Gonzalo Higuaín hasn’t enjoyed the happy fun time he thought he’d have when he joined MLS in 2020. The Inter Miami striker, who has played for Real Madrid, Juventus and Chelsea, not to mention a World Cup final, famously lamented how surprised he was at the difficulty of playing in the U.S.
“I thought I would come here and play with a cigarette in my mouth, and instead it is difficult,” Higuaín said.
The Argentine’s frustrations are often quite evident watching him on the pitch. While I’m not usually one to criticize a player for his body language (I always thought Mesut Özil was wrongly disparaged at Arsenal), it’s clear he has had issues from his first match in the league when he missed a penalty kick and nearly started a brawl.
Having a player with bad body language isn’t necessarily a big deal. Some of the best players in the world — think Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimović — have been accused of bad body language.
But when you’re the highest-paid player, a Designated Player and club captain on a team with a bunch of young players, more is expected of a veteran. And that’s exactly why Higuaín was called out this week by a fellow MLS player.
Fabian Herbers, a winger for the Chicago Fire, has a podcast with Julian Gressel of D.C. United. The two Germans call it “Zee Soccer Podcast,” and there are certainly worse soccer podcasts out there.
The Chicago Fire and Inter Miami played to a 0-0 draw on MLS opening day on Saturday, with both Herbers and Higuaín starting. On the podcast, Gressel asked Herbers if he got Higuaín’s jersey, apparently referring to a reneged jersey swap between the two last year. Herbers didn’t hold back on how he feels about Higuaín.
Fabi was asked if he got Gonzalo Higuaín's jersey last saturday night.
Um, No. He did not.Nor does he want any part of it OR Higuaín himself
:https://t.co/Hb9lCYMG9J
:https://t.co/356e9A4neQ pic.twitter.com/9tXWAlAyGJ— Zee Soccer Podcast (@zeesoccerpod) March 4, 2022
“Fuck that guy, man,” Herbers said. “This guy’s so pathetic. Obviously, he’s a presence on the field and every time a teammate of his makes a wrong pass or something, or doesn’t past the ball exactly to him, he’s just standing there, looks at him in this negative mood. His whole body language is just terrible. I wouldn’t want to be a teammate of him.”
Herbers went on to mention how he thinks Inter Miami is going to be near the bottom of the MLS table this season with a young team and money problems, making Higuaín’s body language all the more off-putting.
“If you’re just on the first game already so negative as Higuaín is and so destructive and so negative toward your own teammates who you’re supposed to try to help, you’re supposed to lift them up, you’re supposed to make them better as a leader, as the DP,” Herbers said. “I think it’s going a long season for Miami and Higuaín as well if that continues.
“Every time there’s a missed pass, you just look at him and he’s just rolling his eyes and absolutely shockingly negative.”
Gotta love it when professional athletes don’t hold back. Agree or disagree, you have to appreciate the candor, though you’d think Germans would be more grateful of Higuaín, whose profligacy in front of goal allowed their country’s 2014 World Cup win over Argentina.
Of course, right now a lot of you are probably wondering: Who the hell is Fabian Herbers anyway?
The 28-year-old is a seven-year MLS veteran, having moved from Germany to the States to play college ball at Creighton. Herbers is well attuned to the happenings of MLS, probably more so than Higuaín.
That said, Herbers has 11 career MLS goals, two fewer than Higuaín, who’s played just one full season in the league. Higuaín has played for top clubs in LaLiga, Serie A and the Premier League. He’s got five World Cup goals and runners-up medals for the World Cup, two Copa Américas and the Champions League. He’s done a bit more in his career than Herbers.
If we’re being honest, Higuaín probably doesn’t care too much what Herbers has to say about him. He might not even know who Herbers is.
But we love to see professional footballers go after each other on social media. In case you’re wondering, Chicago and Miami play each other again on Sept. 10 at Soldier Field.
