So how good is Gonzalo Higuain, really? Posted on June 18, 2013 by Abhishek Mangar Arsenal fans might soon get a chance to rejoice when Gonzalo Higuain inks a contract with the North London side this week (as latest reports suggest). We all know about Higuain, he’s no secret on the European circuit, but until a player actually features for your team, and scores goals week in week out it is really hard to identify how good they really are. That’s what we attempt to answer, today… Born in Brest, France, the son of former Argentine footballer Jorge Higuain, Gonzalo, started off his career playing for the youth team of Argentine club River Plate. He made his senior team debut for River Plate in a 2–1 defeat against Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata on 29 May 2005. Higuain scored his first league goal in the Primera Division de Argentina in a 3–1 victory over Banfield. He ended the season with 5 goals to his name in 19 appearances for his club that season. While in Argentina, Higuain had already started showcasing his abilities which had made him a coveted target for many high profile European football clubs which included Arsenal and Real Madrid. In December 2006, Real Madrid succeeded in facilitating a €12 million move for him from River Plate, thus ushering him into a new era of success, not to forget plenty of challenges. Higuain made his Real Madrid debut on 11 January 2007 against Real Betis in the second round of the Copa del Rey in Seville. He scored his first goal for Los Blancos on 24th February in the derby against Atletico Madrid. Despite being able to score only 2 goals for Real that season, he played an important part in creating chances with 7 assists to his name. The following season was an inconsistent one for Higuain. Just 8 goals in 30 appearances led to question marks being raised on the viability of his being included in the first team. However, he proved his critics wrong the following season, when he netted in 23 goals in 42 appearances, after being provided with a golden opportunity due to Ruud van Nistelrooy’s injury. In the 2009-10 season Higuain became Real’s top scorer with 27 league goals, 29 in total and La Liga’s 2nd top goalscorer, behind Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. He also scored the only hat-trick in the World Cup that year, against South Korea in a 4–1 victory, in Argentina’s second group match. The following season proved to be a setback for the Argentine after he was diagnosed with a herniated lumbar disc. The back problem kept him out of action for over months, despite which he was able to make an early recovery and followed up with a respectable total of 13 goals in 25 appearances for his club. The 2011-12 season proved to be a league winning season for the Spanish side, with Higuain on fire. The Argentine scored 32 goals for club and country that year, and ended the season with 22 league goals to his name, above his teammate Karim Benzema. The following season however, proved to be a disappointment for Higuain. He managed a return of merely 19 goals in 48 appearances for Real, which was mainly due to coach Jose Mourinho switching between him and Benzema for first team places. All along his Madrid career, the Argentine has endured tough times. Despite managing a healthy return of goals time and again, he has failed to satisfy the ego of fans who have got used to seeing a goal machine like Ronaldo, gracing their fields. Higuain scored 121 goals in his 6 and a half year stay at Madrid, which saw him equalling the record of Juanito by becoming the 16th greatest goalscorer in the history of the club. Despite being a “yo-yo player” due to his inconsistent goal returns, Gonzalo Higuain has always been a competent finisher. We hope he gets to prove his true worth at the Emirates and manages to elicit the respect there that he has always deserved.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:24:42 +0000
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