Sliding On Your Knees = Not Clever

Have you ever watched a professional football do the “sliding on the knees” goal celebration and thought “that could end badly”?

I cringe every time. Sure it looks cool, gliding along the turf with your arms out. And I’m no certified physiotherapist. But I’m pretty sure that fully functioning knees are an important part of any footballer’s toolbag. And it was only a matter of time before one of them got injured while sliding along in celebration. Which is exactly what happened this weekend.

Sergio Garcia scored the first goal for Real Betis in the 3-3 draw with Numancia, after just nine minutes. He went with the knee-sliding celebration, got it a bit wrong and was substituted with a twisted lateral ligament in his left knee soon after.

You can see Garcia’s celebration in this video after he scores the first goal:

You can see from the La Liga Primera Division table that Betis are in trouble:

[table "borrowed" from BBC]

One point clear of the relegation zone (bottom three go down) with nine games to play. And now Garcia – Betis’ top scorer – and will miss most if not all of the rest of the season.

Some Related Stories:

Category: Spain La Liga