Jude Bellingham is certainly a plucky character given he turned 20 in June, and he is already making his presence felt at the biggest club in the world following a Man of the Match performance on his La Liga debut. After getting on the scoresheet, albeit rather fortuitously, his ballsy celebration in front of the Athletic Bilbao fans might have led to one of the coldest pictures in football.
Jude Bellingham’s Celebration a Future Classic in ‘Coldest Picture in Football’ Archive
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Jude Bellingham’s trademark celebration is fast becoming one of those iconic sights in world football, but he may have just produced the greatest iteration of it yet, following a glittering debut for Real Madrid.
On his first La Liga start, Los Blancos fans were undoubtedly witnessing a club legend in the making.
His other-worldly talents were on full show as he led the match for duels won (13), dribbles (three) and fouls won (six), as well as edging Madrid further in front with a debut goal after 36 minutes.
Shortly after the ball rippled the net he ran over to a fervid Bilbao home crowd. Arms stretched out wide, drinking it all in. Almost as if to say, “witness me.”
His self-confidence is borderline terrifying. San Mames is a footballing cathedral, yet here stands this intrepid young Englishman, staring down a sea of red and white with the total self assurance that he is here to stamp his imprint on Spain football.
In doing so he inadvertently composed a picture for the ages – see below.
👕 First La Liga start
⚽️ First La Liga goal
✅ First La Liga winJude Bellingham got his Real Madrid career off to the best possible start, and gave us a celebration to match 🥶👏 pic.twitter.com/M35oOoGyAi
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) August 13, 2023
You would be hard pushed to find a more perfectly framed snapshot than Bellingham’s daring debut celebration, but it got us thinking here at SportsLens about some of the other iconic football photos.
Coldest Pictures in Football
Lionel Messi Limps Off Against Real Madrid
At the height of the Guardiola/Mourinho era in El Clasico, bitter feuds ensued almost every time they met, no matter the occasion.
We rewind to 2010 for this first picture, where Pep’s Barcelona dismantled Mourinho’s Madrid in perhaps the defining result of this bloodthirsty era.
Barcelona five, Madrid nil glowed bright on the Camp Nou scoreboard as Lionel Messi stares up, admiring his side’s staggering performance. With a shinpad missing and one sock rolled down to his ankle, the man at the peak of his powers limped off after being sandwiched by a double sliding challenge from Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira.
In the footage below you can see Cristiano Ronaldo, with whom he was sharing the stage with for the claim to the world’s best player, staring him down despairingly as the Argentine takes an age to exit the field.
Undoubtedly one of the coldest pictures in football.
Throwback to Messi walking off the field after beating Real Madrid 5-0 pic.twitter.com/LyDO7EFxwC
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) November 30, 2022
Lionel Messi Parades His Shirt Around the Bernabeu
We couldn’t mention Lionel Messi and not add this remarkable moment to the list.
It is April 2017, and Lionel Messi has just netted a spectacular last minute winner to hand Barcelona a 3-2 victory against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
It marked his 500th goal for the club, but his subsequent celebration could not have been more fitting as he slipped off his shirt and held his nameset up to the Madrid fans.
Jude Bellingham, eat your heart out.
Materazzi and Costa Take a Moment
Against the backdrop of one the Milan derby’s ugliest moments, Marco Materazzi and Rui Costa were framed in perhaps one of its most beautiful.
In the background is pictured a devilish red glow from the flares raining down from the stands, reminiscent of something you would find at the gates of Hell.
The apocalyptic backdrop did however provide the perfect contrast for the two players pictures in the foreground.
Two greats of the game in one of its most iconic rivalries can be seen, with Marco Materazzi casually leaning on the shoulder of opposition midfielder Rui Costa. They stood together, calmly witnessing a chaotic scene unfold.
Zidane’s Moment of Madness
For a man who has a highlight reel brimming with God-given talents, it is testament to just how iconic this next moment has become.
After coming out of international retirement for one last hurrah on the world stage, Zinedine Zidane appeared still very much at the top of his game, as he tip-toed and danced his way to the World Cup final in 2006.
Earlier in the match, he nonchalantly stroked a Panenka penalty off the underside of the bar to give the French the lead, before Marco Materazzi’s towering header levelled the score.
It would be the two goalscorers who would provide the necessary drama for this photo, following Materazzi’s final retort after squabbling all game, referencing how he would rather “have his sister than his shirt.”
After the now-iconic thumping headbutt to Materazzi’s chest, the resulting photo of Zidane walking past the greatest prize in world football, head hung in shame, is as sad as it is cold.
The picture speaks a thousand words. The guilt-laden genius is just inches away from a now seemingly unattainable prize. The juxtaposition of one of the game’s greatest displaying such a random act of violence makes for such an iconic bow from grace in his final ever game.
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