Gonzalo Higuaín facts for kids
Higuaín with Juventus in 2019
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 10 December 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Brest, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club Palermo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2005 | River Plate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | River Plate | 35 | (13) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2013 | Real Madrid | 190 | (107) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Napoli | 104 | (71) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2020 | Juventus | 105 | (48) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | → AC Milan (loan) | 15 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | → Chelsea (loan) | 14 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Inter Miami | 67 | (29) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 530 | (279) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Argentina U23 | 1 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2018 | Argentina | 75 | (31) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín (born 10 December 1987) is a former professional footballer. He played as a striker, which means he was a main goal scorer. People often called him El Pipita or Pipa. He was known for being a great scorer, strong, and good at moving to find chances to score.
Higuaín won six league titles in Europe, playing in Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A. He started his career in Argentina with River Plate. In 2007, he moved to Real Madrid in Spain. There, he won three La Liga titles and became one of Europe's top strikers.
In 2013, Higuaín joined Napoli in Italy. He won the Coppa Italia in his first season. During the 2015–16 season, he scored an amazing 36 goals in the league. This made him the top scorer (called Capocannoniere) and tied the record for most goals in an Italian top-flight season.
In 2016, Juventus signed Higuaín for a very large transfer fee. This made him one of the most expensive football transfers ever at the time. With Juventus, he won the league and cup twice in his first two seasons. He also reached the Champions League final in 2017. Later, he played on loan for AC Milan and Chelsea, winning the UEFA Europa League with Chelsea. He then moved to the American team Inter Miami in 2020 and retired from football in 2022.
Higuaín played for the Argentina national team starting in 2009. He played in three FIFA World Cups and three Copa América tournaments. He helped Argentina finish second in the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Copa América, and the Copa América Centenario in 2016. He retired from international football in March 2019, having played 75 games and scored 31 goals for Argentina.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Gonzalo Higuaín was born on 10 December 1987 in Brest, France. His father, Jorge Higuaín, was also a footballer from Argentina. At just ten months old, Gonzalo left France. He doesn't speak French, but he still has French citizenship. In 2007, he also became an Argentine citizen.
Gonzalo has two older brothers, Nicolas and Federico, who also played professional football. He also has a younger brother named Lautaro.
Club Journey
Starting at River Plate
Higuaín began his football journey in the youth teams of River Plate. He made his first team debut on 29 May 2005. He scored his first league goal in February 2006. By the end of the 2005–06 season, he had scored 5 goals in 12 games.
After he scored two goals against Boca Juniors in October 2006, his manager said Higuaín had a "huge future." He finished the next season with 10 goals in 17 league matches.
Time at Real Madrid
In December 2006, the Spanish club Real Madrid signed Higuaín. He played his first game for them in January 2007. His first goal for Real Madrid came on 24 February against Atlético Madrid.
During the 2007–08 season, Higuaín scored a last-minute goal against Osasuna. This goal helped Real Madrid win the league title for the second year in a row. He also scored against Barcelona in El Clásico just 57 seconds after coming onto the field.
In the 2008–09 season, Higuaín became a regular starter. He scored all four goals in a 4–3 win against Málaga. He also scored a winning goal in the last minute against Getafe. He finished this season with 22 league goals.
For the 2009–10 season, Higuaín was Real Madrid's top scorer with 27 league goals. He scored his first two goals in the UEFA Champions League and also got his second hat-trick for the club.
In June 2010, Real Madrid extended his contract. He scored Real Madrid's 5,200th league goal in October 2010. In November, he scored the club's 700th goal in the Champions League. In December 2010, Higuaín had surgery for a back injury and was out for several months. He made an early comeback in April 2011, scoring a hat-trick against Valencia.
In the 2011–12 season, Higuaín scored two hat-tricks. He scored his 100th Real Madrid goal in March 2012. He scored 22 goals in the league-winning season, showing how important he was to the team.
On 29 August 2012, Higuaín scored the first goal in a win against Barcelona. This helped Real Madrid win their first title of the season. He scored his 100th La Liga goal in February 2013. After six and a half years, Higuaín announced he would leave Real Madrid in June 2013.
Moving to Napoli
In the summer of 2013, Higuaín joined Napoli in Italy. He signed a five-year deal and was given the number 9 shirt. He scored his first goal for Napoli in a friendly match in August 2013. He made his Serie A debut on 25 August.
On 18 September, Higuaín scored in Napoli's first Champions League game. On 12 February 2014, he scored two goals against Roma in the Coppa Italia semi-final. He scored his first hat-trick for Napoli in April 2014 against Lazio. He won his first trophy with Napoli on 3 May, the Coppa Italia. He finished his first season in Italy with 24 goals.
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On 26 October 2014, Higuaín scored his first three league goals of the season. In the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana against Juventus, he scored twice to force extra time and a penalty shootout, which Napoli won. He scored a hat-trick in the Europa League in March 2015.
On 8 November 2015, Higuaín scored his 200th club career goal. Three weeks later, he scored two goals against Inter, putting Napoli in first place in the league. He scored his 30th Serie A goal of the season in April 2016. On 14 May, Higuaín scored a hat-trick in the final match of the season. This gave him 36 goals, making him the top scorer (Capocannoniere) and equaling a long-standing record.
Playing for Juventus
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On 26 July 2016, Higuaín moved to Juventus. This was a very expensive transfer. He scored the winning goal on his Juventus debut on 20 August. On 29 October, he scored against his old team, Napoli, but chose not to celebrate. On 5 April 2017, Higuaín scored twice against Napoli in the 2016–17 Coppa Italia semi-final. He became the first player in a long time to score more than 20 goals in his first season for Juventus. On 3 June, Higuaín played in the Champions League Final, but Juventus lost to Real Madrid.
On 28 October 2017, Higuaín scored two goals against Milan. His first goal was his 100th in Serie A. He played a key role in Juventus's win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League in February 2018, scoring two goals in the first game and a goal and an assist in the second.
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On 2 August 2018, Higuaín joined AC Milan on a loan deal. On 23 January 2019, he moved to English club Chelsea on loan for the rest of the season. He made his debut for Chelsea five days later. On 2 February, he scored his first goals for Chelsea, scoring twice against Huddersfield Town.
On 1 July 2019, Higuaín returned to Juventus. He scored his first goal of the season against his former club Napoli on 31 August. On 17 September 2020, he left Juventus.
Playing for Inter Miami
On 18 September 2020, Higuaín signed with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami in the United States. He scored his first goal for Miami on 7 October. On 31 July 2022, Higuaín scored a hat-trick against FC Cincinnati. He retired at the end of Inter Miami's 2022 MLS season. His last game was in the MLS playoffs.
International Career with Argentina
Early Days and First World Cup
Higuaín is one of only three players born outside Argentina to play for the country in a FIFA World Cup. He chose to play for Argentina after also being asked by France. He scored two goals in his debut for the Argentina Olympic squad in 2008.
Higuaín was chosen for Argentina's team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He scored his first goal for the senior team in October 2009. In the World Cup, he scored a hat-trick against South Korea. This made him only the third Argentine player to score a hat-trick in the World Cup finals. He finished the tournament with four goals.
Copa América and World Cup Qualifiers
Higuaín was part of Argentina's team for the 2011 Copa América. He scored against Uruguay in the quarter-finals.
He scored a hat-trick and assisted a goal in a 4–1 win against Chile in October 2011. He continued to score important goals in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. He ended the qualifiers as one of the top scorers in South America with nine goals.
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Higuaín was in Argentina's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He assisted Lionel Messi's winning goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 5 July, he scored the only goal in the quarter-final win over Belgium. In the final against Germany, Argentina lost 1–0 in extra time.
Later Tournaments and Retirement
Higuaín played in the 2015 Copa América. He scored the only goal against Jamaica in the group stage. He also scored in the semi-final against Paraguay. In the 2015 Copa América Final, Argentina lost to Chile in a penalty shootout.
At the Copa América Centenario in 2016, Higuaín scored twice against Venezuela in the quarter-finals. He scored two more goals as Argentina beat the United States 4–0 in the semi-final. Argentina again lost to Chile in the final in a penalty shootout.
For the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Higuaín was included in the squad. He played in all three group matches but did not score. Argentina was knocked out in the round of 16.
On 28 March 2019, Higuaín announced he was retiring from international football. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family. He played 75 games for Argentina and scored 31 goals. His last game was in the 2018 World Cup against Nigeria.
How He Played
Gonzalo Higuaín was a hardworking and skilled striker. He was known for being a great goal scorer. He could shoot well with both feet and was very good at scoring goals when he was close to the net. His height and strength also made him good at heading the ball.
He was also good at moving without the ball to find open spaces. This helped him get passes and create chances for his teammates. Even though he was mainly a striker, he could also drop back to help build attacks and pass the ball to others. People sometimes compared his style of play to other famous Argentine strikers like Hernán Crespo and Gabriel Batistuta.
Endorsements
Higuaín was featured on the Italian cover of the video game FIFA 15 by EA Sports, alongside Lionel Messi.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| River Plate | 2004–05 | Argentine Primera División | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2005–06 | Argentine Primera División | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | 18 | 7 | ||
| 2006–07 | Argentine Primera División | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | 8 | ||
| Total | 35 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | 41 | 15 | |||
| Real Madrid | 2006–07 | La Liga | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 2 | |
| 2007–08 | La Liga | 25 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 34 | 9 | ||
| 2008–09 | La Liga | 34 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 24 | |
| 2009–10 | La Liga | 32 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | — | 40 | 29 | ||
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 17 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | 25 | 13 | ||
| 2011–12 | La Liga | 35 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 26 | |
| 2012–13 | La Liga | 28 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 44 | 18 | |
| Total | 190 | 107 | 21 | 4 | 48 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 264 | 121 | ||
| Napoli | 2013–14 | Serie A | 32 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 5 | — | 46 | 24 | |
| 2014–15 | Serie A | 37 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 58 | 29 | |
| 2015–16 | Serie A | 35 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | — | 42 | 38 | ||
| Total | 104 | 71 | 11 | 3 | 30 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 146 | 91 | ||
| Juventus | 2016–17 | Serie A | 38 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 32 |
| 2017–18 | Serie A | 35 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 23 | |
| 2019–20 | Serie A | 32 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 11 | |
| Total | 105 | 48 | 11 | 6 | 30 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 149 | 66 | ||
| AC Milan (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie A | 15 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 8 |
| Chelsea (loan) | 2018–19 | Premier League | 14 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 5 |
| Inter Miami | 2020 | MLS | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | |||
| 2021 | MLS | 30 | 12 | — | — | — | 30 | 12 | ||||
| 2022 | MLS | 28 | 16 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 31 | 16 | ||
| Total | 67 | 29 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 70 | 29 | |||
| Career total | 530 | 279 | 48 | 13 | 121 | 39 | 12 | 4 | 711 | 335 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 2009 | 3 | 1 |
| 2010 | 10 | 6 | |
| 2011 | 9 | 5 | |
| 2012 | 8 | 4 | |
| 2013 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2014 | 11 | 3 | |
| 2015 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 13 | 6 | |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 75 | 31 | |
- Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Higuaín goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 October 2009 | Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Peru |
1–0 | 2–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 3 March 2010 | Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany |  Germany |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 17 June 2010 | FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa |  South Korea |
2–0 | 4–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
| 4 | 3–1 | |||||
| 5 | 4–1 | |||||
| 6 | 27 June 2010 | FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa |  Mexico |
2–0 | 3–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
| 7 | 7 September 2010 | Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Spain |
2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 16 July 2011 | Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López, Santa Fe, Argentina |  Uruguay |
1–1 | 1–1 (4–5 p) | 2011 Copa América |
| 9 | 6 September 2011 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh |  Nigeria |
1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 10 | 7 October 2011 | Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Chile |
1–0 | 4–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 11 | 3–0 | |||||
| 12 | 4–1 | |||||
| 13 | 2 June 2012 | Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Ecuador |
2–0 | 4–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 14 | 7 September 2012 | Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba, Argentina |  Paraguay |
2–1 | 3–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 15 | 11 September 2012 | Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru | Peru |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 16 | 16 October 2012 | Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago, Chile | Chile |
2–0 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 17 | 6 February 2013 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Sweden |
3–1 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 18 | 22 March 2013 | Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Venezuela |
2–0 | 3–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 19 | 3–0 | |||||
| 20 | 14 August 2013 | Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy |  Italy |
1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 21 | 5 July 2014 | Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília, Brazil |  Belgium |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup |
| 22 | 14 October 2014 | Hong Kong Stadium, Wan Chai, Hong Kong |  Hong Kong |
2–0 | 7–0 | Friendly |
| 23 | 4–0 | |||||
| 24 | 20 June 2015 | Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar, Chile |  Jamaica |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2015 Copa América |
| 25 | 30 June 2015 | Estadio Municipal de Concepción, Concepción, Chile | Paraguay |
6–1 | 6–1 | 2015 Copa América |
| 26 | 28 May 2016 | Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario, San Juan, Argentina |  Honduras |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 27 | 18 June 2016 | Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States | Venezuela |
1–0 | 4–1 | Copa América Centenario |
| 28 | 2–0 | |||||
| 29 | 21 June 2016 | NRG Stadium, Houston, United States |  United States |
3–0 | 4–0 | Copa América Centenario |
| 30 | 4–0 | |||||
| 31 | 6 October 2016 | Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru | Peru |
2–1 | 2–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours and Awards
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Real Madrid
- La Liga: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2011–12
- Copa del Rey: 2010–11
- Supercopa de España: 2008, 2012
Napoli
- Coppa Italia: 2013–14
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2014
Juventus
- Serie A: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20
- Coppa Italia: 2016–17, 2017–18
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2016–17
Chelsea
- UEFA Europa League: 2018–19
- EFL Cup runner-up: 2018–19
Argentina
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2014
- Copa América runner-up: 2015, 2016
Individual Awards
- Serie A top scorer: 2015–16
- Serie A Team of the Year: 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17
- UEFA Europa League Squad of the season: 2013–14, 2014–15
- ESM Team of the Year: 2015–16
- Forward of the "Ideal Team of America": 2006
- FIFA FIFPro World XI 4th team: 2016
- Juventus MVP of the Year: 2016–17, 2017–18
- MLS Comeback Player of the Year: 2022
Images for kids
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Higuaín during a match in the Champions League group stage against AC Milan in October 2010
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Higuaín in a Champions League game against CSKA Moscow in February 2012
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Higuaín attempting to dribble past Emir Spahić of Sevilla in February 2013
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Higuaín in action against Dnipro in May 2015
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Higuaín playing for Juventus in 2017
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Higuaín on loan at Chelsea in 2019
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Higuaín (#9) celebrates his hat-trick against South Korea with teammates during the World Cup on 17 June 2010.
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Higuaín in Argentine colours
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Higuaín challenging Germany's Mats Hummels and Manuel Neuer in the 2014 World Cup Final
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Higuaín with Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
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Higuaín (wearing blue) playing for Napoli against future club Juventus in the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana: Higuaín would score both Napoli goals in normal time and also convert in the penalty shoot-out, which Napoli won.
See also
In Spanish: Gonzalo Higuaín para niños
