Hero turns villain for Naples
UNDER FIRE Higuain’s move to Juventus draws abuse from Napoli fans, club owner and legend Totti
MILAN: On 36 occasions last season, Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain boosted Napoli dreams of ending a 26-year title drought as he inspired with goalscoring feats in the Scudetto race with Juventus.
On Tuesday, Higuain went from hero to zero after completing the world's third most expensive transfer to join Napoli's rivals in a move that has underlined his quest for succcess, yet prompted swift criticism.
Higuain was feted as the King of Napoli only two months ago when he broke Gunnar Nordahl's 66-year-old record of 35 goals in a single Serie A season as the Azzurri battled Juve for a title they last won in 1990.
But less than a month before Juve begin their bid for a record sixth consecutive title, the 28-year-old Argentine's name in Naples might as well be mud.
As Juve fans largely rejoiced when they smashed the Italian transfer record by paying 90m euros (`663.21 crore) to capture Higuain, their Napoli counterparts reacted by posting photos of their former idol's shirt in the toilet.
A MIXED REACTION
From top footballers to television celebrities and even Napoli's kit man, Higuain's move to the most potent, revered and perhaps hated club in Italy was met with mixed reaction.
For one-club man Francesco Totti, who is set to play his final season with Roma, it is a disaster that smacks more of "business than passion".
"People come to the stadium to have fun and to see a player that's always with the same team. Maybe they hope for a player that won't betray them," he told Gazzetta World.
"Look at what's happened now with Gonzalo Higuain leaving Napoli for Juventus. It's a disaster. But, it's completely normal now that when a foreigner comes to Italy he has the possibility of going to another team to make more money."
Others, such as actor Salvatore Esposito says Higuain has become "poorer" for trading in the unconditional love of Napoli's fans for a richer existence in chillier Turin.