Can Gonzalo Higuain fire Juventus to UEFA Champions League glory?

In May 2000, A.S. Roma signed calcio’s most prolific striker, Gabriel Batistuta, as a means to an end.

The aforementioned end was an instant reply to their inner-city rival’s 1999-2000 Scudetto triumph; I Giallorossi’s first Serie A title since 1983; and an end to years of under-performance.

Despite being 31-years-old, “Batigol” was the logical signing for Roma if they were to reach the pinnacle of Italian football once again. Blessed with an unrivalled eye for goal, the Argentine forward had been the peninsula’s most potent number nine throughout the 1990s. Batistuta had smashed Fiorentina’s club record for goals scored in this period, scoring an astonishing 207 goals in 333 games, and guided La Viola to a Coppa Italia victory in 1996.

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At the turn of the century, the Argentinian showed no signs of slowing down his productivity in front of goal. In his final season at the Artemio Franchi, Batistuta bagged a career high 29 goals in all competitions, including a famous 30-yard strike against Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League.

The consistency with which “Batigol” was able to find the back of the net in the Serie A prompted A.S. Roma to spend an incredible 70 billion lire ($30.36 million) on the forward; a world record fee for a player over 30-years-old. After making this signing, A.S. Roma’s president, Franco Sensi, declared that Batistuta was “the player we’ve been missing.”

During the 2000-2001 Serie A campaign, “Batigol” repaid Sensi’s huge monetary outlay. The Argentinian scored an impressive 20 goals, including a crucial late winner against La Viola, as I Lupi won their first Scudetto in nearly two decades.

Although Batistuta would not continue his fine form into the following campaign (largely due to a recurring knee injury), the signing made by Roma was an undoubted success. The Argentine, signed as a means to an end, had duly delivered the end that the capital club had longed for: the Italian crest etched upon the Giallorossi jerseys once again… even if it was just for one season.

Gonzalo Higuain to Juventus

This summer a similarly prolific Argentine striker has been signed by a Serie A club as a means to an end. The end in question is a first UEFA Champions League win since 1996, and an end to years of under-performance on the continent. Unlike Gabriel Bastituta however, the Argentinian that has been signed has not been considered the logical choice to achieve this success.

On 26th July, Napoli’s mercurial goal scorer Gonzalo Higuain became the third (now fourth) most expensive footballer of all time, when he made his move to bitter rivals Juventus, for a reported $97 million.

“Pipita”, like Batistuta, has moved clubs on the back of a record-breaking stint at one of the Serie A’s most historic clubs. Last season, the Argentinian goal poacher broke Gunnar Nordhal’s seemingly unbreakable record of 35 goals in a single Serie A campaign – a record which had been held by the Swede for 66 years – with an astonishing 36 goals in just 35 league games for Napoli. The manner in which Higuain broke the record was arguably as impressive as the record itself: completing a final day of the season hat-trick with an overhead kick from the edge of the penalty area.

Despite Higuain’s incredible goal scoring feats in the Italian top flight, the Argentinian’s big money move to La Vecchia Signora simultaneously raised every eyebrow in Europe.

Despite Higuain’s incredible goal scoring feats in the Italian top flight, the Argentinian’s big money move to La Vecchia Signora simultaneously raised every eyebrow in Europe. The shock which emanated throughout Europe was due to the uncharacteristically large monetary outlay by Juventus and an overriding belief that Higuain was not worth said outlay. Considered to be a “bottler” by many because of his 2014 FIFA World Cup final misses, a large number of fans and pundits alike believe that Gonzalo Higuain will not be the man to fire Juve to their first UEFA Champions League success in two decades.

Lack of Champions League pedigree

The stats seemingly back-up this belief. While Gabriel Batistuta came to Roma with an explicit pedigree in the competition he was signed to win; Gonzalo Higuain has arrived at the J Stadium without an extraordinary goal scoring pedigree in the Champions League. In 55 games in the UEFA Champions League “Pipita” has scored just 13 goals.

There are clear flaws in projecting the effect that Higuain can have on Juventus in their quest for a third European Cup triumph through these stats however. The fact is, the number nine has yet to play in a team capable of winning the competition during his prime years.

(Photo by Ernesto Vicinanza/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

In his three years at Napoli playing, rather than winning, in the Champions League was the club’s ultimate goal. “Pipita” would only have one opportunity to play in the UEFA Champions League in this period, and it would be an opportunity that would not last beyond the group stages.