Debate

I like Pipita. I really do. Gonzalo Higuaín is one of those players that has his mouth full of goal shouts and I believe he’s got all the tools and the potential to become a complete package. Am I angry at Diego Maradona because the Real Madrid forward is not part of the national team? The answer is a loud and clear: ‘NO’. Along these lines I explain the reasons why I think Maradona may have a point in keeping the former River Plate sensation far from the Ezeiza AFA Headquarters:

The most important one is a bullet I cannot dodge: there’s something going on off the pitch. I’m at risk of writing a big understatement here, but a player that shines so convincingly in one of Europe’s most difficult clubs to play for and at such a young age, surely cannot be ignored consistently in each and every call-up for the Albiceleste. Unless, that is, something’s going on behind the scenes. Something it came to our ears in the form of nasty rumours that we won’t disclose here at The Enganche, not even if you insist and send us presents. Maradona is a man who believes in the códigos del fútbol, some sort of unwritten set of rules which is ever-present in Argentina and is respected like a religion by almost everyone involved in the game in these latitudes. Maradona wants to respect a core of players that have developed their own chemistry and he will defend that principle even at risk of becoming a complete and utter failure. Like Robert De Niro in ‘Meet The Fockers’, Diego is drawing a close ‘circle of trust’ and Gonzalo Higuaín has no part inside of it. As it stands, he is going to have to continue suffering the consequences in a true Ben Stiller fashion.

Flirting with the French will never get you closer to Diego’s appreciation or that of the fans who want you to wear the Argentina shirt, Pipita. You should know that better. Every now and then you’d read a headline along the lines of “Higuaín leaves an open option to play for France”. Now I don’t know if the player says that himself or if it’s a libelous report from someone who needs to fill the sports pages in the off-season, but I don’t think that kind of ‘pressure’ will be the right tactic to use in order to convince Maradona of calling Pipita. I say: 'Keep playing. Keep banging in those goals and keep your mouth shut'.

Not enough room for everybody

All the other forwards Diego’s been using since he took over, are worthy of their well-earned place. Lionel Messi? It goes without saying. Sergio Agüero is more than just Diego’s son-in-law. Carlos Tevez is still important even when his performances are not quite up there to compare with the best he can produce. Diego Milito scores goals for fun everywhere he plays and is an established ‘number 9’ who in my opinion just needs a couple of full matches to make that position his own. Lisandro López touched one ball against Russia and sent it home and he is already making an impact for Lyon after winning every league he played with Porto. Ezequiel Lavezzi can open defences from the wings and provides the team with some kind of an X-factor. You can hardly question Maradona’s choices when it comes to Argentina’s forwards. It’s not like the man is calling up Second Division players to keep Higuaín out of the team. A manager is entitled to like or dislike certain players and he surely knows better what’s going on behind the closed doors of Ezeiza. Real Madrid’s big spending and the arrival of Karim Benzema could mean that Gonzalo Higuaín struggles a little bit more to get those heavy playing minutes every forward needs to grow in confidence and this situation could also prove to be just what Maradona needs to take that big monkey that is the public opinion crying out loud for Higuaín to play for Argentina, finally off the broadest shoulders there are in Argentine football.

His talent is bigger than the códigos

First and foremost, it is a real luxury to be having this debate in the first place. If Argentina had the same strength in depth at the back as they do in attack, Maradona’s men wouldn’t be just two points away from facing the playoffs to make next year’s World Cup. That debate can wait for another day though. Here’s why I think Diego should call up Pipita.

There is a myth about Higuaín - that would be the classic target man for Argentina. He is a much more complete forward that he is given credit for. Pipita can play the typical ‘number 9’ role. When Van Nistelrooy was ruled out for most of last season through injury, many questioned Pipita’s finishing. He replied with a season total of 24.

But to accommodate Van Nistelrooy and Raúl over the past two seasons at Real Madrid, Higuaín has often been forced to play out wide and this has added to his game, making him a much more complete forward than just a striker.

He is used to the pressure of playing at one of the biggest clubs in the world and delivering. He also gained a reputation for scoring vital goals, which isn’t a bad habit to have... His winner against Espanyol essentially won the Blancos the 2007 title, while his goal against Osasuna secured the 2008 league win. There isn’t a national team that couldn’t do with that kind of all-round striker in the squad.

Higuaín’s first coach in Spain, the current England manager Fabio Capello, is famed for his iron fist philosophy. ‘You don’t have to like me,’ so the Italian is claimed to have said, ‘you don’t have to agree with me, you just have to do what I say.’

Maradona is the opposite, trying to make everyone (apart from Higuaín…) feel part of the set up and make sure that nobody rocks the boat, keeping true to those famed códigos. If the rumours are to be believed, there are players who are close to Diego but would prefer to be as far as possible from Higuaín.

Playing happy families is great, of course, until things stop working. Bolivia and Ecuador proved that things aren’t working. Argentina needs its best players, not its footballers who also happen to be best mates. This whole problem of who gets on with who may not be directly to do with Lisandro López, but as back up to the Messi/Agüero/Tevez trio, Higuaín offers more than the Lyon striker.

If Deco and Pepe can represent Portugal, if Manuel Almunia can talk about playing for England with a straight face, then perhaps the prospect of Higuaín playing for France isn’t that far-fetched. It doesn’t stop it being wrong though. He was born there and left before he turned one. Higuaín is not French. Him wearing the bleu instead of the albiceleste would be just wrong.