Matheus Cunha's celebration has gone viral; Where is it from?
His surfing celebration is so unique that people all over the world have started to emulate it.
XtraTime Newsdesk: Matheus Cunha’s celebration has gone absolutely viral on social media. This World Cup has been one of the most watched editions ever and Cunha has been one of the players raking in all the eyeballs. His surfing celebration is so unique that people all over the world have started to emulate it.
But what’s the inspiration behind the Brazilian forward’s celebration? The source is the most unlikely for those unaware.
Fellow Brazilian Italo Ferreira is a huge name in the world of surfing and hails from the same area of the country as the United star, with the two athletes forming a close friendship. Ferreira won the sport's first-ever Olympic gold medal, at the Tokyo games in 2021, after honing his skills on the styrofoam lid of his fisherman father's cooler box.
"I'm from Joao Pessoa and I first started surfing in Baia Formosa [Ferreira's hometown],” Cunha told FIFA.com.
"Surfing has become a big part of my life, a way to relax. I'm very good friends with Italo. Surfing has become a part of my routine, I'd say I spend just as much time following surfing as I do football” said the forward.
Ferreira, 32, celebrated his Olympics victory with a back flip and achieved his gold medal despite a tropical storm. Similarly performing to his maximum on the world stage, Cunha is doing his home region and country proud with his contribution to the bid to win a first World Cup since 2002.
"It's exciting to be part of the history of what Brazil represents at World Cups," he added, seemingly embracing the weight of expectation from the football-mad nation.
