D.C. United: Don’t make the Gonzalo Higuain mistake
Steven Goff of the Washington Post reports that D.C. United are in the early stages of a transfer for Gonzalo Higuain. It would be a terrible mistake.
Here we go again. Formerly brilliant European star who has hardly played and barely looks fit being linked with a ‘retirement league’ team.
In previous years, Major League Soccer teams were significantly improved by adding such players. The ageing veterans who no longer had the legs but had superior technical and mental skills could float through matches without having to exert themselves. They were simply better. It did not matter that they couldn’t run and were just in the league to cash one final paycheque.
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However, as the years have passed, MLS has changed. The standard of the league is higher than ever before. The players are better. Teams are tactically more astute and less easily manipulated by wily veterans. The speed of matches is higher and the game is played with a basketball-type, counter-attacking vibe, something that catches out the less physically able. All in all, it is a lot harder for an older player to thrive in MLS like they could even five years ago.
Teams have also wisened up in their recruitment strategies. The likes of Atlanta and LAFC have turned south, investing in youth South American players. Chicago and New England signed players from Eastern Europe, many of which are still in their primes, not hanging on to the dying embers of their careers. This is the new MLS.
D.C. United got in on the act this offseason, too. They lost Wayne Rooney to Derby County. Lucas Rodriguez returned to Estudiantes and Ben Olsen and co. invested in young, exciting players who still had plenty of years ahead.
Their two major signings were Edison Flores, 25, and Julian Gressel, 26, from Atlanta. They also made Bill Hamid’s stay permanent, who, at 29, is young for a goalkeeper, and added Ola Kamara last season, also 29 and proven in MLS. In fact, of all the players that arrived in the offseason, only one was older than 30, Federico Higuain, who was hired as a player-coach.
His move from Columbus, however, could be significant. Per Steven Goff of The Washington Post, D.C. United are examining the possibility of bringing his brother, Juventus forward, Gonzalo Higuain, to the club.
Goff makes it clear that discussions are at a very early stage, but Higuain is said to be keen to play with his brother again and would like to move closer to Argentina where his mother is currently battling cancer.
The 32-year-old’s contract does not expire until 2021 and so D.C. United will have to negotiate with Juventus, but Higuain is also on an extortionate salary following his blockbuster move from Napoli in 2016. He spent the last two seasons on loan at AC Milan and Chelsea and has played only 23 Serie A games this season, scoring five goals.
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Higuain is the quintessential European star that MLS clubs used to fawn over. But as the league grew and the demands changed, teams learned their lessons. They ventured beyond such players. It seems, however, as if D.C. United are yet to catch up.