Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku in the house. . . as if Charamba was saying goodbye dad!

Fungai Muderere

CELEBRATIONS are one of the most memorable aspects of football, with a simple gesture bringing up (or down) the mood of an entire stadium.

While most are often generic replications of previous instances, some football players leave a mark on the game not just through their skill with the ball, but off it too when it’s time to celebrate a goal.

While Chicken Inn’s Michael Charamba will have hoped that just like last season, he will arrive with goals, he has certainly done so like lead balloons!

The usually reserved Charamba is one such player who has attracted the curiosity of fans not only with his amazing talent and ability but also with his unique fresh balloon celebration, which he recently brought after decimating the opposition’s defence.

The pacey forward finished last season with 10 goals and this season, after 12 matches, he is just six goals shy from reaching his previous season’s goal tally.

Last weekend, the God fearing Charamba, who has always rectified Gamecocks’ goal-shy issues, snatched his fourth goal of the season when they beat visiting Simba Bhora 3-2 at Luveve Stadium.

As a result, there’s fresh excitement about seeing what Charamba and his unique celebration can bring to the Castle Lager Premier League side. It left many local football fans scratching their heads when he pulled a blue balloon from his shorts, emulating UK Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku.

Charamba has given a charming reason why he chose his rather unique goal celebration after scoring as he blew up a blue balloon.

“It’s a Christopher Nkunku celebration that I have always admired. No, I was not saying goodbye to my father, but life is very much unpredictable. It’s unfortunate we lost him as a family a day before our midweek match against TelOne,” said Charamba.

Just like Nkunku, Charamba blew the balloon when his head was tilted back and his arms were outstretched wide, and cameras at Luveve panned back to the forward to capture the unique goal celebration.

The 2023 Soccer Star of the Year finalist added: “It was a celebration that was meant for all of us to love and enjoy the game. Hopefully, more goals will come my way as we collectively seek to see Chicken Inn achieve more. My target for this season is to reach double figures.”