Why Richarlison does ‘the pigeon dance’ goal celebration

Scoring a goal sometimes makes people do unusual things

Until Richarlison came along, however, we weren't all too familiar with anyone getting the urge to mark their goals by imitating a pigeon. The Brazilian international, who joined Everton from Watford in the summer of 2018, has been known to do the 'Pombo (pigeon) Dance' after scoring some of his goals for both club and country. Here, if you're not already aware, this is how it goes. https://twitter.com/ESCANTElOCURTO/status/1028325291272413186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1028325291272413186&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.101greatgoals.com%2Fnews%2Feverton-richarlison-pigeon-brazil%2F The celebration gained plenty of attention after Neymar joined in with the dance as Richarlison scored on his senior Brazil debut against El Salvador in September, causing some to mistakenly believe it was the Paris Saint-Germain star who was its creator. Since then, Richarlison has explained that - despite idolising his international teammate as a youngster - this was very much his celebration. "It’s something we organised in training," he told The Telegraph after the game. "He’s a fan of that dance and he said if we scored in the game we would do the celebration. "It is my dance," he clarified. "He is the one copying me!" Technically, though, the moves aren't actually his at all. Before arriving in England from Fluminense in 2017, Richarlison had sparked a dance craze back in his homeland after seeing the dance done by little known pop group Os Perseguidores. "The pigeon dance came from a group from Rio de Janeiro who had a song in around 2012," he explained after completing his switch to Everton. "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." While the pigeon dance has yet to fully take off on these shores, it remains as popular as ever back in Brazil, where commentators such as Gustavo Villani greet it by making pigeon noises. https://twitter.com/gustavovillani/status/1065185226891161601?s=12 So there you have it. Very important stuff, we're sure you'll agree.