Explained: Why does Richarlison do the pigeon dance? Tottenham star and his FIFA World Cup goal celebration decoded
Richarlison has taken over the 2022 FIFA World cup with his performances. So has his celebration, the 'Pigeon Dance'.
Fans were treated to a display of beautiful football when the Selecao demolished South Korea 4-1 in their Round of 16 clash. The Tottenham Hotspur striker scored a magnificent third for his team. He capped off an exquisite team move after starting it himself.
Brazil were ruthless against South Korea, with Vinicius Jr., Neymar Jr., and Lucas Paqueta also registering their names on the scoresheet.
Richarlison celebrated his goal with the 'Pigeon dance'. His celebration has become so popular that Brazilian legend Ronaldo has also been learning the move. Even coach Tite joined in the celebrations after the Brazil no. 9 scored against South Korea.
The former Everton striker joined Fluminense back in 2017 and brought the reputation of performing the 'Pombo dance'.
Pop group Os Perseguidores is the inspiration behind his celebrations. Richarlison himself explained the move, saying (via talkSPORT):
“The pigeon dance came from a group from Rio de Janeiro who had a song in around 2012. A trend was started when I did the dance at home. Everyone started copying me. I think I’ve helped the band’s profile grow because of that. I am hoping to score goals and do the dance I promised, the pigeon dance.”
Coach Tite dismissed notions that the celebration was disrespectful to their recent FIFA World Cup opponents, South Korea. He said:
“I said (to Richarlison) if you show it to me I’ll do it, but we have to be careful because various people will say it was disrespectful. I didn’t want it to be misinterpreted as anything less than a sense of happiness for the goal and for the result, and not that we were disrespecting our opponent which was not the case.”
Richarlison was delighted with his strike against South Korea in the 2022 FIFA World Cup
The Tottenham Hotspur striker's goal against South Korea (29th minute) was one of the strikes of the tournament. Brazil's rhythm was on full display during the goal. The scorer himself was elated with it, as he said after scoring his third in the 2022 FIFA World Cup (via FIFA's official website):
“It was beautiful, The give-and-go [to take out] the two centre-backs came off well. When I controlled the ball with my head, I didn’t see who was there. I just saw the yellow jersey and played it. It came off.”
When you realise Richarlison has scored the best and second-best goal at this World Cup so far 😳 https://t.co/wLuHxTux0R
The goal was set up when Richarlison controlled the ball beautifully using his head and then gave a good pass. Eventually, he got a brilliant pass inside the box and smashed the ball into the net to give his team a 3-0 lead.
This goal and the way it was set up was the crowning moment of the Brazilian center forward's play on the day. Otherwise, he had a 82 percent passing accuracy and could win just two of his ground duels. He was also dispossessed 11 times. Clearly, his best is yet to come, which is a dangerous prospect for opponents.