Celebrations down the years

Nothing better than an iconic goal celebration.

Words: Bailey Williams

The Mbappé shrug and arm cross. The Haaland zen pose. That thing Ronaldo does. Goal celebrations have become commoditised in recent years. It seems all the big stars have a trademark move to whip out on finding the back of the net.

Watching goal celebrations up until around 1985 presents a simpler time when a small, joyous leap was the norm, and anything beyond that considered overly extravagant. Boro have a rich history of vibrant, vivacious and at times bemusing celebrations, a non-exhaustive history of which I will attempt to give here.

Bernie Slaven on the fence

The first Boro player with a signature celebration? Recently-dethroned goalscoring record-holder Bernie flaunted health and safety regulations with alarming frequency. Springing emotively onto the Ayresome Park fences, he loved it so much that he famously saved his favourite segment of red ironwork from the scrapheap and put it in his garden. An all-time classic Boro image.

Jan Åge Fjørtoft’s frequent flyer miles

Certainly a safer celebration for children across Teesside to emulate. Fjørtoft brought a modern flavour of celebration to Ayresome Park and the Riverside, wheeling off towards the corner flag with arms outstretched like an aeroplane. From a modern perspective, his tilting and banking make for a quaint but charming celebration that set him apart from his teammates. Best enjoyed with that Juninho assist against Leeds.

Ravanelli’s wardrobe malfunction

Already a huge name when he joined the Robson revolution, the White Feather’s signature shirt-over-head manoeuvre is just as famed as the mercurial man himself. He wouldn’t do it every time - sparing Chester and Hednesford in the FA Cup for example, or against Derby when he sang into a pitch side microphone - but that just made its appearance even more special. Still employed by ostentatious strikers who wish to avoid yellow cards.

Juninho and Emerson’s Teesside samba

It may be stretching the definition of ‘signature celebration’, seeing as he only did it in its full glory once, but the Little Fella dancing a jig on Arsenal’s League Cup hopes is a moment that will live in Boro history. It’s personally the first thing that comes to mind when I see that navy and maroon Dial-A-Phone away shirt. A special mention must go to Juninho’s compatriot Emerson, who provided a similarly iconic moment to the blue Cellnet Y-front shirt at the Stadium of Light a few years before.

Stuani’s scissor kick

Again a one-time-only affair, but what a time it was. It really felt as though anything was possible when the Uruguayan dynamo swept home from five yards and landed a precise kick on the corner flag. The euphoric energy in that freeze-frame of Stuani mid-flight will long outlast the disappointment of the season that followed it.

Riley McGree’s… dance?

Honestly not just included because I saw it from the front row. The icing on the cake after a hard-fought win against Cardiff, Riley was so chuffed to seal three points that he suddenly broke out into an Australian mating dance. Combining the shirt-over-head of Ravanelli and the outstretched arms of Fjørtoft, McGree added his own distinct flair to create a celebration that I hope we haven’t seen the last of.