“What I loved the most is over”
MADRID, 18 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuaín, a Real Madrid player between 2007 and 2013, ended his football career this morning with a defeat with the American Inter Miami against New York City (3-0) in the Eastern Conference ‘Playoffs’ for the Major League Soccer (MLS) title.
The 34-year-old ‘Pipita’ finished the game at Yankee Stadium, where a goal was disallowed with the score still 0-0 and where the Florida team was eliminated, visibly moved. “What I loved the most is over. It has been more than half of my life, 17 years of career. Many images come to mind, what you fought for, I leave with a clear conscience and very proud. The most important thing in life is giving everything, and when you know you give everything, you leave with a clear conscience,” he explained at a press conference.
Now begins “another stage and another life.” “It’s time to enjoy my wife, my daughter, my friends and my family more,” she said. “I take with me good people, values. I take with me the recognition of the people I played with, of the teams. Successes are enjoyed, but what makes me most proud is to leave my values in each team in which I played”, he pointed out.
A CAREER FULL OF GOALS BETWEEN SPAIN AND ITALY
Gonzalo Higuaín began his career at River Plate, with whom he made his debut at the age of 17, and was later transferred to Real Madrid in the winter market of the 2006-2007 season and was a Real Madrid player until the end of the 2012-2013 season. Despite having to live with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, he left the Madrid club after scoring 121 goals and 264 games, with special mention to the 2009-2010 league campaigns where he signed 27.
From the Spanish League he moved on to Serie A where he was one of the Napoli leaders where he also once again showed his good goalscoring skills with 91 goals, 36 in his third and final season after which he was transferred to Juventus. In the ‘Vecchia Signora’ he spent another three seasons and from then on his level dropped somewhat and in 2018-2019 he played for Milan and Chelsea before heading to the MLS to play with Inter Miami, where he had a reunion special with his brother Federico and where he has scored 29 goals.
In addition, with the Argentine national team, with which he was runner-up in the world in 2014 and also participated in the 2010 and 2018 World Cups, he was capped 75 times and scored 31 goals.
In total, the ‘Pipita’ leaves with six league titles, three in Spain with Real Madrid and another three with Juventus in Italy, and one in the Europa League with English Chelsea in 2019. He also won with the Madrid team a Copa del Rey and two Spanish Super Cups, while with Juventus he lost the 2017 Champions League final precisely against his former team.