A few months ago, I found this image on Instagram:
It shows former Boca Juniors goalkeeper Carlos Rodríguez in 1981 with the Pink Panther on his shirt. In an interview last year, he discussed his reasons for wearing the cartoon character on his shirt:
WHY PANTHER? : “He was thin, with little mustaches, lanky, and skinny legs. In the 70s the Pink Panther was fashionable. In a practice Chapa Suñé began to call me Pantera. Then Loco Lorenzo and that’s where I stayed forever. Then I started wearing the jumpsuit with the Pink Panther. Oscar Tubio, from the Garden of Oscar, made it for me. It was very modern for the time. You had to have courage to use the Pink Panther but to tackle Boca’s first one you have to have courage “
Translated via Google Translate from the original interview
Then, while researching this article I found another South American goalkeeper with the Pink Panther on his shirt.
That’s Pablo Aurrecochea, an Uruguayan goalkeeper with a penchant for wearing pop culture references on his shirts including Batman, Spider-Man, Krusty the Clown, and, of course, the Pink Panther.