Gonzalo Higuain takes on new role on and off the field for Inter Miami this season
Inter Miami coach Phil Neville was walking by the training room early in preseason camp and saw something that gave him great hope for the upcoming season.
There, sitting on a massage bench, was Argentine star forward Gonzalo Higuain regaling a half dozen young players with tales of his playing days at Real Madrid, Juventus, and Napoli.
“He was almost like a teacher telling a story to the younger primary school kids,” Neville said. “It was a moment he seemed to love, and they loved as well.”
It was also a moment that perfectly illustrated the new role Higuain has taken on with this year’s revamped young squad, which plays its season opener at home Saturday evening against the Chicago Fire.
As a 34-year-old veteran, one of just a few starters left from last season’s team, Higuain is being counted on to be a locker room mentor, much like his older brother Federico was before he retired last November.
Higuain downplayed his leadership role when asked about it during a Tuesday interview with the Herald, saying “I always tried to help young players, so nothing has really changed”, but his coach and teammates say Higuain is more engaged with his teammates this pre-season.
With his brother retired, and the departures of Argentine compatriots Nico Figal, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Julian Carranza and Matias Pellegrini, Higuain has bonded with other teammates.
“Every club I’ve ever played on there have been changes and you have to adapt,” Higuain said. “The club took another route, wanted to rejuvenate, and I had to adapt. There’s a new energy with all the young players. Hopefully we can be successful. I try to stay positive and share my experience to help our team reach its objective, which is make the playoffs.”
Midfielder George Acosta is one of the young players Higuain has taken under his wing.
“This year he wants to win it all, you’ve seen a major difference in his change of mentality,” Acosta said. “He’s grabbed some people around him more, he talks to us on the side and helps us out during the game, off the field, he’s been more involved. We all feel that and appreciate that.”
DeAndre Yedlin, the U.S. national team defender who joined the team a few weeks ago, immediately noted Higuain’s leadership.
“He’s not a rah-rah guy, but he leads with his play,” Yedlin said. “Guys say, `Oof, he’s playing like this I need to step it up to be at his level.’ It’s been amazing to play with him. Obviously, I know who he is and of him as a player, but to see his quality on the field has been incredible. He’s world class.
“I can see the things he does, the spaces he’s able to get and things he’s able to get out of and I say, `OK, I need to try and match that.’”
Higuain is the only one of last season’s three designated players who remains with the team. Rodolfo Pizarro went back to Mexico on loan with Monterrey and the club is finalizing a buyout agreement with Blaise Matuidi.
He scored 12 goals last season but wants to contribute more this year. His mother’s death last April had a profound effect on him, and he said he had trouble focusing during the ensuing months. Now, he feels in peak form physically and mentally.
Higuain switched from jersey No. 9 to No. 10, and though he still lines up as a forward, he has been given the freedom to retreat and become more of a creator worthy of the No. 10 playmaker shirt.
In the preseason game against the Columbus Crew, Higuain collected a pass in the center of the field, noticed that speedy newcomer Ariel Lassiter was sprinting down the right side, and found him with a textbook-perfect pass between two defenders that Lassiter turned into a goal.
“If we’re going to be successful this season, Gonzalo will be the main reason we are because of the way he’s inspiring the group,” Neville said. “When you put a load of young, energetic, ambitious, hungry footballers around experienced players, it can go one of two ways. The senior player can feel old, or he can feel totally re-energized and excited.
“Gonzalo’s bought in 100 percent, came back in great shape, has not had one day where he’s dipped, or his behavior has been anything but world class.”
Despite the high expectations, Higuain insists he does not feel pressure.
“Pressure is not being able to feed your children,” he said. “We are privileged athletes who get to do what we love and get paid for it. That is not pressure.”