By Jack Beresford
Rubin Kazan academy player Norik Avdalyan took showboating to a dangerously acrobatic new level during an Under-21 clash with Ural at the weekend.
Evidently eager to make a lasting impression on both sets of supporters, the 22-year-old pulled off the perfect backflip penalty kick to bring Kazan level from the spot.
What a penalty by our youth academy player Norik Avdalyan!
🥋 pic.twitter.com/IM1hLCMadW
— Rubin Kazan UK (@RubinKazanUK) 8 October 2018
Rubin may have failed to find a winner, with the game ending 1-1, but Avdalyan ensured much of the post-match talk focused on him.
Reminiscent of Lomana LuaLua’s ankle-knackering backflip goal celebration of yesteryear, Avdalyan’s audacious effort wasn’t that well received by the Ural players – or some of his own teammates for that matter.
While one Kazan player rushes over to congratulate the forward’s efforts, the rest of his teammates aren’t particularly forthcoming in their appreciation.
Then again, it might not have come as that much of a surprise to some of them, given that Avdalyan pulled off the very same trick in a previous encounter.
Back in November 2017, the 22-year-old forward scored another backflip penalty.
Clearly, it’s a party piece to rival Kerlon’s impressive but largely superfluous seal dribble.
As for spot-kick loop-di-loops, it seems like a quick and easy way to mark yourself out for a good kicking.