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During his ten-year spell with West Ham United, Michail Antonio produced numerous unforgettable moments, scoring 83 goals for the Hammers while also becoming known for his creative and often hilarious celebrations.

His goal celebrations frequently attracted as much attention as the goals themselves, whether the Jamaican forward was jumping on a viral trend or incorporating imaginative props into his routines.

Among West Ham supporters, two of Antonio’s celebrations have become particularly iconic.

Antonio’s dedication to planning his celebrations was evident, even if his team-mates didn’t always share his vision or fully understand what he was doing.

When asked to name his favourite goal celebration from his time at West Ham, Antonio didn’t hesitate to recall the one inspired by a famous cartoon character.

“It has to be the first one – the Homer Simpson celebration – that was quality,” Antonio told FourFourTwo. “The night before, The Simpsons Movie was on, and I saw Homer spinning around on the ground.

“I thought, ‘If I score tomorrow, I’m going to do that.’ I told the lads, and they said, ‘Shut up, you’ll never do it!’ But then I scored, ran over and did it!”

Antonio laughed as he recalled how team-mate Aaron Cresswell had no idea what was going on. “Aaron had no clue what I was doing – he even managed to kick me in the back of the head because he was so confused!” he added.

Antonio went on to make history by becoming West Ham’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League, netting twice in a 4–1 victory over Leicester City in August 2021. That milestone provided the perfect moment for another memorable celebration.

This time, Antonio sprinted to the substitutes’ bench and lifted a cardboard cut-out of himself into the air in a nod to the famous Patrick Swayze lift from the film Dirty Dancing.

“During lockdown, I had the idea to make two cardboard cut-outs of myself,” Antonio explained. “Since there were no fans, I planned to jump into the stands, sit next to them and applaud myself after scoring. But on matchday, I was told I couldn’t go into the stands – it would be an automatic red card – so those cut-outs just sat in my house for two years.”

“When I broke the record, I thought, ‘I’ve got to use them somehow.’ That’s when I came up with that celebration. I’ve got a very imaginative mind!” he said with a grin.

However, Antonio admitted that his trademark creativity has been somewhat restricted in recent seasons due to modern football’s most talked-about innovation – VAR.

“When VAR came in, it ruined my celebrations,” he said. “I couldn’t run off and start doing something like the worm, only to have the goal disallowed afterwards…”

Michail Antonio’s autobiography, Humans Not Robots, published by HarperCollins, is available now.

— Chris Flanagan, Senior Staff Writer