Daniel Sturridge used to be super popular with his arm-waving goal celebration during his time at Chelsea and Liverpool, as well as for England. Now he has a behind the scenes story to tell.
Sturridge says that when he was young, he used to imitate the celebrations of Faustino Asprilla and Ian Wright, but he decides to create his own dance.
“It’s ‘The Sturridge dance’. It’s not ‘The Wave’ which FIFA called it, it’s not the name,” he said on his YouTube channel .
“It’s ‘The Sturridge dance’ so let’s get that straight and fine and dandy.
“Hanging out with my cousins and my friends in my apartment. There was some house music playing, filming us, a couple of drinks flowing, you know.
“I literally just started doing that move. It wasn’t as smooth, it wasn’t as clean but I was a little bit tipsy and just decided to start moving that way.
“We all found it hilarious and then I was just like, if I score, I’ll do it! I think the very first time I did the dance, we played Man United in the Carling Cup at Stamford Bridge when I was playing for Chelsea.
“That was the first time I brought the dance out. Mind you, it’s evolved a lot since then. It wasn’t as smooth or as clean as it is now.”
“I wouldn’t say dancing has to be something you do,” he added.
“Alan Shearer has an iconic celebration, everybody knows the hand in the air. Robbie Keane did the roll and cartwheel and all that stuff. So there’s loads of celebrations out there that I feel are iconic.
“I’m honoured by it because I didn’t expect it to last this long. I’m really honoured and want to thank the fans for letting me have a celebration go down as one of the best in the game.”
Sturridge is currently without a club after his contract with Turkish side Trabzonspor cancelled, before being sentenced for a four-month global ban after breaching betting rules.
Given the grave situation due to the spread of COVID-19 worldwide, it’s safe to say that Sturridge is not the only one missing football actions.