Friday’s Leagues Cup matchup between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Mexican club Tigres UANL could not be decided in regulation or extra time.
Vancouver midfielder Pedro Vite opened the scoring before former Andre-Pierre Gignac netted the equalizer for the Mexican side.
And so, with the elimination match tied 1-1, the outcome was left to penalty kicks.
Then, things took a very bizarre turn.
In an effort to play mind games with his opponent, Tigres keeper Nahuel Guzmán did the unthinkable. The 37-year-old decided to perform a magic trick as he prepared for the fourth Vancouver attempt.
A video from behind the goal showed Guzmán pretend to pull silly string out of his mouth during the shoot-out. And to his credit, the unorthodox tactic, which resulted in a yellow card, seemed to pay off as he stopped Ranko Veselinovic’s attempt with ease.
Tigres keeper Nahuel Guzmán out there doing magic tricks before making saves in penalty shootouts 🤣
(via @TigresOficial)pic.twitter.com/EkmZfN7DcC
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 5, 2023
That wasn’t the only wacky thing the Argentinian keeper did during the shoot-out, though. Before he pulled out the colourful prop that led to the match-deciding save, Guzmán was also seen performing mime-like moves as a Vancouver player stepped up to the spot.
El mimo Nahuel Guzmán pic.twitter.com/jVVbp39QKk
— Andre Marín (@andremarinpuig) August 6, 2023
The strange behaviour left fans and players baffled, and many questions still remain.
Did Guzmán practice his mime routine beforehand? Where was he keeping the silly string? And perhaps, most importantly, how did he do that trick?
All in all, the veteran keeper, known best by his nickname “El Paton” (Big Foot), did everything he could to make an impact, allowing Tigres to walk away with a win via penalties.
Time will tell if other keepers will follow in his footsteps. If so, new rules may have to be put in place.
Guzmán has played for Tigres for nine years, racking up 425 appearances and 170 clean sheets with the club. In 2018 he was named to Argentina’s preliminary 35-man squad for the World Cup in Russia.
Tigres, the 2020 CONCACAF champions, will play fellow Mexican club Monterrey on Tuesday in the next round of the tournament.
As for the Whitecaps, with their Leagues Cup run over, the next time they hit the field is against the San Jose Earthquakes at BC Place on Sunday, August 20.
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