Dan's celebration goes global
Daniel Sturridge's famed goal celebration has crossed continents as it was saluted in South Africa's Soweto derby.
The showdown between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs is one of the biggest in world football, with the country going into overdrive whenever the arch rivals clash.
On Saturday afternoon, 78,000-plus supporters in attendance at FNB Stadium, and millions more watching at home, were treated to a foreign dance routine in the 10th minute.
Pirates striker Kermit Erasmus volleyed home a brilliant ball into the box from left-back Thabo Matlaba to put Bucs 1-0 ahead. The forward then proceeded to the corner flag with his teammates and led them into a well-known dance routine in England, but one that's never been seen on a pitch in South Africa before.
"I've seen Daniel Sturridge doing his dance at Chelsea, and I've been watching him do it a lot now at Liverpool since he's scoring basically every game," Erasmus told Liverpoolfc.com.
"I've also been watching videos of him do it, and even saw the clip of him getting out of a car and doing his dance with a fan. Then on his Instagram, there's a painting of him with the slogan 'Do the Sturridge.'
"As soon as we got into camp for the derby, I told the guys we're going to 'Do the Sturridge' if I scored."
Daine Klate, who is South Africa's most successful domestic footballer and is Erasmus' roommate, revealed the attacker was obsessed about getting the moves right.
"He practised for hours," said Klate. "All of Friday night, and even on Saturday morning before the game, he was perfecting the moves.
"He was singing to all the guys 'Do the Sturridge, let's do the Sturridge' on repeat. So I'm happy he scored and he got the chance to do it, he deserved it after all the effort he put in."
Erasmus admitted that he spent plenty of time making sure he was 'riding the wave' almost as good as the Premier League's top goalscorer can.
"I practised for hours, then would watch his videos again to see how I could improve. It's a fun celebration, and I respect the way Sturridge is playing, so it was just my way of saluting him," said the Pirates goal-getter.
"After I scored, I asked my teammates just to give me a little space to do the dance, and some of them who were brave enough joined in."
Will Erasmus be 'Doing the Sturridge' often? "Yes, that's going to be my celebration now as well. I hope he doesn't mind that I'm sharing it with him, but it's just an admiration thing."
Is there a dance-off between Sturridge and the South African on the cards? "No way - he would embarrass me! He's got the moves down and he's agile and flexible, I'm too stiff to take him on. Plus it's his dance, so he'll know how to rock it much better than I ever could. I just hope he thinks I at least did a half-decent job."
Sturridge got the chance to showcase his own dance skills again on the same day after netting a glorious chip in the 4-1 win over West Brom. He was in disbelief after finding out that Erasmus had replicated his celebration in South Africa's premier clash and admitted he felt humbled and blessed.
The Pirates frontman is hoping to have several more clips of Sturridge in his element. "I really want him to continue this great form he is in. He's scoring a goal a game, which is incredible. And the more he scores, the more videos I get to watch so I can perfect my moves," he concluded.