From Hip Shakes to Fortnite: 30 Years of Goal Celebrations

1990: a 38-year-old at the corner flag

It starts with Roger Milla of Cameroon. He was 38 at the 1990 World Cup, and every time he scored he ran to the corner flag and danced. Scoring at a World Cup at that age is impressive enough. Dancing as well made him impossible not to love.

1994: three men and a baby

At the 1994 World Cup, Bebeto scored and started rocking an imaginary baby. It was for his newborn son, Mateus. Romario and Mazinho joined in beside him, and the world watched three grown footballers rock a baby that was not there.

Hard times for corner flags

To Australia's Tim Cahill, the corner flag was a punchbag. He scored, he ran over, he threw punches. It became so famous that a ball boy once removed the flag to stop him. For the opposition, that may have been the best save of the day.

England's Peter Crouch became known for the robot. He did it before the 2006 World Cup, including against Hungary, and with arms and legs that long you could recognise it from the back row of the stand.

Celebrations that needed props

Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus hid masks behind the goal. After scoring they put them on and became Batman and Robin, with Aubameyang as Batman and Reus as Robin.

Francesco Totti went one better. In the 2015 Rome derby he scored, picked up a smartphone and took a real selfie with the fans behind him. This was no mime. He actually took the photo. Lazio supporters will not have enjoyed that.

Others let a T-shirt do the talking. Mario Balotelli's 'Why Always Me?' came during Manchester City's 6-1 win over Manchester United in 2011, and it is remembered almost as well as the score.

From a video game to a World Cup final

At the 2018 World Cup final, Antoine Griezmann did 'Take the L', a dance from Fortnite. A move from a video game had reached the biggest match on the planet. Heung-min Son's camera celebration, framing a shot with his fingers, spread the same way, because it is so easy for fans to copy.

Those who paid the price

At the 2022 World Cup, Cameroon's Vincent Aboubakar scored the winner against Brazil and took off his shirt. He was already on a yellow card, so the second booking sent him off. The goal of a lifetime and a red card, almost in the same shot.

Managers are not safe either. When Liverpool scored a last-gasp winner at Norwich in 2016, Jurgen Klopp got caught up in the pile of players and broke his glasses. As prices for three points go, that is a bargain.