CHELSEA STRIKER GONZALO Higuain has confirmed that he will be no longer available for international selection after being cast out in the wilderness following Argentina’s World Cup failure.
Higuain has endured a fractious relationship with the national team in recent years, with costly mistakes in the 2014 World Cup final and 2015 Copa America decider constantly used to question his talents.
His last goal for Argentina came in October 2016, in a World Cup qualifying draw against Peru, and he failed to find the net in Russia as the Albiceleste crashed out in the last 16 to eventual winners France.
The former Real Madrid, Juventus and AC Milan striker has since been overlooked by new coach Lionel Scaloni, with the likes of Mauro Icardi, Lautaro Martinez and Superliga pair Dario Benedetto and Matias Suarez all preferred to him in recent call-ups.
And at 31, Higuain has decided the time is right to call an end to his Albiceleste career.
“I think that it is over, thinking things through in depth, my time is up,” he told Fox Sports on Thursday.
“I want to enjoy my family, and my time. To the joy of many, and maybe not so much for others, my time is up. You can now stop worrying about whether I am there or not.”
Higuain competed in three finals alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero and lost all three, a fact he believes has led to unfair criticism from some of his detractors.
“We have been called failures for making three straight finals and not winning them, one of those a World Cup,” he added.
“For me failing is something else, but now let them take care of the new players, a lot of people enjoy criticising more than supporting.”
The striker made his international debut in October 2009 under Diego Maradona, instantly opening his account in an agonising 2-1 win over Peru that sealed Argentina’s place in the World Cup the following year.
In South Africa he then became the first Argentina player to score a World Cup hat-trick since Gabriel Batistuta with his triple against South Korea, and scored again in a 3-1 win over Mexico in the last 16.
Higuain finished his international career with a total of 31 goals in 75 games, a tally that puts him in sixth place in the Albiceleste’s all-time standings behind Maradona.
Murray Kinsella and Bernard Jackman look ahead to a huge weekend for the provinces in Europe and Ryan Bailey catches up with Ian Keatley on the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly:
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
Subscribe to our new podcast, The42 Rugby Weekly, here:
The rule changes can’t make the game any worse to look at as a neutral than the sh!te we have seen for the past number of years. Football is light years behind hurling. Maybe this is the start of the comeback for the big ball.
@Maureen: Why do people feel the need to compare 2 different sports. Might as well compare Gaelic football to horse racing, has about the same relevance
@Mel Roberts: So u can see no comparison between both sports even tho so is so many dual players out there? Need I explain that both use the same pitches, goal posts, scoring system etc?
Football is awful to watch, something needed to be done, the Gaa recognise that mainly because the crowds are turning up. Hopefully these rules are a step in the right direction and bringing it back to the glory days.
@Maureen: that’s where the comparisons end. The glory days? Of what? Catch and kick? Not even look for a man just kick it as hard and as far as you can to the other end of the pitch, watch some of the games from 70s and 80s, awful awful stuff
@Mel Roberts: The likes of Tyrone destroyed the game with their possession basketball sh!te and 15 men behind the ball crap. Thankfully the Dubs put a stop to that.
You do know it’s called football? U can pass the ball with the foot as well? At least the top brass can see this and not handpass/throw the ball from one end to the other.
@Maureen: oh yeah it was Tyrone that destroyed football wasnt it. Maybe a motion should be put before Congress to ban Tyrone from entering the championship for all their sins
@Mel Roberts: how does the likes of Tyrone just mean Tyrone? Ye might as well be banned, if there was a B Championship ye would have a good chance of winning that! Thank f#ck ye are finished. Mickey Harte should stick to the Eurovision ; )
@Maureen: We are finished, won back to back Ulster titles in 2016 and 17 and All Ireland runners up in 2018. Sure lump us in the second tier championship right enough there
Why did Meath players club names suddenly go as gaeilge?
Something had to be done . The garbage football of the last few years was un-watchable .