Gonzalo Higuaín

Gonzalo Higuaín

Personal information
Full name	Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Real Madrid
Number	20
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2007	River Plate	32	(15)
2007–	Real Madrid	110	(59)
International career‡
2008	Argentina U23	1	(2)
2009–	Argentina	9	(6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:08, 20 June 2010 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:30, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

Gonzalo Gerardo "El Pipita" Higuaín (Template:IPA-es; born 10 December 1987) is an Argentine footballer of Basque descent. who currently plays as a striker for Real Madrid and the Argentine national team. He is the son of former footballer Jorge "El Pipa" Higuaín, and the younger brother of footballer Federico Higuaín.

Early life

He was born in Brest, France as his father, the Argentine former footballer Jorge Higuaín, was playing for Stade Brestois 29 at the time. Therefore he holds dual French-Argentine nationality. Having left the country at the age of 10 months, he did not return to France until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Even though he does not speak French, he holds a French passport, because his father was naturalized French. But in January 2007, he successfully applied for the Argentine nationality.

Club career

River Plate

Following his brace in the Superclásico derby against Boca Juniors on 8 October 2006, River Plate manager Daniel Passarella declared that Higuain had an "enormous future" and was "destined for superstardom."

Real Madrid

Higuain playing for Real Madrid in 2009

Real Madrid signed Higuaín for €13 million, after River Plate had earlier turned down a €10 million offer for the 19-year-old striker. The striker announced at the signing of his six-and-a-half-year contract:

"It's great to have the chance of playing for such an important club as Real Madrid. I feel proud that Real Madrid has noticed me."

2006–07 season

Higuaín's first game for Real Madrid was on 14 January against Real Zaragoza at home. He shone by creating several chances and delivering the assist which resulted in Real Madrid's 1–0 crucial win. Higuaín's first ever goal for Real Madrid came during the 62nd minute in Real Madrid's draw with local rivals Atlético Madrid on 24 February 2007. His first home goal for Real came in the dying minutes of Real's encounter with RCD Espanyol on 12 May 2007. With the match tied at 3–3, Higuaín won the ball with a sliding tackle before exchanging a one-two with José Antonio Reyes and slotting the ball into the net. It was this goal which enabled Real Madrid to overtake rivals FC Barcelona into first place and propelled them to their 30th league title.

2007–08 season

On 4 May 2008, with Real Madrid down 1–0 against CA Osasuna, and needing just three points from their final four games to secure the league title, Higuaín came on for Javier Saviola in the 67th minute and from a free kick, he assisted Arjen Robben's equalizer in the 88th minute. Higuaín then struck the winning goal two minutes later to clinch Real Madrid's 31st La Liga championship.

Despite being Real Madrid's title hero, Higuaín found himself on the bench for Barcelona's visit to the Santiago Bernabéu four days later. As he had in previous games, however, Higuaín came on to devastating effect, scoring with his first touch within a minute and helped his team to a crushing 4–1 victory.

2008–09 season

On 24 August 2008, Higuaín became Real Madrid's cup hero, scoring in the 89th minute, giving Real Madrid a victory over Valencia CF and its eighth Supercopa de España. After the closing of the summer transfer window, Real Madrid revealed that they had turned down a €25 million offer for Higuaín from Juventus. He cemented a starting place in the team's starting eleven after impressing in the preseason, UEFA Champions League, and La Liga.

Higuaín scored all four goals in a 4-3 win against Málaga CF on 8 November 2008. He also provided two assists in the league match against RCD Mallorca on 11 January 2009. He became recognized for his devastating pace, dribbling, and low, powerful drives. Higuaín finished the season as Real Madrid's top scorer with 22 league goals, and 24 in all competitions.

2009–10 season

On 15 September 2009, Higuaín netted his first Champions League goal when he scored Madrid's third in their 5–2 win over FC Zürich, receiving a solid pass from Raúl, using superb skill against his defender and slotting home a good effort.

After a slow start to the La Liga season, Higuaín went on a scoring spree starting with his first goal of the season in the 7^th week against Real Valladolid on 17 October by chipping the rushing Valladolid keeper to the far post. In the next round, he added 2 more goals against Getafe CF, a week later, he scored again against local rivals Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderón, then the lone goal of the match against Racing de Santander. During this stretch he scored 5 of the team's total 10 goals and helped Real top the standings right before a crucial clash with arch rivals FC Barcelona.

After a disappointing performance in a 1-0 loss to Barcelona on November 29, 2009, he found the back of the net again against UD Almería the folloting week. Higuaín added two more goals to his tally at the Mestalla on 12 December 2009 in a 3–2 victory over Valencia CF, a match in which Real were devoid of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká. Higuaín added a brace (bringing his tally to 10) in a match against Real Zaragoza one of which was a lovely volley to the far post. Higuaín added another goal against RCD Mallorca at the Bernabéu in their 2–0 win on 10 January 2010, with a superb longshot — however, he picked up an injury in that game that sidelined him for three matches.

He returned to action on 6 February against RCD Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabéu as a substitute in the 74th minute, scoring the third goal in the 90th minute. He then scored consecutive braces in the next 2 games, against Villarreal CF and CD Tenerife. On 14 March 2010, Higuaín netted his second Real Madrid hat-trick in an emphatic 4–1 away win over Real Valladolid. He finished the season with 27 goals, second only to countryman Lionel Messi. Higuaín improved his goal totals every year since his arrival at the club.

On June 7, 2010 Real Madrid extended Higuain's contract after a sublime performance in the 2009-2010 season. The new contract will see him stay with the Spanish giants until 2016.

International career

Higuaín initially rejected calls from both the Argentine and French national teams, claiming at the time he was undecided for which country he would prefer to play, before choosing Argentina. Higuaín was called up by the Argentina Olympic squad for a friendly match against Guatemala in February 2008, and scored two goals in his debut as Argentina won 5–0, though the match was not officially recognized by FIFA as "A" international matches.

Higuaín was selected for Argentina by coach Diego Maradona for the last 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification games against Peru and Uruguay. He scored his first goal on his full debut, a 49th minute strike during a 2–1 win over Peru. Following Argentina's qualification, Higuaín was included in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He scored a hat-trick in Argentina's 4–1 win over South Korea in their second group match, becoming the third Argentinian to score a hat-trick in the World Cup finals, after Guillermo Stábile in 1930 and Gabriel Batistuta in 1994 and 1998, and the first player to score a hat-trick in the tournament since 2002. His goal in the 3–1 defeat of Mexico in the Second Round took him to a total of 4, and he remained the top scorer for Argentina in the competition.

Higuaín is one of only three foreign-born players to have played for Argentina in a FIFA World Cup, along with Pedro Arico Suárez and Constantino Urbieta Sosa.

Statistics

Club

Aas of 25 May 2010

Club	Season	League			Cup			Continental			Other			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
River Plate	2004–05	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
	2005–06	12	5	5	5	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	8	5
	2006–07	17	10	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	18	10	11
	Total	32	15	16	5	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	38	18	16
Real Madrid	2006–07	19	2	3	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	23	2	3
	2007–08	25	8	3	2	1	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	32	9	3
	2008–09	34	22	9	2	1	0	7	0	0	1	1	0	44	24	9
	2009–10	32	27	5	1	0	0	7	2	1	0	0	0	39	29	6
	Total	110	59	20	7	2	0	21	2	1	1	1	0	139	64	21
Career Total		143	74	36	12	5	0	21	2	1	2	1	0	178	82	37

International goals

Argentina's goal tally first

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	10 October 2009	El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Peru	1 – 0	2 – 1	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.
2.	3 March 2010	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Germany	1 – 0	1 – 0	Friendly
3.	17 June 2010	Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa	South Korea	2 – 0	4 – 1	2010 FIFA World Cup
4.	17 June 2010	Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa	South Korea	3 – 1	4 – 1	2010 FIFA World Cup
5.	17 June 2010	Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa	South Korea	4 – 1	4 – 1	2010 FIFA World Cup
6.	27 June 2010	Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa	Mexico	2 – 0	3 – 1	2010 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Club

• Real Madrid:
  • La Liga: 2006–07, 2007–08
  • Supercopa de España: 2008

External links

• Statistics at Guardian Stats Centre
• ESPN Profile
• Stats and Analytics of Gonzalo Higuaín at Footbalistic
• Fan-site Gonzalo Higuain
• Superstar in waiting: Higuaín being chased by Real Madrid, two countries
• Gonzalo Higuaín fan page in Facebook