#4 Gonzalo Higuain – Napoli/Juventus and Argentina
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Last season, Napoli came the closest to ending Juventus’ dominance in the Serie A for the first time in 5 years. The Naples outfit were in the mix for the title right until the start of the April, when a 3-1 away loss against Udinese and a moment of madness from Gonzalo Higuain effectively ended any hopes of stopping the Old Lady from lifting their 5th consecutive Scudetto.
Higuain was sent off in the loss against Udinese and received a four match ban for his actions during the game, which was later reduced to three games but the hopes of a first title since 1990 faded with the ban on the Argentine. Napoli eventually finished 9 points behind the Champions but that is not why Higuain deserved to make the list. Nor is it because he secured a €90 million move to Juventus from his previous employers.
It is because he single-handedly took Napoli to the brink of Serie A success – a feat only managed by the legendary Diego Maradona before him. El Pipita scored 36 goals in the process – a Serie A record – surpassing Gunnar Nordahl’s 35 goals scored in 1949-50. He won the Serie A golden boot also referred to as Capocannoniere for his goalscoring exploits wherein he matched Gino Rosetti’s record of 36 goals in a division with 32 teams set in 1928-29.
While Higuain failed to win any honours with club and country – losing in the Copa America Centenario final, he deserved to be in the 17 ahead of some of the names that did make the cut just for his monumental feats in front of goal.
