Antoine Griezmann does the Shabba celebration. Image: Griezmann Instagram page
Griezmann explains Shabba’s iconic goal celebration with Atletico Madrid
Griezmann’s goal celebration broke the internet as South African football fans took notice that it is the same as the one Shabba did in 2010.
Antoine Griezmann does the Shabba celebration. Image: Griezmann Instagram page
Atletico Madrid legend Antoine Griezmann has explained why he copied Siphiwe Tshabalala‘s iconic goal celebration he nailed last weekend.
Shabba, as Tshabalala is affectionately known, did the now iconic celebration when he scored the opening goal of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on home soil.
He ran to the corner flag and started dancing with his Bafana Bafana teammates as the crowd at the FNB Stadium went crazy.
Now, Griezmann said he was watching goal celebrations with his son Amaro, and when he saw the one by Shabba, he liked it.
What Griezmann then did was to send the video to his Atletico teammate Rodri de Paul, and he also liked it and couldn’t wait to do it.
GRIEZMANN ON WHY HE COPIED SHABBA’S GOAL CELEBRATION
“We were watching celebrations at home, Tshabalala did it at the South African World Cup I think,” Griezzman said via Atletico media.
“Amaro [my son] loved it! When we play at home, he always does it, so I copied him. I [then] sent it to Rodri [de Paul] and he was really looking forward to doing it. We nailed it, it was perfect.
“Being friends with him is amazing, he’s a kind man as well as an important player for us, I wish us many years together.”
WHERE IS BAFANA BAFANA LEGEND SHABBA?
Meanwhile, Tshabalala is still around and has confirmed on several media platforms that he hasn’t retired from playing.
However, at 39, it would be very difficult for Shabba to get a team at s highest level.
He last played for AmaZulu, and this between 2020 and 2021 but it was at Kaizer Chiefs were he really cemented his legendary status.
Shabba also had a taste of European football with Turkish outfit BB Erzurumspor between 2018 and 2019 in a move that took many by surprise given hi age at the time.
