Thorgan Hazard leaves fans puzzled with goal celebration dedicated to family parakeet
Belgium's Thorgan Hazard runs with the ball during the group G match between England and Belgium at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Kaliningrad Stadium in Kaliningrad, Russia, on June 28, 2018. After scoring for Anderlecht in the Belgian league Sunday Feb. 18, 2024 Hazard celebrated his goal by mimicking a bird flapping his wings. Anderlecht struggled against Sint-Truidense and trailed until the 49th minute when Hazard put the teams level with a header. Credit: AP/Hassan Ammar
BRUSSELS — After scoring for Anderlecht in the Belgian league Sunday, Thorgan Hazard left fans puzzled about his goal celebration.
The midfielder celebrated by mimicking a bird flapping his wings after his header put Anderlecht level at 1-1 with Sint-Truidense in the 49th minute, in a game his team went on to win 4-1 to guarantee a spot in the season's playoffs.
The 30-year-old Hazard, who joined Anderlecht in September from Borussia Dortmund, said the celebration was a request from his children after one of the family's parakeets passed away.
“We had three birds at home, but one passed away this week," said Hazard, the younger brother of former Chelsea and Real Madrid star Eden Hazard. “Toto was a parakeet we rescued when I was in Dortmund. My children asked me to dedicate a goal for it. They are the ones who choose my celebrations.”
Anderlecht is Belgium's most successful club but has seen its supremacy challenged in recent years. The club won the most recent of its record 34 Belgian league titles in 2017. Anderlecht is currently in second place in the Belgian league, nine points behind Brussels rival Union Saint-Gilloise.
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