Serge Gnabry makes a special stirring movement after almost every hit at Bayern. But this is not entirely new. What is behind his goal celebration?
Munich - Serge Gnabry is proving his risk of scoring more and more often at Bayern Munich. Since moving from Werder Bremen to the German record champions in summer 2017, the 24-year-old has played 30 times in 72 competitive matches. He has also scored 13 goals in his 13 international matches for the German national soccer team (as of February 25, 2020).
Noticeable: after almost every goal, the wing racer makes a movement with his hands as if he were stirring in a saucepan with a wooden spoon. But what is behind this jubilation?
Serge Gnabry: cheers copied from another sports star
Serge Gnabry did not come up with this very special gesture, but adopted it from another sports star. The American basketball professional James Harden, who plays for the Houston Rockets in the NBA, has been cheering for many years.
"This is cooking. If James Harden scores excessively, he's the chef. Then it runs hot ”, Gnabry once explained the cheering of the shooting guard. This is "The Beard" - as Harden is called because of his striking facial hair - has often been successful in the past season, including in March 2019 when he achieved his career high against the San Antonio Spurs with 61 points.
Over the entire season, the 30-year-old averaged 36.1 points - the seventh highest value ever! Harden is considered one of the best offensive players in the NBA and can usually only be stopped by a foul by the opposing defenders.
Serge Gnabry cheers like NBA star James Harden from the Houston Rockets.
© AFP / SCOTT HALLERAN
Serge Gnabry runs hot in the Champions League - and cheers like James Harden
But that Gnabry can also run hot, he proved in the Champions League group game against the English top club Tottenham Hotspur on October 1, 2019. “I haven't scored four goals since I was young. It was a great evening for me - and for the team, ”said the match winner after the 7-2 gala of Bayern Munich in the premier class.
"It was certainly his best game," said Niko Kovac, then coach of the Munich team. Captain Manuel Neuer was also thrilled by the appearance of his team-mate: "What can you say? Serge really hit everything. ”By the way, Gnabry presented his“ Cooking ”cheer against the“ Spurs ”after his first two goals in the 53rd minute (3: 1 from FC Bayern's perspective) and a few seconds later in the 55th minute (4: 1).
"Scoring my first four Champions League goals directly in one day was of course terrific," said the attacker, who catapulted himself into an illustrious circle: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Robert Lewandowski are among the few kickers, who scored four goals in one game in CL history. Gnabry is only the second German after Mario Gomez (2012 at Bayern 7-0 against Basel) to do this feat.
After the match of the German record champions in London, there was still a strange scene in the stadium: A Bayern professional grabbed Serge Gnabry on the pitch, as tz.de * reported.
Video: How 4-goal hero Serge Gnabry at FC Bayern moves to world class
* tz.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
sk / dpa