Soccer
‘MLS Soccer Show’ Who’s Who: Inter Miami’s Gonzalo Higuaín
Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. When he's not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.
Get to know Tim Crean betterPublished06 May 2022
On this week’s MLS Soccer Show, we debuted a new segment called “Who’s Who.” In the video above, we look at an MLS designated player, talk about what made them great before they got to the U.S., and which young MLS prospect most resembles the DP in their prime. In the inaugural “Who’s Who,” let’s dive deep on Inter Miami striker Gonzalo Higuaín.
Who is Inter Miami striker Gonzalo Higuaín?
The 34-year-old Argentine Gonzalo Higuaín was actually born in Brest, France. That’s because his father, Jorge, was an Argentine soccer player plying his trade with the local Ligue 1 side.
The Higuaín family returned to Argentina shortly after Gonzalo was born, and although he has both French and Argentine citizenship, he’s only played for the Argentina National Team. With The White and Sky Blue, he’s earned 75 caps and scored 31 goals.
Professionally, Gonzalo started his career with one of his father’s former clubs, River Plate, in Buenos Aires. At 22, Spanish giant Real Madrid bought the 6-foot-1, 196-pound striker from his home country club for $13.2 million.
Higuaín spent seven seasons as a Galácticos, making 238 appearances and scoring 115 goals. A move to Napoli in Italy followed for $42.9 million, and the striker again impressed, scoring 119 goals in 138 matches.
Fellow Serie A club Juventus came calling after three seasons at Napoli, and the Italian super-club paid $99 million for Higuaín’s services. The poacher scored 66 goals in 129 caps during his time in Turin.
As his career was winding down in Europe, Juve loaned the forward to AC Milan, then the English Premier League’s Chelsea. Higuaín disappointed in both these stops, scoring just 13 goals in 40 appearances.
This led to a free transfer to MLS’s Inter Miami during the club’s inaugural 2020 season. In the U.S., Higuaín has notched 15 goals in 45 games.
Which young MLS star most resembles Higuaín?
Gonzalo Higuaín is a big, physical striker with a nose for the goal. In his prime, he rained in goals with his head, in-tight with his slick feet, and from way downtown with his powerful boot. The knock on Higuaín throughout his career is that, despite his gaudy goal numbers, he sometimes came up small in the biggest spots for club and country.
While he’s won a host of league titles and lesser cups, the big Argentine has never been on a UEFA Champions League winner, nor does he have any international hardware.
Of the young MLS strikers today, four have the potential to develop into Higuaín-type attackers. Here’s the tale of the tape on the candidates:
| Player | Country | MLS Team | Age | Height | Weight | Games | Goals |
| Leonardo Campana | Ecuador | Inter Miami | 21 | 6-foot-2 | 174 lbs. | 10 | 6 |
| “Taty” Castellanos | Argentina | NYCFC | 23 | 5-foot-10 | 158 lbs. | 122 | 51 |
| Jesús Ferreira | USA | FC Dallas | 21 | 5-foot-9 | 150 lbs. | 96 | 24 |
| Brandon Vazquez | USA | FC Cincinnati | 23 | 6-foot-2 | 196 lbs. | 58 | 11 |
Which of these young MLS talents is closest to Gonzalo Higuaín in his prime? Check out the video above to find out who we decide.
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Stats and transfer fees courtesy of FBRef.com and Transfermrkt
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