Gonzalo Higuaín: a great sports career condemned by some mistakes
Gonzalo Higuain's career was impressive but sadly many will remember this player for his mistakes.
Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain announced his retirement from professional football. "The day has come to say goodbye to football, a profession that has given me so much and I feel privileged to have experienced it with its good and not so good moments," he said at the press conference.
Gonzalo Higuaín announced his retirement from professional football
It is undeniable that Higuain's sports career is impressive. He has almost 800 games as a professional and more than 350 goals between clubs and the Argentine National Team. He played and triumphed in the most important teams in the world, River Plate, Real Madrid, Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan and Chelsea. 6 titles in Spain, 7 titles in Italy and 1 in England. In addition, he played 3 World Cups, 3 Copa América and even started during the 2014 World Cup final. Many players wish they had the incredible achievements of Gonzalo Higuaín. Despite this, Higuain will probably be remembered for 2 things, his transfer from Napoli to Juventus and the goals he missed with the Argentine National Team.
Gonzalo Higuain won titles with Napoli, Real Madrid, Juventus and Chelsea
With the Neapolitan team, he lived the prime of his career. He played 146 games and scored 91 goals. He was Capocannoniere (top scorer in Serie A) on 2 occasions, and on one of them, he scored 36 goals, breaking a record that had been in force since 1950. Despite that, he did not win any title, which influenced Higuaín to start playing for Juventus. Almost all Neapolitan fans do not remember Higuain's goals, only the "betrayal". This a great example of how a gamer can turn love into hate in just a few days.
Higuaín lived the best stage of his sports career in Napoli
With the Argentine National Team, something else happened. Although Higuain's scoring average is very good (0.40 goals per game), this player had the misfortune of missing goals in the finals. One of these goals was during the 2014 World Cup final and the other two goals were during the 2015 Copa América and the 2016 Copa América. These mistakes caused Gonzalo Higuaín to be the victim of criticism, ridicule, and memes.
In numerous interviews, the Argentine striker always highlighted his impressive career, his goals in Europe, and his collective achievements. In addition, he downplayed the criticism and ridicule. However, a few weeks ago, Higuaín broke the silence and expressed what he thinks about the aforementioned: "People think that football players have an easy life, and no, not at all. We don't have the right to walk down the street, the people insult us and we can't say anything, because if we do, we generate controversy. If we lose a game, miss a goal, or lose an important game, we can't go out on the street. The football player lives conditioned by a result. It's a sport, a job, and make no mistake. We're all human."
"Failure is not losing a final, failure is not being able to be what you wanted to be."
Higuaín never agreed with the treatment he received. "Clearly the only thing that matters in football is success and not a sports career. The most important thing is to see how positive we have achieved and to see it with a reason for pride." For example, thanks to Higuain's goal in the 2014 Quarterfinals, Argentina beat Belgium and qualified for the semifinals for the first time in 24 years.
"Failure is not losing a final, failure is not being able to be what you wanted to be."
The case of Higuaín is an important reflection, a reminder that footballers - and all professional athletes - are humans like us who have emotions and flaws. They are not robots, automated to just play football. They also have a personal life and are constantly harassed on social media when their performance is not the best.
Gonzalo Higuaín's football career, despite missing goals or changing teams, was impressive. Worthy of being remembered for the positive, not for the negative.
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