Cecilio Watermans Emotional Celebration with Thierry Henry: A Childhood Dream Come True

In a thrilling moment during the Nations League semifinal between Panama and the U.S. men's national team at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, Cecilio Waterman's dream came true as he met his childhood hero, Thierry Henry. The game had been a lackluster affair until the 94th minute, when Waterman scored the only goal of the match. As he celebrated his goal, he spotted Henry, who was sitting on the sidelines as an analyst for CBS, and sprinted toward him. Waterman leapt over the fence, got in Henry's face, and embraced him, all while being swarmed by his teammates for the joyous goal celebration. "You're my idol! You're my idol!" Waterman exclaimed in Spanish to Henry in the moment. Later during the post-match show, Waterman was invited to the panel and told the story of how he grew up idolizing Henry and was overcome by the moment. "Last night, at the team hotel, I was asked 'who is your idol?' and I said 'it's always been Thierry Henry.' I watched him play at Arsenal, and the truth is, ever since I was a young kid he has been an inspiration for me. Since I was a boy. I scored the goal, I saw you and I knew I had to come and say hi." Henry said he was shocked when it happened and was happy the embrace went the way it did. "I never thought I was going to be part of a celebration like that and not scoring the goal and not even being on the field," Henry said. "That's what it meant to him. I saw in his eyes because he was pretty close that he was in a trance. Thank God I understand Spanish. When he said 'eres mi idolo' I was like OK, phew. I don't know where we were going there, but that was special." Waterman's goal proved to be the difference in the match as the listless Americans failed to equalize in the closing minutes. Panama will now face the winner of Thursday's late match between Mexico and Canada in Sunday's final where Waterman will have a chance to lift Panama's first Nations League trophy. However, the moment of meeting his idol may never be forgotten by Waterman, who will always cherish that special embrace with his childhood hero.