What if Gonzalo Higuain had scored in FIFA World Cup and Copa America finals?

There were two costly misses from French-born Argentine striker that stood in the way of glory.

No, it has not gone all wrong for Gonzalo Higuain. Not even close. At 27, he finished with six major honours in Spain, including 3 league titles. When he jumped ship to Napoli in Italy, he was the talisman. He has won the Coppa Italia and is well on his way to scoring more goals than what what Wayne Rooney will end up with for his national team. There are two moments though that the volatile, irrational, win-starved Argentine fan will never forgive him for.

It is 20^th minutes into the World Cup final and it is a cagey battle between Germany and Argentina under the scorching Brazilian heat. It was quite evident that it was either going to a piece of magic or madness that would go on to decide the outcome of the contest. And then there was calamity — in Toni Kroos heading the ball back to his defence, only to set the Argentine No 9 through on goal. One-on-One with German ‘keeper Manuel Neuer, he rifles a tame shot wide of the post.

A year later, Higuain came up with his own tribute to former teammate Sergio Ramos with a penalty that lacked direction and composure. The spot kick went miles over the bar and Chileans took the lead in the penalty shootout. Argentina never recovered and went on to lose their third Copa America final in 11 years. What if Higuian had put the pull in the back of the net on both these occasions? Could Argentina be sitting pretty with two big trophies now? The past three consecutive World Cup finals have had 120 minutes of football and there have been innumerable subplots of ‘What might have been’ cases? What if Zinedine Zidane didn’t get sent off in 2006? What if Arjen Robben had pounced on his chances when he was through on goal against Spain in 2010?

From his days as a longhaired teenager donning the iconic white flannels of Real Madrid, Higuain was always a poacher. He was never going to beat four defenders at the blink of an eye. That was his moment. A lapse from the opposition and wading through acres of space, he should have undoubtedly done better. While he attracted some critics after that miss, the knives were sharpened after his latest misdemeanor. 12 months later, from being the leading man, he is now an impact-sub. For a player with nearly a decade of top-level footballer, you simply expected better.

In a parallel universe, even had Higuain scored, Ever Banega would have gone on take that tame penalty. Alexis Sanchez would have still displayed his skill and composure with his panenka and given Germany’s famous history of coming back from adversity, they could have still found a way back from being 0-1 down. This is not the end of ‘El Pipita’ but it does not improve the infamous reputation he had at Real Madrid either — A man who needs five chances to score one.