Gonzalo Higuain is a high-profile striker and has plied his trade in some of the top clubs in Europe over the years such as Real Madrid, Napoli and Juventus. The Argentine marksman has an eye for goal and has been on a free-scoring run ever since coming to Europe and has particulay been impressive since his move to Italy.
However, his performances in big games have often been below par and that has blighted his reputation significantly. Image-tarnishing tags such as “choker”, “bottler” have been associated with him for a while as he has consistently failed to live up to his billing when it mattered most for his team(s).
Unfortunately for him, his team ended up as second-best on almost all these occasions which meant that he was the obvious villain. According to sports psychologist Phil Johnson, there’s a trauma that Higuain is suffering from as a result of which he fails to find his goal-scoring boots in the marquee games. The Juventus faithful would hope that their £75.3 million man slays the ghost of the past to deliver a match-winning performance against his former side Real Madrid in the Champions League final tonight.
However, before he does that we go down the memory lane to revisit the five occasions when Higuain cost his team in big matches:
#5 2nd Leg, Copa Del Rey quarter final 2011-12
The quarter-finals of the 2011-12 Copa Del Rey edition saw Real Madrid squaring off against arch-rivals Barcelona. The Los Blancos suffered a 2-1 defeat at home and had their work cut out going into the second leg.
However, in the game, an early backpass from Dani Alves caught Pique napping and presented Higuain with a golden chance to score. He simply had to slot the ball past Pinto but he couldn’t keep his cool and shot wide.
Chances don’t come as easily in El Clasicos as they did on that night for Higuain. He missed a gilt-edged opportunity and let his side down as they only managed to salvage a 2-2 draw and crashed out of the competition.
#4 Final game of the Serie A 2014-15
Napoli were playing against Lazio with a Champions league place at stake. A win would’ve guaranteed Champions League football to Napoli. And with the scores level at 2-2 Lazio conceded a penalty and up stepped Gonzalo Higuain.
The Argentine, who had until then kept the side the side from Naples in the game was on a hat-trick. However, from the spotkick, he fired his shot high over the crossbar. The miss proved to be costly as the Gil Azzuris crumbles and Lazio capitalised by scoring two goals later on to win the game 4-2 and deny Napoli a spot in Europe’s elite competition the next season.
#3 Copa America Final, 2016
A mistake from Gary Medel meant that Higuain could pounce on the ball and proceed towards the Chile goal, which he did. The burling striker had only Claudio Bravo to beat now in a 1-on-1. The keeper was advanced which meant that Higuain could’ve either rounded him off to score or chip the ball above him. He went for the latter and miscued his shot which went wide.
A goal would’ve given Albiceleste the lead but yet again it wasn’t to be as Chile proved to be their nemesis for a second year in a raow. They went on to clinch the title on penalties which prompted the infamous national team retirement from Messi (who missed in the shootout). Messi, however, later revoked his decision.
#2 Copa America Final, 2015
Argentina were up against a determined Chile side and in the dying minutes of the game Ezequiel Lavezzi found Higuain who was bearing down towards goal with a run inside the box. However, when he got to the cross, the striker could only find the side netting despite being agonizingly close to the goal.
In his defence, one can say that the angle was a bit tight but that doesn’t change the fact that he should’ve managed to find the back of the net from a yard out. In the penalty shootout, he had a chance to redeem himself from the spot but it’s anybody’s guess that he missed and Chile were crowned the Champions.
#1 World Cup Final, 2014
Higuain might live the rest of his life being a victim of obloquy for missing a glorious chance at the greatest stage of them all - the World Cup final in 2014. Kroos attempted to head the ball back to Neuer but wasn’t aware that Higuain stood in that path, behind the line of defence. The Argentine was quick to latch on to the ball and with only the keeper to beat he fluffed his lines and shot wide.
He made a hash of what should have been a routine conversion from a striker of his stature. The goal would’ve given Argentina a lead (and possibly the Cup) but they eventually went on to lose the game to an extra-time goal by substitute Mario Gotze.
