Country: ArgentinaClub Team: Real Madrid
Position: Forward
Age: 22
In November 2006, Gonzalo Higuain was torn. Only 19 years old and already called up by both France, where he was born, and Argentina, where his family was from, Higuain couldn't decide which country to play for. So what did he do? He turned both down. A few months later, with his mind made up, he turned down France and made his way to the first Argentine embassy he could find to declare his natural-born status as Argentine. The rapid targetman made his debut on Oct. 10, 2009, for Argentina in its pivotal 2-1 qualifier win over Peru, scoring the first goal and giving the saga a happy ending -- for Argentina
Gonzalo Higuain's Star Shines Ever Brighter In Real Madrid's Galaxy
Some such as Wesley Sneijder and Ruud Van Nistelrooy have left, others have remained and simply complied with the competition such as Raul and Rafael Van der Vaart, but one man above all has risen to the challenge, the ever-impressive and under-rated Gonzalo Higuain.
Few players can have so slipped under the radar, and yet done so in such impressive fashion. His statistics for the season are nigh on remarkable, with 26 goals in 28 starts in all competitions, as he keeps Karim Benzema and Raul on the sideline.
As El Pipita recently said: "Ruud (Van Nistelrooy) told me that goals are like a bottle of ketchup. Sometimes they don't come no matter how much you push, but later they all come out in one hit.”
Not that Higuain has been sticking to Van Nistelrooy’s staple diet of six-yard tap-ins, his collection is a burgeoning list of goals of all varieties with deft chips, neat headers, and a collection of fine finishes.
This weekend he again came to the rescue of his team, grabbing the third goal in Real’s 3-2 victory over city rivals Atletico, to keep them ahead of Barcelona in the La Liga title race.
The sad irony of Higuain’s prolific run of form is that for Real Madrid fans, the one time he really came to their attention was for his rather inexplicable and costly miss during the club’s exit from the Champions League against Lyon.
His response to the miss was telling, as he plundered a hat-trick against Valladolid in Real’s next match, and prompted Sporting Director Jorge Valdano to remark: "He [Higuain] has made a tremendous reaction, because he is a high class player and character.
“He has suffered a lot this week because we have done him an injustice. He is accused of being selfish when a striker by definition is greedy. You can not be condemned for one moment after three impeccable years.”
This comes to the crux of the issue with Higuain, which is that he remains at 22 very much a work in progress.
It is this which fans can be inclined to forget, after all, Higuain arrived at Real as a 19- year-old wunderkind from Argentina, but has turned out to be less a shooting star, but more a slow burner.
This is not a criticism, as few players can take to Europe’s top leagues like a duck to water as Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney have before them, and even Cristiano Ronaldo took two to three years to develop at Manchester United.
Few players can have so slipped under the radar, and yet done so in such impressive fashion. His statistics for the season are nigh on remarkable, with 26 goals in 28 starts in all competitions, as he keeps Karim Benzema and Raul on the sideline.
As El Pipita recently said: "Ruud (Van Nistelrooy) told me that goals are like a bottle of ketchup. Sometimes they don't come no matter how much you push, but later they all come out in one hit.”
Not that Higuain has been sticking to Van Nistelrooy’s staple diet of six-yard tap-ins, his collection is a burgeoning list of goals of all varieties with deft chips, neat headers, and a collection of fine finishes.
This weekend he again came to the rescue of his team, grabbing the third goal in Real’s 3-2 victory over city rivals Atletico, to keep them ahead of Barcelona in the La Liga title race.
The sad irony of Higuain’s prolific run of form is that for Real Madrid fans, the one time he really came to their attention was for his rather inexplicable and costly miss during the club’s exit from the Champions League against Lyon.
His response to the miss was telling, as he plundered a hat-trick against Valladolid in Real’s next match, and prompted Sporting Director Jorge Valdano to remark: "He [Higuain] has made a tremendous reaction, because he is a high class player and character.
“He has suffered a lot this week because we have done him an injustice. He is accused of being selfish when a striker by definition is greedy. You can not be condemned for one moment after three impeccable years.”
This comes to the crux of the issue with Higuain, which is that he remains at 22 very much a work in progress.
It is this which fans can be inclined to forget, after all, Higuain arrived at Real as a 19- year-old wunderkind from Argentina, but has turned out to be less a shooting star, but more a slow burner.
This is not a criticism, as few players can take to Europe’s top leagues like a duck to water as Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney have before them, and even Cristiano Ronaldo took two to three years to develop at Manchester United.
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