Decisive scorer on Sunday during Barça’s success against Atlético de Madrid, Joao Felix justified his celebration. Some took the opportunity to broaden the discussion and call on the memory of Antoine Griezmann.
Should we celebrate or not celebrate a little when we score against a former club? For the majority of footballers, the answer seems to be negative. For Joao Felix, the question did not arise this Sunday. Full of joy at having scored a vital goal for his FC Barcelona team, the Portuguese celebrated without moderation. But after the meeting, the player wanted to justify himself, since he played that evening against Atlético de Madrid to which he still belongs. A speech that made Bertrand Latour react.
The channel journalist The Team first sent a message to the Lusitanian international. “ Is there a problem with this? (…) Joao, don’t apologize for anything. You have been mistreated by Atletico fans for years, certainly because you were not good there (…) » And the observer suddenly gets annoyed: “ These false modesty of players who we know full well that once gone, they have already forgotten who they played for, who pretend when there are cameras, not to celebrate the goals. When you have spent ten years at a club, that (Steve) Mandanda does not act like a caterpillar if he wins at the Vélodrome, I hear it.“
“Stop, it’s your job”
And Bertrand Latour cites the example of a certain Antoine Griezmann, during a 2018 World Cup match against Uruguay. “ When it even came to the point, I said it to Griezmann who I love, not to celebrate goals against Uruguay because you have Uruguayan friends… This thing of not celebrating goals goes that far. So at some point, stop, it’s your job, you can be at Atlético one day, at Barça the next day, at Madrid another day, so celebrate the goals, take your bonuses and that’s it.“