Higuaín embraces pressure in second season in Miami
The pressure Gonzalo Higuaín is experiencing heading into his second season with Inter Miami CF isn’t a feeling he’s unfamiliar with.
Higuaín, a 33-year-old Argentine forward, has played for several of the biggest soccer clubs around the world throughout his 16-year professional career, including Real Madrid, Napoli, Milan, Chelsea and Juventus — netting over 300 combined goals at the club level.
He’s played in three World Cups for Argentina and has scored 31 goals in 75 appearances on the international level.
So while he acknowledges there’s pressure on him to perform better with Inter Miami this season than he did last year, Higuaín isn’t fazed by the spotlight being put on him.
“I’m used to it. I’ve dealt with pressure more than 15 years — since I was 19 years old,” Higuaín said through a translator. “I like the challenge of potentially making history with this club.”
Helping Inter Miami make history and be one of the best teams in Major League Soccer is why the club signed Higuaín to a contract last September that reportedly made him the highest-paid player in the league with an annual salary of around $7 million.
So he’s very aware he’ll need to produce more than the one goal and two assists in 801 minutes across nine matches that he did with Inter Miami in 2020.
“Last year was a very particularly [tough] year because of the pandemic that affected the world,” Higuaín said. “I joined late. With time, I started to get used to a new league, systems and opponents and I suffered and struggled more than I thought I would.
“It’s a very tough league. Now that I know it, I’m working hard in the preseason to make sure I’m improving. I want to be a leader who helps the club reach its goals.”
And with Inter Miami’s offseason moves — including bringing in Chris Henderson (chief soccer officer and sporting director), Phil
Neville (coach) and nearly a dozen new players — Higuaín added that Inter Miami should “aim to win the league.”
“My mentality for the season is to really help the team and keep playing how I’ve played my entire life,” he said. “I didn’t come here to be one more player, I didn’t come here for vacation — I came here to take the club to its highest level and make it a great success.”
When Neville looked back on Higuaín’s first season with Inter Miami when he was hired in January, he saw a player who was both unlucky on his scoring opportunities but also one who may not have always been in the best positions to score — which he’s looking to fix this season.
“Luck played a little bit of a part of it, but ultimately the things we’ve been working a lot on with Gonzalo is let’s get him in the box a lot more than what we saw last year,” Neville said. “In terms of when the crosses are coming in, he’s in the right area to score. He loves to get involved in the play. He and Rodolfo [Pizarro] link up really well.
“What we’ve said to him is when those balls are coming into the box and the chances are being created, he needs to be in that area. He’s a vital player for us. I’m excited for how far and well he can do this season.”
Roster updates
George Acosta, Jay Chapman, Christian Makoun, Patrick Seagrist, Brek Shea and Felipe Valencia couldn’t be seen during the portion of Inter Miami’s practice that was open to the media on Thursday.
Neville said Acosta and Valencia were training with the club’s USL team, Fort Lauderdcale CF, as part of a “long-term development plan.”
Acosta, 21, missed all of last season due to a knee injury while Valencia is a 16-yearold
academy product who signed with Inter Miami in January.
Neville added that Makoun was doing some “end-stage running” with the hopes of returning to training on Friday. Chapman has a “slight knock” according to Neville, while Shea has a back strain and his status for Sunday’s sold-out home opener versus the LA Galaxy at DRV PNK Stadium isn’t yet known.
“We’ll probably know more [Friday],” Neville said. “I’d say he’s 50-50.”
Meanwhile, Seagrist has joined USL Championship team Indy Eleven on a season-long loan, the club announced Thursday. Inter Miami traded for Seagrist last December. They have right to recall the 22-year-old left back at any time during the loan period.