Ghanaian born Netherlands international, Memphis Depay resorted to the ‘’Adowa Dance’ in his 67th minute goal celebration as Athletico Madrid secured 3-1 win against Granada CF in the match day one game of the 2023/24 Spanish La Liga on Monday, August 14, 2023.
Depay came in to replace Spanish international, Alvaro Moratta on the 58th minute and restored Madrid’s lead with an outstanding long range effort which was aimed at the top corner of goal leaving Andre Ferreira, the goalkeeper for Granada CF with no chance of getting near it.
The strike brought the scoreline to 2-1 before Marcos Llorente added his 98th minute strike to end the game at 3-1. Earlier in the first half, Alvaro Moratta had scored the match opener on the blink of injury time[45+4] to hand Diego Simeone’s men the lead.
The leveler came from Samu as Granada pushed for something from the game, but it was Memphis who began the onslaught with a rocket of a strike coupled with the famous Akan Dance, Adowa.
It his first goal of the season and it looks like more of the Adowa Dance maybe coming through in the Spanish League.
Check the goal here: https://twitter.com/georgeduah_/status/1691321082664386560?s=46
Brief Description of the Adowa Dance on Wikipedia:
Adowa is a dance by the Akan people of Ghana. It is a popular traditional dance in Ghana and it is performed at cultural ceremonies like festivals, funerals, engagements, and celebrations.
The Adowa dance is a sign of expression that allows performers to communicate their emotions and feelings through their hands and feet.
There are different hand movements performed for each setting. People communicate positive emotions at weddings or engagements and negative emotions at funerals.[