IT is a sight we are seeing the plenty of this season.
The moment in-form Man Utd forward Marcus Rashford scores for his club, he runs towards the crowd and points with his index finger to his temple.
The England star, 25, is going through a real renaissance – and has scored 18 goals across all competitions.
His most recent – a stunning solo effort against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg – helped the Red Devils reach the final of the competition.
Again, he pulled out that famous celebration that has seemingly caught on in the sporting world and inspired others to follow Rashford’s lead.
But, what does it mean?
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Mental health
No one knows entirely for sure.
However, popular opinion believes by pointing to his mind – Rashford is highlighting mental health.
The free school dinners hero has been open about his battles mentally – admitting it hindered him during the 2021-22 season.
He told Sky Sports after scoring against West Ham in October: “”I was struggling at times with more mental things.
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“It wasn’t really my own performance but other things off the pitch. That’s the biggest difference from last season.
“Too often last season, I wasn’t in the right headspace for games. I wasn’t surprised by some of the stuff that was happening.”
That goal against the Hammers was his 100th for United – and how he has continued in this rich vein of form shows he is over mental woes.
Another theory is Rashford has regularly suffered with the noise and pressure leading the line at Old Trafford.
Closing his eyes while pointing to his head could also be about shutting out external distractions and unwanted criticism.
This allows him to do what he does best; score goals.
It’s catching
Rashford’s temple point is trending in football, with many stars of the beautiful game themselves have adopted it.
Three Lions team-mate Bukayo Saka copied the celebration against United after scoring for Arsenal – in the same game Rashford also found the net and pointed to his skull.
Bayern Munich superstar Joshua Kimmich followed suit, following a dramatic late strike against Cologne.
Chesterfield’s Armando Dobra also copied Rashford’s move in a FA Cup third round tie against West Brom.
Incredibly, the celebration has transcended football now too.
Upon winning his 10th Australian Open, and 22nd Grand Slam title, tennis superstar Novak Djokovic pointed towards the side of his head.
And when England and Sussex fast bowler Jofra Archer, a massive Man Utd fan, got a wicket in South Africa’s SA20 competition – he did the same.
Is it pioneering?
Although it appears to have been a current trend – there’s argument online that it wasn’t even Rashford who invented the celebration.
While you can’t argue he has inspired others in recent times, these stars will lay claim to have been more pioneering.
Nicklas Bendtner of Arsenal was seen drowning out the haters in a goal celebration similar that goes back as far as 2011.
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While Ruben Neves of Wolves can lay claim to performing it in 2018, when his club were gunning for promotion from the Championship.
Either way, now it’s crossed over to other sports – expect to see more sports stars embrace the point to the temple celebration.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
