"El Pipita" the Real deal

Many readers of my blog will be thinking, "Not another sport one". Well sport happens to be my area of expertise, and one I aim to perfect in years to come. One aspect of my footballing knowledge I wish to improve is the player profile of the underrated players of Europe. Previous blog posts have seen me praise the talents of Jimmy Bullard and Canadian striker Simeon Jackson, who plies his trade in League One with Gillingham. Over the coming months my intentions are to write several posts, similar to player profiles, highlighting the qualities of these relatively unknown or even forgotten players.

Forget the millions Florentino Perez has spent on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Kaka, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso this summer gone. Forget the high profiles of these players and the expectation surrounding the Spanish capital following the beginning of the new 'Galacticos' era. If asked who Real Madrid's best current player would be, my opinion would not match those of many Madrid fans or many football fans across Europe. My answer would be Gonzalo Higuain.

The 22-year-old Argentine striker has been in prolific form for Real Madrid this season, hitting 11 goals in 14 La Liga appearances, form which mirrors that of last season, earning him admirers of high prestige across the planet. His exploits in Spain have seen him brush aside competition from Ruud Van Nistelrooy, £30m pound signing Karim Benzema and on occasions Real captain Raúl to the bench.
Without doubt, Higuain's best season to date had to be last season (08/09). Notching up 23 goals for Real Madrid, 22 of these coming in the league is more than just a positive sign for the future of the former River Plate forward. As well as making an immediate impact in his Real Madrid career, the Los Blancos player made an even bigger start in his international career. When called up to the squad, it could be said that Diego Maradona's side were in dire straits, facing elimination from the World Cup qualifiers with only two matches to play, and loss of faith from the South American country's fans looked ever so present.
Fortunes seemed to change with the introduction of Higuain. His 47th minute strike against Peru on his debut forced a much needed victory, and his impact in the final game against Uruguay created scenes of joy for the Pumas as they gained victory to qualify for South Africa 2010.

The Madrid man has to compete with some of the greatest strikers in the world for a place in the Argentinian set-up. Along with Lionel Messi, Maradona has at his hands the talents of Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez, German Denis, Rodrigo Palacio and his son-in-law, Sergio Aguero. Higuain's form has prospered since his inclusion in the side, and in December, the same month as his birthday, Gonzalo enjoyed some of his best form at the Bernabeu, reaching ten goals with a brace against Real Zaragoza.

What a lot of people reading this won't know is Higuain had the option to play for France. He was born in the French town of Brest and in 2006 he rejected calls from both countries to play after claiming he was indecisive as to which nation he wanted to play for. Much of the French media starting seeing Higuain as a younger version of David Trezeguet, after he chose to play for France despite his father being Argentinian. Even the French national side were preparing themselves for the unveiling of one of the hottest prospects in world football by assigning him the number 20 shirt for their game against Greece. However, in 2007 French fans were stunned to see Higuain shun them after revealing his love to play for Argentina.
It could be argued that Higuain made the wrong decision in choosing Argentina due to the high inatke of young, quality strikers reaching international level, and with France stumbling in world football, it looks unlikely that Les Bleus can rely on the ageing Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka for too much longer.

To conclude this profile, Higuain's Madrid career has started with a bang, shipping in over 40 goals in just under 95 appearances. The 13m euros that Madrid signed him for from River Plate may certainly have doubled in the space of three years. At 22, he has a career worth keeping an eye on, and one I intend to continue admiring. I remember watching Madrid last season, and Higuain scored all 4 goals in their 4-3 win against Malaga, in what was one of the most fantastic displays I had seen all year.
It was also Higuain's strike that won the the league title in the 2007/08 season, replacing Javier Saviola in the 67th minute. After assisting Arjen Robben to an equaliser in the 88th minute, Higuain himself popped up to score the winner against Osasuna and secure the league title for Madrid.

I am certainly a huge admirer of his talents, as are many of my friends. Recent links with Arsenal and Juventus are proof that his qualities are not going unnoticed, but for now, I think he is best in La Liga working with some of the best players in the world, perfecting his already superb footballing ability.

Many Thanks for reading

G.M