It's one of the great football traditions. It used to be called a David May. On Wednesday night, we witnessed a new contender for the throne - the long forgotten Rob Green.
We love an over the top celebration from a player not even remotely involved in the winning of a trophy, but we're not sure anyone has ever topped Green's performance on Wednesday night, a night that would quickly be announced as his last game played togged out as a professional footballer.
It's the culmination of all a team's hard work. Chelsea, after an incredibly tough first season under Maurizio Sarri, with a trasnfer-less future looking bleak, and with their star player on his way out, took some solace on Wednesday night in destroying Arsenal to win the Europa League. A nice way to end it.
But nobody was happier than Green. It caught our attention on the night, mostly because nobody remembered he even played for Chelsea. The third choice keeper this season, he didn't get a sniff of action, but that didn't stop him going full-kit crazy, and stealing the celebrations as the team were awarded the coveted Europa League trophy.
As Kevin Kilbane so poignantly put it on Virgin Media's TV commentary:
"There's Rob Green. Where's he come from?"
Rob Green gone full John Terry 😂 pic.twitter.com/qsaEiYagLd
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) May 29, 2019
Frankly, we were disappointed he wasn't wearing his gloves.
Chelsea, unusually, have handled this perfectly, releasing a tribute to Green's contributions to the famous night in Baku with an emotional tribute video. This is well worth a watch.
🔊 “I’ll never forget the look on Willian’s face. He just looked at me and said, ‘What are you doing here!’”
This is the Rob Green story, the hero of Baku... 💚 pic.twitter.com/2bKffuIKDo— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 31, 2019
Rob, we had forgotten you existed, but now, on your retirement, we'll remember you forever. Best wishes to immortal Rob Green.
