Higuain Gonzalo
Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Italian club Juventus and the Argentina national team. Nicknamed El Pipita or Pipa, as was his father, Jorge, who was also a footballer, Gonzalo Higuaín was born in France, attaining Argentine citizenship in 2007, and now holds dual nationality. He started his career with Argentine club River Plate, before a transfer to Real Madrid in January 2007 for €12 million. His time in Spain saw him win honours including three La Liga titles, and score 107 goals in 190 league appearances. He joined Italian side Napoli for €40 million in the summer of 2013, where he won the Coppa Italia during his first season. In the 2015–16 season, he scored 36 league goals, winning the Capocannoniere title and equalling Gino Rossetti’s 87-year-old record for goals in an Italian top-flight season. As a result of his goal scoring exploits in Naples, Italian champions Juventus signed him for €90 million in 2016, making him the most expensive South American footballer of all time(until Neymar’s transfer to PSG in 2017); his transfer fee was the highest ever paid by an Italian team and also the highest of a player transferring within any domestic league. Higuaín has been a full international for Argentina since 2009; he has represented the country at two FIFA World Cupsand three Copa América tournaments, helping them to second-place finishes at the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Copa América and the Copa América Centenario in 2016.
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This shirt was worn by Gonzalo Higuain during the Champions League Final 2017. The 2017 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, the 62nd season of Europe’s premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 25th season since it was renamed from the European Cup to the UEFA Champions League. It was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on 3 June 2017, between Italian side Juventus and Spanish side and title holders Real Madrid, in a repeat of the 1998 final. It would also be the first-ever European Cup final held under a closed roof. Real Madrid won the match 4–1 to secure their 12th title in this competition. With this victory, as the defending champions, Real Madrid became the first-ever team to successfully defend their title in the Champions League era, and the first to do so since Milan in 1990. On the other hand, Juventus lost a fifth final in a row and a seventh in nine finals reached. Real Madrid qualified as the UEFA representative at the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and also earned the right to play against the winners of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, Manchester United, in the 2017 UEFA Super Cup, triumphing in both competitions. Higuain joined Juventus in the summer of 2016. After a month of transfer speculation, on 26 July 2016, Higuaín transferred to rivals Juventus for a fee of €90 million paid in two installments, making him the most expensive South American footballer of all time (until Neymar’s transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017); his transfer fee was the highest ever paid by an Italian team (until Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Juventus in 2018) and also the highest of a player transferring within any domestic league (until Kylian Mbappé’s transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2018). Three days after his move, Higuaín stated that his reason for moving to Juventus was because of his relationship with Napoli’s chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis.
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On 1 July 2019, Higuaín returned to Juventus as Chelsea declined to extend his loan; thus, he was once again reunited with manager Maurizio Sarri, who had recently joined the club. Although he previously wore the number 9 shirt at Juventus, he was instead handed the number 21 shirt ahead of the 2019–20 season.
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Nicknamed El Pipita or Pipa, as was his father Jorge, who was also a footballer, Higuaín was a hardworking right-footed striker and a prolific goalscorer. He is considered to be one of the top strikers of his generation, and is known in particular for his great striking ability with either foot in the last 25 yards, as well as his opportunism and clinical finishing inside the penalty area, while his height, eye for goal, and strong physique make him a dangerous aerial presence in the box. A well-rounded striker, he also possesses good technical skills, and an ability to drop deep, link-up with teammates, hold up the ball, and lay it off to other players. His intelligent offensive movement off the ball and pace in the final third of the pitch make him an offensive threat during counter-attacks, and also allow him to lose his markers and get on the end of passes, or create space for his teammates with his attacking runs. Although he mainly plays as an out-and-out striker – which led him to be described as a “poacher” in the media earlier on in his career –, because of his team-play and ability to build attacks or provide assists for teammates, he has also operated in a deeper, more creative role on occasion, acting as a false nine, or even as a second striker. His playing style has earned him comparisons with compatriots Hernán Crespo and Gabriel Batistuta. Despite his impressive scoring record, Higuaín has often been criticised in the media for failing to deliver in the most important of matches for both club and country. Notable examples include poor performances in cup finals and crucial UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches during his tenures at Real Madrid, Napoli and Juventus, as well as notable missed chances for the Argentina national team in the 2014 World Cup Final, the 2015 Copa América Final and the Copa América Centenario Final. Moreover, Higuaín’s record from the penalty spot has been inconsistent throughout his career; in his early career, he was generally an accurate penalty taker, however his ability from spot kicks deteriorated as his career progressed. Higuaín, along with global cover star Lionel Messi, featured on the Italian cover of EA Sports’ multi-platform video game FIFA 15.
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Higuain scored his first goal of the 2019/2020 season in a 4–3 home win over his former club Napoli in Serie A on 31 August. On 17 September 2020, he mutually terminated his contract with Juventus. On 18 September 2020, Higuaín signed for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.
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Due to Higuaín’s availability, clubs like Arsenal and Napoli were keen to sign him. Higuaín was at the centre of much transfer speculation, with many newspapers linking him to a move to Arsenal before Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis said that Higuaín, along with Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, had passed their medicals and that the Argentine had signed a five-year deal with the Italian club, with Higuaín joining for €40 million.On 27 July, Napoli confirmed the signing of Higuaín, with the Argentine being assigned the number 9 shirt.
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On 14 May, Higuaín scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 home win over Frosinone in the final match of the season to win the Capocannoniere with 36 total goals, equaling Gino Rossetti’s record set in 1928–29. No other player in the league surpassed 20 goals for the season, with the league’s second-topscorer being Paulo Dybala with 19.
