Daniel Sturridge has recalled the time one of his Liverpool teammates joined in with his arm-waving celebration and the striker was not impressed.
Sturridge had big boots to fill soon after arriving at Liverpool, stepping up in his first season when Luis Suarez was handed a 10-match ban for biting Branislav Ivanovic and Suarez leaving the club just over a year later.
The England striker certainly hit the ground running at Anfield, delivering 22 Premier League goals in his first full season. With each goal came Sturridge’s iconic dance celebration, which half the nation seemed to be talking about.
During an interview with Classic Football Shirts, Sturridge came across Liverpool’s yellow 2014–15 away strip which reminded him of the time his old teammate decided to celebrate with him, much to Sturridge’s dismay.
“Instantly it reminded me of [Crystal] Palace away and the only reason why I remember wearing the shirt in that specific match is because I scored like a volley.
The ball came across, remember scoring a volley and then me and Alberto Moreno started doing the dance together. It was the first time I saw Alberto join in with it. So that’s why I remember that shirt.”
Sturridge had some harsh words of criticism for Moreno, as he believes he messed up his iconic celebration.
“Absolutely butchered it he [Moreno] did, tell you the truth, absolutely butchered it. He didn’t have the rhythm, he didn’t have the vibe, he didn’t have the energy. The smile weren’t right, he didn’t hold the pose at the end. Just, you know, he didn’t do the right thing.
But at the end of the day, he got involved, it was a good moment. Obviously for me, you know, during my career, of course, scoring goals is what I love to do and being part of good teams of course and this shirt reminds me of that moment.”
Unfortunately, Sturridge was unable to maintain his excellent goalscoring record at Liverpool. In fact, after his first full season at the club, he scored fewer goals in the following five seasons combined.
Ultimately, the striker departed Liverpool on a permanent transfer in 2019, the same year as Moreno.
However, left-back went on to have success, spending five years at Villarreal and helping the La Liga side to a Europa League triumph. To make it even sweeter, Villarreal defeated none other than Manchester United in the final.
Moreno moved to Como last summer and has since made 24 Serie A appearances. His contract is set to expire at the end of the season.
