El Pipita - Gonzalo Higuain

Higuain needs to wear that Long Sleeve Jersey, and do his magic!! he's amazing!! but i think he has to show up in big matches hopefully!!

after seeing Man Utd last night, i am ausre Real Madrid is 2nd best team in the world... and im sure we will go very far in CHampions League

zealous, seeing villarreals form at the moment, i think he will get a double hattrick let alone a single

well... benzema is starting. They're playing every other game, which is fine.

watch benz and co tear their defence into two

even with capdevila it used to be a walk in the park, imagine now with their form and such

Higuain = Wolverine

Translation: Hi guys! I just wanted to say hello, thank you for your support, this is the t-shirt which i scored the goal (vs real sociedad)... we are happy because we are leaders and I hope that Real Madrid fans win it because you always support us.. Bye bye! (Or something like that)

Higuain's voice

Highest goal per minute ratio in Europe

As a big Higuain fan myself, I'm starting to wonder if Zealous is in fact, doing PR work for the man. Possibly on Higuain's PR team's pay roll or something...

srsly they are so fking cute together

WTF? LOL

"it's great for everyone that we're both playing so well. We're supportive of each other and are friends. I'm very happy for him because he deserves it. He's a great player and i'm happy that all is going well for him." - Higuain

It's a rivalry... but there's a lot of respect there. Benz has been trying to push for him and Higuain to play together at times. Hope it happens.

Higuain is humble and respectful. Genuinely.

omarish wrote:

srsly they are so fking cute together

haha wtf

wtf lol.

Since Nerman is the second longest thread in our section behind... i think it's more appropriate to have Pipita catch up to Benz a bit. Going to start spamming this thread lol.

I know it's been mentioned... but Higuain was actually born in France. 4 years ago, he was called up for the France NT and declined because he wanted to play for Argentina.

Also read that the Higuain deal had some rather serious allegations of Calderon getting some kick back from the deal itself as we did, in fact, over paid for him. Similar remarks were mentioned for both Pepe and Lass...

Love the 6-1 jibe at the end xD

Great goal

An exert from resident Madridista Eduardo Alvarez on soccernet from his article The Decline of the Club Star.

Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain started his first La Liga match for Real Madrid on a cold January evening in 2007 against Zaragoza. Back then he was just 19 years old and, despite his young age, huge expectations surrounded his arrival at the Bernabeu as €13 million appeared a big price tag for an unproven, virtually unknown striker.

Madrid started off strongly and, after only nine minutes, a cross from the right found Higuain in scoring position. He tried a first-time volley with his right foot, but badly squandered the chance, only half connecting the ball and the Bernabeu responded to the miss with overwhelming silence, only broken by a low murmur of disapproval that would follow the Argentinean for some seasons to come.

I was watching the match live in the broadcasting booth of a large Spanish radio network, located in the privileged position of the Madridistas' media zone. Raul, the network's play-by-play man, narrated in a strong, disappointed tone, emphasising Higuain's wrong body positioning when he hit the ball. ''That was a LEFT foot volley, muchacho'', were his final words before going to a quick commercial break. After turning his microphone off, he told the other commentator and myself: 'Verdict: He's s**te'.

Shocked at the harshness of his judgment, I offered a mild 'Come on, that was his first play', but he quickly countered: ''That's not my opinion, it's the Bernabeu's. Supporters don't have time for this. No left foot, poor body language, terrible teeth... What does he want, four years to develop and rebuild his smile?''

Almost five years later, with 88 goals scored, 183 matches played, four domestic titles and a distinctively beaming smile, Gonzalo Higuain looks indeed like an infinitely more accomplished player. Including his moment of beauty during Real Madrid's 7-1 rout of Osasuna on Sunday afternoon, he's scored 11 times in 11 matches so far this season.

However, for a decent part of these last five years, Raul was right. Most of the Bernabeu faithful took the Argentinean with more than a pinch of salt, despite his key performances in several matches that led the club to silverware, such as his impressive form in the final sequence of matches of the title-winning 2007-08 season.

To a sizeable number of Madridistas, Higuain's speed, ability to find open spaces, and scoring prowess couldn't make up for some glaring misses and technical flaws, even if these appeared like understandable points for development among the growing capabilities of any top striker in his early twenties.

Against the harsh verdict of many, the Argentinean ended up earning himself those years of growth that the Bernabeu didn't seem keen to grant him when he arrived, a quite similar case to that of team-mate Karim Benzema, although the Frenchman seems to have evolved at a faster pace.

Great article Doc. We forget that both these guys are born within days of each other and are only 23. This is really the first year of their early prime years.... Higuain had to fight the fact that he was not a "galactico" and Benz was bought for such big money that everyone expected him to be a superstar at 21. It's pretty ironic that one's battle was the lack of expectations while the other was the pressure of too many early expectations.

Neymar is going to have a similar issue to benz unless he adapts and tears it up immediately.

Madrid is not an easy place to be. Although it's easier now with Mou as it's logical at least... back when Benz joined and Higuain was coming in, it was complete madness lol.

It's quite understandable why it isn't an easy place. The Bernabeu is accustom to a certain type of footballer and can spot the flaws of its players quite easily particularly when it comes to their forwards which I feel personally is the most treasured position for the Bernabeu faithful.

So when young Higuain skewered that shot (to which I remembered), I can completely understand why they didn't rate him nor like him as it just takes that one moment for such a demanding crowd to condemn you, to think you are not worthy to don the white shirt. That same thought pattern went to Benzema as his expectations were much higher and his out put was just as bad.

If Neymar arrives, he'll have the same treatment dished out if he fails to meet their expectations. And always remember that that same stadium witnessed some of the best forwards Europe has seen so when they see a flaw, chances are, they aren't too far off...

Neymar would actually be lucky to come at this very precise moment, with guys like Benzema or Higuain who knows what it means to fight adversity. Added to the fact that our coaching staff is actually stable and going the way of patience for all things in general.

But of course, even for a kid that you would sign at 40M, expectations are going to be ridiculous. Expectations of him being already as good as Ronaldo or Messi for some, and to deliver instantaneously.

Just look at the response by the less smart among us, looking at his performances with Brazil last summer. Or Hazard for example getting owned in CL. Young players have adaptation period to go through, no matter how good they are. Some will make it look easy, even though it isnt.

When you are used to play at a early age for a single team you who the ins and outs of, change is always difficult. It can be change in context, different competitions or playing with the NT with a completely different structure.