When we think about Gonzalo "Pipita" Higuaín, two things immediately come to mind: his prolific career as a scorer for the big clubs he has played in, or the multiple failures in important matches with Argentina, everything depends on the opinion they have about him.

But this was not always so. At the beginning of his career Higuain was on track to be one of the top scorers in Real Madrid history, however there was a match, a fatal moment that marked his life forever and started this history of failures that overshadow his career and they always place it in the eye of criticism.

To find the beginning of the stigma of the "Pipita" we must go to the year 2009, specifically to the second leg of round of 16 of Champions League vs Lyon, a competition that was never given to the argentinian. During the past decade, that same Lyon became a hard stone in the shoes of Real Madrid and this opportunity would not be the exception. During the first leg, the French took home the victory thanks to the goal of a very young Miralem Pjanic.

The return in the Bernabéu seemed like a real challenge for the disadvantage in the score, but nothing that Real Madrid could not overcome. The merengue team was quickly over the scoreboard, tying the global. Real Madrid was still attacking and the ball arrived at the feet of Higuain. The Argentinian received a pass in depth and after getting rid of the goalkeeper masterfully, was only in front of the empty frame ready to score and sentence the tie in favor of his team.

And this is where we find ourselves in that fatal moment for the "Pipita". His shot ended up hitting the post. Higuain missed a clear opportunity with the empty goal, starting his record of failures in important matches. In the end, that wrong goal ended up meaning the elimination of Real Madrid, after the goal of Pjanic that tied the score and that left out the whole Merengue again in the round of 16 for the 6th consecutive season.

Although his exit from Real Madrid ended up taking place 3 seasons later, the reality is that this ruling marked the distancing between him and the directive that demonized him, in addition to the fans that never forgive that missed that goal. And that was just the beginning of his particular story. Above the Argentine National Team Higuain has accumulated a collection of missed goals in important matches, including an unusual goal missed in the 2014 World Cup final, a penalty missed in the 2015 Copa América final and another failure in which he could do more in the final of the Copa América Centenario.

As I said at the beginning, due to this many people have cataloged Gonzalo Higuain as a bad player, as a striker who never appears. But the reality is that the "Pipita" is one of the most important strikers of our generation.

In spite of always being criticized, belittled and minimized, Gonzalo Higuaín has managed to score more than 100 goals in Real Madrid, the best club in history. In addition to scoring more than 100 goals in the Italian league and being one of the top scorers in Argentina. He always goes ahead and goes through adversity despite what his detractors may say. Let them say what they want, but the numbers do not lie.

Perhaps when the "Pipita" hang up his boots, the world football conglomerate feels like reviewing and evaluating the career of a great striker. But in the meantime, in the minds of the fans will follow the memory of a career marked by missed goals.