Brazilian soccer player injures himself celebrating goal

You can’t blame a guy for being a little excited about scoring his first professional goal, but Brazilian soccer player Maurides paid a price for his exuberance.

After scoring in the 89th minute for Internacional a 3-1 win over America Mineiro in the Copa do Brasil on Wednesday, Maurides did the normal soccer celebration thing by running all over the field with his teammates trailing him. The 19-year-old striker then decided to end things with a backflip -- not a smart move.

Maurides sprained his knee on the landing and had to end his first-goal celebration with a stretcher ride off the field. We know soccer players have a tendancy to play up their injuries, but this looked pretty legitimate, and you have to feel a little sorry for the guy.

Of course, budding soccer stars around the world may want to make sure they’ve got their celebrations mastered before they take the pitch.

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