Panama are on the verge of a historic opportunity thanks to Cecilio Waterman. The substitute scored in the fourth minute of added time to beat the USA in the CONCACAF Nations League semi-final and celebrated his goal with Thierry Henry, his great idol.
It was the fourth minute of stoppage time in the goalless semi-final between Panama and the USA when Joker Waterman appeared on the right side of the box, looked up and placed the ball with a low shot next to the far post. His teammates all ran to him, wanting to celebrate Panama’s first-ever appearance in the CONCACAF Nations League final with the 33-year-old.
But Waterman had other ideas.
The striker tore off his shirt, jumped over the barrier at full speed – and straight into the arms of Thierry Henry, who was sitting on the sidelines as a TV expert for CBS Sports and couldn’t believe his eyes when Waterman suddenly threw his arms around his neck and shouted several times in Spanish in his face: “You’re my idol!”
“Many good things have happened in my career, but this is different. That was incredible,” Waterman admitted afterwards. “Los Canaleros” had already put up a passionate fight for 70 brave minutes when Thomas Christiansen (formerly of Bochum and Hannover) brought the striker into play to deliver the decisive blow against the reigning and two-time defending champion. It was a measure that paid off, albeit late. Very late.
“Last night at the team hotel, I was asked, ‘Who is your idol?’ and I said, ‘That’s always been Thierry Henry,’” Waterman later explained his outburst of joy to former top striker Henry. “I saw you play for Arsenal, and the truth is that you were an inspiration to me since I was a kid. Since I was a boy. I scored the goal, I saw you and I knew I had to come and say hi.”
Henry, visibly surprised by the form of the ‘hi’, replied: ”I never thought I’d be part of a celebration like this, even though I didn’t score a goal and wasn’t even on the pitch. I could see in his eyes that he was in a trance because he was so close. Fortunately, I understand Spanish. When he said ‘eres mi ídolo’, I thought, ‘Ok, phew. I don’t know where this is going,’ but this was special.”
Waterman: ‘This time we want to give Panama this gift’
After Panama failed in the semi-finals of the Nations League in the past two years, the Central Americans now have a great chance to win the title on Tuesday night. The final against Mexico, which beat Canada 2-0 in the second semi-final, kicks off at 3:30 a.m. German time. “This time we want to give Panama this gift. We want to achieve something for them and for Central America,” said Waterman.
