Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic has opened up on his much-discussed celebration and has now revealed his goal celebration is dedicated to his two nieces, one of whom has Down’s Syndrome.
The 25-year-old ended a goal drought of more than 1,000 days when he struck against Valencia in the Champions League a fortnight ago, then netted against Everton in the Premier League at the weekend.
It had been nearly three years since he had previously found the target while playing with Real Madrid in the 2016-17 season
Kovacic also admitted that he is working with manager Frank Lampard on him scoring more goals this season. Lampard earlier in the season admitted that he thinks a player of Kovacic’s quality should shoot more often and Kovacic has not reiterated the same.
‘I’ve had the celebration prepared for a while because I didn’t score last season!’ Kovacic told the official club website.
‘It’s actually for my nieces. I have two nieces, one of which has Down’s Syndrome, and they do that [hand action] with me a lot.
‘I love her a lot and the celebration was for them.
‘It’s nice when you score and you can celebrate with the family. They have waited a long time but now I hope I can continue like that.’
‘Last season I was obsessed a little bit [with not scoring] because people were always asking when I was going to score,’ Kovacic added. He [Frank Lampard] has joked about that before but I also think he was being serious, because he knows I should score more goals.’
Kovacic was criticized last season under Maurizio Sarri with many questioning what Kovacic brings to the side after his lack of goals and assists but the Croatian has found a new lease of life under Lampard and will look to repay his manager’s faith.
