This Week in Football History: Ketsbaia's wild celebration after late winner

A shirt-less Temuri Ketsbaia after THAT celebration

In light of Francesco Totti's 'selfie' celebration at the weekend, it's fitting that Adrian North's first look into football history this week recalls the moment a bald Georgian midfielder went berserk...

January 17, 1998 - Bolton 1-2 Newcastle, The Reebox Stadium: Temuri Ketsbaia and football's funniest celebration

What is the greatest celebration of all-time?

A debate I find often crops up after four or five pints and the exhaustion of all other football related conversation. And the answer, of course, is Marco Tardelli's scream after scoring Italy's second goal in the 1982 World Cup final.

The funniest celebration of all time is a more debatable topic. Julius Aghahowa's endless flips at the 2002 World Cup. Senegal dancing around Papa Bouba Diop's shirt at the same tournament. Roger Milla dancing at the corner flag. Jimmy Bullard's 'telling off'. A disbelieving Haitian coach jumping up and down in ecstasy after Haiti took the lead against Italy in 1974. Ian Wright's dead fish and Peter Crouch's robot. All of those are worth a good chuckle.

But on January 17, 1998, a bald Georgian-turned-Geordie hero would endear himself to millions of football fans across the country by performing the strangest and most off-the-cuff yet hilarious celebration of the lot.

Temuri Ketsbaia, a Georgian midfielder who had begun his career in Greece, moved to Newcastle in July 1997 and quickly won over all those in the north east with one moment of comic lunacy.

During a Premier League clash with Bolton at the Reebok stadium on Jan 17, 1998, Ketsbaia reacted to a 92nd minute loose ball to score the winner for Newcastle with near enough the last kick of the game. What followed rendered anything else Ketsbaia would ever accomplish completely irrelevant.

Ripping his shirt off and hurling it in to the crowd Ketsbaia then seemingly tries to take his boot off. Having failed to remove his shoe, Ketsbaia decided he would take his anger out on McDonald's, giving the red and yellow advertising board a fierce toe poke.

Not satisfied with the metaphorical beating he had given to Ronald McDonald, Ketsbaia turned his rage on Adi Dassler. Shoving away his teammates Ketsbaia punted the Adidas advertising board with all his might. And then did it again.

That image of a bald, shirtless and enraged Georgian kicking the shit out of an advertising board will live forever in the memories of any 25-35 year old football fan as the sports' funniest celebration. And while we can forever laugh at Ketsbaia's moment of insanity it's still a shame no-one remembers the rest of his career on Tyneside.

His celebration is the first highlights in the linked video but the remaining four minutes are worth a watch too.