Every great goalscorer has a celebration, and they inevitably become more iconic the more often you see them. Think of Cristiano Ronaldo’s “Siii.” What would Thierry Henry be without the famous knee slide that eventually became a statue? How many photos of Lionel Messi pointing to the sky are there? How many great goals have concluded in a Kylian Mbappe shrug?
They’re iconic not just because of the quality but because of the quantity. We’ve seen them all so many times.
Ricardo Pepi isn’t in that company, although he hopes to be someday. Outside of his hometown of El Paso, he hasn’t reached that iconic status just yet. But that personal celebration? He’s found it, and it’s one that means something. It’s not one found in glory. It’s not one meant to commemorate the euphoria that comes with scoring at the highest of levels, although Pepi has felt that rush on a regular basis of late.
No, Pepi’s celebration isn’t necessarily based on joy. Instead, it’s rooted in pain.
The U.S. men’s national team star stumbled into it about a year ago. After growing up watching the Japanese animated TV series “Naruto” with his uncle, he inevitably fell back into the show as an adult. Professional athletes have time on their hands and, when they do, there are worse hobbies than locking yourself inside and binge watching anime.
Throughout his rewatch, Pepi found himself captivated not by the namesake of the show, but rather by a character named Itachi Uchiha. Itachi is no hero, but not quite a villain, either. He’s a complex character whose ability, the Sharingan, is awakened by suffering. It’s marked by a red eye. Loss of a loved one, conflict, pain, failure, all make Itachi’s abilities stronger. To unlock his highest self, he must first suffer great loss but, through that anguish, he gains power.
That character, those feelings, resonated with Pepi, and a celebration was born. He changed his Instagram profile picture to a photo of Itachi covering his face. Every time Pepi scores a goal – and there have been plenty of those lately – Pepi covers his face in the same way.
“They get a red eye that’s called the Sharingan,” Pepi said to GOAL, “and they get it after a series of obstacles, whether it’s losing a loved one or going through something difficult. The reason I started doing it was because I’d been going through a series of – not for the last month obviously but before that – it was a series of obstacles. On the field, I wasn’t playing as much as I wanted to, even though I was doing so well. So, to be honest, every time I would score, it would just be a sigh of relief. And then came the celebration and, I don’t know, but, for some reason, it made me feel like a superhero.”
Pepi is playing like one at the moment, as well. And that hasn’t gone unnoticed. He’s suddenly one of the most discussed transfer targets in Europe in the January transfer window. Sources have told GOAL that massive clubs in England and France have already pushed to sign the PSV star, and more offers are expected. The Pepi sweepstakes is just beginning, and it’s largely because the world has seen so much of his new celebration, thanks to his scorching goal-scoring.
Pepi sat down with GOAL to discuss life in the limelight, what he wants going forward and how the struggles have prepared him for whatever’s next.