Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman is no stranger to making waves on social media. Whether he's sparring with opponents or taunting rival fans, the 37-year-old with six appearances for Argentina has a habit of getting the futbol world's attention.
He did it again on Friday night in Leagues Cup.
The Liga MX giants' round-of-32 clash with the Vancouver Whitecaps had gone to a penalty shootout, after the full-time whistle blew with the score tied 1-1. With Sergio Cordova waiting to take the Caps' second attempt of the evening, Guzman mimicked a mime to try to get into the 25-year-old Venezuela international's head.
It had no effect, Cordova beating the keeper. Then Ranko Veselinovic stepped up for Vancouver's fourth shot, and Guzman dug deeper into his bag of tricks.
🧞♂️ No trates de entender el Nahuelismo, solo disfrútalo. pic.twitter.com/OLChhwt2jI
— Club Tigres 🐯 (@TigresOficial) August 5, 2023
The goalkeeper, who is about to embark on his 10th season with the club from Monterrey, signaled to the referee that he needed a moment. He then proceeded to stick his gloved fingers into his mouth and pulled out a colorful ribbon.
Waves of yellow, then pink, then blue, then more pink, emerged from Guzman's mouth, while Veselinovic stood 12 yards away, waiting patiently to take his spot kick. Once Guzman pulled the last bit of ribbon out, he rubbed his stomach, as if to signify he was feeling much better now, and signaled that he was ready to go.
The Vancouver center-back, clearly in awe of the magic show he'd just witnessed, and probably weirded out by his opponent's tactics, sent a tame effort to the keeper's left that was easily saved.
Tigres won the shootout 5-3, setting up a round-of-16 matchup with fierce local rivals Monterrey. Maybe Guzman can pull a rabbit out of his water bottle or saw one of his defenders in half.
