Richarlison’s pigeon dance has taken the World Cup by storm – with the legendary Ronaldo even learning new moves!
The Tottenham star scored Brazil’s third goal as they demolished South Korea in the first half as A Selecao cruised to the quarter-finals.
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Richarlison’s pigeon dance was one of the images from the Qatar World Cup
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Richarlison taught his teammates how to do it
The South Americans got the ball rolling after all four goals in the 4-1 win, but it was Richarlison’s celebration that sparked the most controversy.
Having already shown his pace alongside his teammates for Brazil’s first two goals, Richarlison involved his coach when it was his turn.
Tite agreed and joined in the celebration of the 25-year-old marquee pigeon, but where did she come from?
The World Cup has often served as a stage for footballers to create new dances or haircuts, but this one dates back years…
Why does Richarlison do the “pigeon dance”?
Fans of Tottenham, Everton and even Watford will be familiar with Richarlison’s urge to score his goals by imitating a bird.
The Brazilian arrived in England from Fluminense in 2017 with a reputation for starting the ‘Pombo Dance’ in his native country.
The movements are actually inspired by the pop group Os Perseguidores.
Richarlison once explained, “The Pigeon Dance came from a band in Rio de Janeiro that had a song around 2012.
“A trend started when I did the dance at home. Everyone started copying me.
“I think I helped the band’s profile grow because of that.
“I hope to score goals and do the dance I promised, the pigeon dance.”
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Richarlison has now scored three World Cup goals
The dance took a while to fully take off, with Richarlison even referring to himself as ‘the pigeon’ when discussing Thiago’s reaction to his red card challenge in a Merseyside derby in 2021.
Yet now that the moves are on display at the World Cup, even legendary Brazil striker Ronaldo was keen to learn them.
However, Brazil boss Tite dismissed the idea that he was disrespecting South Korea for getting involved.
Tite revealed: “I said (to Richarlison) if you show it to me I will, but we have to be careful because various people will say it was disrespectful.
“I didn’t want it to be misinterpreted as anything other than a feeling of happiness for the goal and for the result, and not that we were disrespecting our opponent, which we weren’t.”
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