven teammates to re-enact reeling in a fish and holding it up for the classic photo op. Their other celebrations include 'the Rambo' and 'the human bicycle'.

Wayne Rooney knocks himself out
After a newspaper published an online clip that appeared to show Wayne Rooney being knocked out in his kitchen by former teammate Phil Bardsley (it was a joke lost on the tabloid), Rooney decided to repeat the performance. Scoring against Spurs on the same day as the clip appeared, he briefly indulged in some shadow boxing before abruptly falling to the grassy canvas.

Marco Tardelli lets it all out
Nothing premeditated in Marco Tardelli's celebration, just pure, unadulterated euphoria. And who could blame him. The Italy player had just scored a cracker against West Germany in the 1982 World Cup Final. He simply runs, fists clenched, mouth agape, head shaking in disbelief. Now known as the 'Tardelli cry', it remains perhaps the most iconic goal celebration of all time.


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