Real Madrid – Letting Higuain Go And Persisting With Benzema Is The Right Way Forward

By Guest Author
11 years Ago

One in hand is better than two in the bush: Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema

Real Madrid have been desperate this season to extend Cristiano Ronaldoai??i??s stay in Madrid and why not ai??i??Ai??he is the main firepower in Realai??i??s attack. Without him Real Madrid would not have been half the threatAi??they are. While Ronaldo remains the capital clubai??i??s main threat upfront ever since his arrival, they have also had the services in these years of two of the mostAi??lethal strikers in Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema. As the new season approaches, Alvaro Morata is already knocking at the doors but the under-21Ai??player is expected to be an understudy rather than a regular striker. In spite of his brilliant Under-21Ai??performance, he will be looking forward to improve his game rather than carrying the pressure toAi??perform at the highest level. Thus the ultimate toss-up was between Benzema and Higuain regarding reserving a starting spot and with Higuain soon to be unveiled as a Napoli player the club has made its stand pretty clear on showing more confidence in Benzema. Ai??At 25, both the strikers are potentially world class but the last season had beenAi??pretty lean for the pair ai??i?? with only 27 goals to show, a huge 31 goal drop from the previous season tally.Ai??Mourinhoai??i??s decision to rotate these two strikers in his 4-2-3-1 formation week in week out had affected their form and that reflected in their goal tally.

Higuain and Benzema: A Ai??Study in contrast

Both Higuain and Benzema are world class talents with clinical scoring ability. With a respective goalAi??scoring rate of 0.47 and 0.52 for Real Madrid ai??i?? they have been pretty successful. While they haveAi??somewhat similar set of skills ai??i?? their approach to the game has been different.

Higuain is a traditional No.9 ai??i?? with a brilliant sense of positioning and exceptional composure andAi??awareness in front of the goal. It is due to his positioning that Xabi Alonso can find him easily with hisAi??brilliant long balls. He excels in one on one situation. He generally leads the line or plays off the lastAi??defender. He is clinical in front of the goal and has an uncanny ability to be at the right place at the rightAi??time. Higuain boasts of the ability to shoot and score from his sheer power and placement. Since his moveAi??to Real Madrid from River Plate ai??i?? Higuain has developed into a serious danger-man inside the box. FondlyAi??called ai???El Pipitaai??i?? (meaning the Pipe ai??i?? referring to his nose) ai??i?? he is not one of the most skillful playersAi??around but he does hit the target regularly. Pipita usually shoots early catching the keeper in surprise orAi??allows the ball to move across the body to get a better angle to shoot. He is a very shrewd and intelligentAi??customer inside the box with a poacherai??i??s movements and instincts. Higuain uses his diagonal runs toAi??effortlessly pull defenders out of their position and find space in between them. HisAi??intelligent movement, smart runs and direct style of play suits Real Madrid’s approach to football. A testimony of his ability is the first goal he scored at Bernabeu ai??i?? with Real and Espanyol locked at 3-3 in a trilling and important game, Higuain coolly slotted home the 90th minute winner which bore allAi??his main qualities ai??i?? clinical finishing, intelligent run, awareness and composure in the box. That goalAi??brought the whole stadium to its feet ai??i?? a rare feet during those hard times.

Higuain is a very goodAi??passer of the ball ai??i?? a rare quality in a striker. Although Higuain brings a balance to the teamai??i??s attack, heAi??rarely contributes to the overall team play. A deadly player inside the box but hardly contributes outsideAi??it. He sometimes goes invisible for long patches of the game unless the ball is in opponents’ box. He is alsoAi??a bit one dimensional for a striker. He lacks skills and touch. He rarely links up with the attackingAi??midfielders to bring them into the game and this is why he sometime remains isolated from the game.

Benzema on the other hand combines brilliantly with Ronaldo and Ozil with his brilliant touches and linkAi??up play. He holds up the ball bringing Ozil and Ronaldo into the game. Benzema is more dynamic of theAi??two. In Mourinhoai??i??s 4-2-3-1, he used to release the wingers in space and he himself moves into wideAi??positions facilitating free space for Ronaldo without disturbing the shape of formation. The FrenchmanAi??usually thrives on his superior technical ability which makes him dangerous in and around the box. HeAi??has array of brilliant skills that consists of eye soothing combination of dribbles, step over, deft touchesAi??and brilliant flicks. With his technique Benzema can create a goal out of thin air and that may be the reason Mourinho always chose Benzema in the important fixtures including the big UCL games. Take for instance his goalAi??against Athletic Bilbao last season at Santiago Bernabeu where after receiving the ball from Callejon, heAi??controlled the ball and moved brilliantly putting aside three defenders behind him and found space toAi??score. He may not be as clinical as Higuain but creates goals for others.

Last season in 21 starts being given to him ai??i?? two ofAi??which were in a wide position ai??i?? he managed to score 11 and assisted eight, while from his 13 substituteAi??appearances he scored two and created two more (via whoscored.com). He not only scores but createsAi??chances too ai??i?? Squawka reveals he’d created 34 chances in La Liga last season. Considering the hithertoAi??nature of his starting role in the first team, that’s still more than Higuain (21),Falcao (28),Ai??Roberto Soldado (25) and Alvaro Negredo (27) (by Squawka.com and Piktochart.com).

Benzema and Higuain’s stats for Real Madrid, on par with other La Liga strikers

Unlike Higuain, Benzema operates at a better work-rate. He covers a lot of space talking much work load. His agilityAi??and athleticism is appreciable. He is also dangerous at running at defenders. Though his skills areAi??impressive ai??i?? Benzema possesses a poor first touch. He lacks the ruthlessness and instinct of a traditionalAi??No.9. He does get into good positions but struggles to deliver at times. Benzemaai??i??s problem with hisAi??consistency may be blames to his overall attitude that lacks fight and hunger at times. Benzema is not aAi??traditional No.9 like Higuain who sits on top of the formation waiting for the players behind him toAi??create a ball for him in the box which he would duly slot in, he is more of a complete striker who dropsAi??deep to help the other players, moves into brilliant positions to fill gaps, creates chances for others asAi??well as finishes with a decent regularity.

Why Benzema Over Higuain?

When summarizing them ai??i?? Higuain is a better finisher than Benzema and more reliable in the box whileAi??Benzema is physically stronger and better in holding up the play to create chances forAi??others. He is capable of doing the spectacular like that bicycle kick that he scored against Ajax and is better in air than Higuain. With Benzema, Real Madrid always looked more dynamic andAi??dangerous upfront. Now at PSG, Ancelotti has played in an uncommon 4-2-2-2 formation with Lavezzi andAi??Ibrahimovic leading the line. Ronaldo will be expected to reprise the Lavezzi role with running down theAi??left and a free reign along the entire frontline.

Now what Ibra did at PSG was to drop deep to regainAi??possession and provide support for Lavezzi with skills ai??i?? something very similar to Benzemaai??i??s style of play.Ai??Ancelotti at PSG has always played with a striker who contributes to the overall stack of the team ratherAi??than a traditional poacher and at Real Madrid if he continues to do the same, Benzema has to be the starter.Ai??Although Benzema has scored only 11 goals during the last season compare to Ibraai??i??s 30, he can improve in Ancelottiai??i??s system. He is a more complete striker and Ancelotti should undoubtedly be starting with him. And in consideration to that, cashing in on Gonzalo Higuain while he’s still playing to the best of his abilities is one of the better transfer decisions made by Real Madrid at this stage and will retrospectively be regarded as a wise one that helped the club balance the books immensely.

Categories: Features, Real Madrid, Spanish La Liga
Tags: Carlo Ancelotti Gonzalo Higuain Karim Benzema Real Madrid

Higuain and Benzema: A Ai??Study in contrast

Why Benzema Over Higuain?

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