Another Argentina goalkeeper, Nahuel Guzman, has sparked reactions as he used magic to distract a penalty taker in Leagues Cup clash.
The tightly-contested clash between Mexican club, Tigres UNAL and Canadian side Vancouver Whitecaps saw the two sides settle for a 1-1 draw after the final whistle.
The match went into penalties where Nahuel Guzman obviously distracted penalty takers with some mysterious gestures as Tigres UNAL knocked out Vancouver Whitecaps from the competition with a 5-3 shootouts win.
Nahuel was spotted hovering restlessly on the goal-line and moving to the back side of the post. He also grabbed a rope-like object on one of the side of the net and hover across the goal before settling for the penalty kick.
The former Newell’s Old Boys goalie did actually save one of the spotkick as Tigres UNAL ran out winners but his antics in the game has sparked reactions among football fans.
A fan wrote, ”what did he just do that is insane.”
Another wrote, “He need to get paid extra for the magic.”
Another said, “what do we call that? Magic or witchcraft?”
Others just cracked jokes out of the scenario, dropping laughing emojis.
Nahuel’s gesture is similar to what his countryman and Aston Villa goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, did at the 2022 World Cup final against France.
Emiliano Martinez tried to play mind games to distract France penalty takers.
The gesture attracted widespread criticism prompting FIFA to consider “anti-martinez rule” which was set to limit and stop goalkeepers from distracting penalty takers during shootouts.
Who is Nahuel Guzman?
Nahuel Guzman is an Argentine professional footballer, who plays as a goalkeeper for a top Mexican club Tigres UNAL.
Born on 10 February 1986, Nahuel Guzman started his career with the renowned sports club in Argentina, Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario.
After he starred for Newell’s Old Boys’ youth, Nahuel transitioned to Newell’s Old Boys’ first team in 2005.
He played for nine years for the club making 81 appearances before joining Tigres UNAL.
Before his move to Tigres UNAL, Nahuel was loaned to Independiente Rivadavia, another top side in Argentina First Division from 2008 to 2009, where he made 30 appearances for the club before returning to Newell’s Old Boys.
After the short loan spell at Independiente Rivadavia, Nahuel spent five more years at Newell’s Old Boys before leaving his homeland to the shores of Mexico to continue with his career.
He has spent close to a decade at Tigres UNAL, serving as the club’s first choice goalkeeper. Nahuel has made 350 appearances for Tigres UNAL, scoring one goal.
Nahuel has won the Mexican League title with Tigres UNAL five times, including the CONCACAF Champions League in 2020.
He has bagged several individual awards as a goalkeeper. He won the Mexican League Save of the Season in 2016, Best Goalkeeper award in 2023, including CONCACAF Champions League Golden Glove in 2020.
Nahuel Guzman did not have a glittering national team with Argentina national team. He made his debut for Argentina national team in 2014 and had made only 6 appearances for the team before calling time on his international career in 2018.
He reached the final of Copa America twice in 2016 and 2015 before calling it quit.
