The FIFA series by EA Sports offers the best in football gaming to its users. FIFA 17 is the most comprehensive and the most advanced model of a football video game there is, with a high-performance gaming engine and lifelike graphics significantly improving the overall experience.
FIFA 17 was EA’s highest selling version of the franchise ever and the brand is looking to grow, making more and more parts of the game customisable and allowing gamers to play the game their own way with innovative features like custom tactics, celebrations, the Journey and many others.
One of the interesting aspects of FIFA gameplay remains the goal celebrations. There is an entire catalogue of celebrations that can be undertaken in the game. All one has to do is go through the celebrations menu and look up a choice celebration’s button map. FIFA 17 has incorporated celebrations like the “Dab”, made famous by Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Kung Fu kick and Antoine Griezmann’s Hotline Bling amongst others.
Also read: Watch: 3 FIFA 17 secrets that EA Sports did not want you to find out about
As the programmers at EA get busy developing FIFA 18 with the annual September deadline drawing closer, we list five celebrations that took place in the footballing world in the 2016-17 season that have to be included in the upcoming version of the game.
#1 Ronaldo’s thinking celebration
A number of Cristiano Ronaldo celebrations are already a part of FIFA. The bear claw and the “Siiii” celebration are prominent items in FIFA 17 while the strong thigh celebration has been a part of the FIFA series for quite some time now.
Due to his widespread appeal and fame, Ronaldo is always in the public eye, so when he debuted a new celebration after scoring his second against Atletico Madrid last November, his fans and the internet consequently went berserk and developed many theories behind the Portuguese’s new thinking-man celebration.
The star forward ran to the camera, kneeled down and made a face that seemed to question or contemplate some grave matter. The general consensus was that this was Ronaldo’s answer to the critics who never seem to get off his back in spite of his achievements in Spain.
Whatever may be the reason behind this peculiar celebration, FIFA players will love to recreate it on their television sets after Ronaldo helps them win a game from two goals down.
#2 The Salt Bae
Salt Bae is the name given to Turkish chef, Nusret Gocke who gained worldwide recognition after a video of him salting his steaks in a sensual manner went viral. The picture of him delicately salting a piece of meat became one of the most recognised internet memes of the year.
Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck pulled off this delicate piece of art after scoring two goals in Arsenal’s win over Southampton earlier this year while Bayer Leverkusen’s Omer Toprak and Hakan Calhanoglu also celebrated their win against Hertha Berlin earlier in the season with their impression of the Salt Bae.
While the Salt Bae might not be the most dynamic celebration, it has the potential to be an annoying one while playing against friends much like the dab in FIFA 17.
Certainly not one that requires a lot of effort, this celebration is perfect for goals that seal victories to prove a point to your opponent while they throw a fit watching Welbeck delicately sprinkle some salt on a fresh wound.
#3 Downing a pint of beer
Scoring a goal is a matter of joy and what better way to celebrate a significant achievement than by enjoying a nice cold beer after the hard yards you have put in?
Jason Lee, playing for non-league club Corby Town, enjoyed his teammates’ goal so much that when the team were celebrating near the fans, he decided to pick up a spectator’s beer and take a huge swig of it.
Such a celebration, although a novelty, is unlikely to feature on FIFA 18 due to EA’s insistence on maintaining their child-friendly content.
#4 Dries Mertens’ “Dog” celebration
Definitely one of the most bizarre celebrations in football, Dries Mertens doing the dog routine near the corner flag after scoring for Napoli against Serie A rivals, Roma, was one of the most puzzling, yet amusing events seen on a football pitch.
Scoring a brace for the Naples-based side, the Belgian forward raced to the corner flag and did his best impression of going down on all fours and pretending to urinate by the flagpole, just like a dog would at home.
While we’ve still not made up our minds about replicating this celebration on the football field, annoying FIFA friends and rivals, by resorting to this not so subtle celebration, would make the game all the more exciting.
#5 The classic “taking your shirt off” celebration
The shirt ripping celebration has long been a part of footballing folklore. Andres Iniesta did it after scoring against Holland for Spain in the World Cup finals, Ryan Giggs exposed his thick chest carpet after scoring an absolute worldie against Arsenal to take United through to the FA Cup finals in 1999.
It is the most feral, natural celebration around that is an expression of pure joy and ecstasy. Imagine yourself scoring in a World Cup final, you are bound to take your shirt off. Sadly, though, this celebration is unlikely to appear on FIFA 18 because of EA’s insistence to play by the footballing rules.
Taking the shirt off results in a straight yellow card for a player and is against the laws of the game even though it may be very much part of the game as players repeatedly accept yellows after taking their shirts off in celebration.
Also read: What to expect from FIFA 18
We urge EA to loosen up on the rules a little as after all, removing the shirt as a celebration is still a part of the game. Although illegal, gamers wouldn’t mind taking a yellow card in the 89th minute of a game if the goal they’ve just scored wins the Champions Cup on FIFA 18.
