Gonzalo Higuaín* went from brief Wonderkid to unattainable Real Madrid elite asset in the Football Manager series. From a few editions of him being an unstoppable Complete Forward who could do everything, he quickly fell into the archetypal Poacher role. Not overly fast or full of flair, but a clinical finisher nevertheless.

He isn’t a player that would have typically piqued my interest in FM. Yet, as I published my FM22 save intro this time last year…he was a factor in my decision in choosing Inter Miami. Getting the best of a player who looked to be on “their last big pay cheque” (my words last year) was a motivating factor to choose Florida over anywhere else.

In truth, I was probably too harsh on Gonzalo at the time; I acknowledge that. Despite initially being dropped by Phil Neville in this current IRL 2022 season, he’s since forced his way back into the team again, sometimes playing deeper as a 10 alongside Leonardo Campana…but still scoring key goals. Late goals. Good goals. The clinical goals which I saw in FM22.

In fact, his trajectory in my FM22 save was pretty similar to how the 2022 real-life season is panning out. He was pretty dire in the early stages as a lone forward (in either a 4141 or 433)...scoring just once in the first two months of Major League Soccer! But an adjustment to partner him in Football Manager, allowing him to solely focus on scoring goals, in a 442 was the moment the save kicked off for me. Gonzalo was my first FM22 domino, once he fell into place…everything followed. I don’t need to repost the save updates in here (you can read that all here), but I wanted to pay tribute to my favourite player of Football Manager 2022. I’m pretty sure that I have never had a player score four consecutive hat-tricks in a row. But Gonzalo did exactly that.

So, my message to you the reader is clear: don’t overlook a player who appears on his last legs in Football Manager 2023. Challenge yourself to give them one final moment in the sun.

Believe me, you won’t regret it.

Gracias por todo, Pipita xoxo

Notes

*Gonzalo Higuaín announced his upcoming retirement on this day (03 October 2022) after conclusion of 2022 MLS season.