TOTTENHAM Hotspur’s latest signing Dominic Solanke is looking to bring a little culture to his goal celebrations this season.
The 26-year-old professional footballer showcased his trademark stunt last season with his former team A.F.C Bournemouth.
But what is the reason behind his quirky post-goal performance and why does he don a bright orange mask?
Who is Dominic Solanke?
Dominic is an English Premier League footballer.
Born on September 14, 1997, Dominic plays for Tottenham Hotspur.
Dominic was born in Reading, Berkshire, to a Nigerian Yoruba father and an English mother.
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The star began his football career in Chelsea’s youth academy, where he quickly stood out as a prolific goal scorer.
He played a key role in helping Chelsea’s youth team win the UEFA Youth League and FA Youth Cup.
After struggling to break into Chelsea’s first team, he joined Liverpool in 2017.
In 2019, Dominic signed with Bournemouth, where he became a key player, helping them achieve promotion back to the Premier League.
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In August 2024, Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of Dominic for £65 million on a six-year deal.
What is Dominic Solanke’s goal celebration and what is the meaning behind it?
Dominic’s mask celebration is a nod to the character Kakashi Hatake from the popular anime Naruto.
He first performed this celebration on August 26, 2023, during Bournemouth’s 2-0 victory over Brentford.
After scoring, Dominic pulled out an orange mask, similar to the one worn in the Japanese manga series, and put it on briefly to celebrate. Unfortunately for him, the goal was later ruled out by VAR.
Dominic has previously spoken about how much he loves anime.
He told BBC’s Football Focus: “A lot of my friends watch it, so they were pressurising me to watch it, and at first, I wasn’t really into it.
“But then I watched Naruto first, and I just couldn’t stop watching it.”
Dominic even acknowledged that anime has aided him in managing the mental aspects of the game.
He said: “It’s so relentless. The characters just don’t give up, so it’s always nice to think back to those characters and what they’ve gone through and how hard they’ve worked.”
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How many goals has Dominic Solanke scored for Tottenham?
Dominic made his debut for Tottenham Hotspur on August 19, 2024, in a Premier League match against Leicester City.
He has not yet scored any goals for the North London team.
Changes to the Premier League for 2024/25
NOTHING stays the same forever.
And that includes the Premier League, which is making a number of tweaks this season.
Team news will now be released 75 MINUTES before kick-off, 15 minutes earlier than had been the case before.
Things could get crowded on the touchline, with the number of substitutes permitted to warm-up boosted from three players per team to FIVE.
There’s also a change to how added time is calculated when a team scores a goal, an update to the ‘multiball’ system and the introduction of semi-automated offsides – but not straight away.
Go here to read about all the changes to the Premier League for 2024/25.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
