Ángel Di María

You’re looking at this from the wrong Angel.

https://x.com/AlbicelesteTalk/status/1836388236911845866

Such a special footballer. One of the very best of his generation.

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To think he wasted one season without CL while at Manchester United.

That Van Gaal period at United was so weird

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I remember when the rumours about us being interested in a Madrid player back 2013 popped up a lot of people thought it would be Di Maria before it ended up being Ozil.

That last season of his at Madrid was so good. Sucks how he was essentially ousted for James Rodriguez but you can’t say Madrid suffered for it.
Man Utd should’ve done way more to build around Di Maria and make sure he was happy.

Crazy to think at one point in time Real Madrid could call upon:

Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Higuain, Di Maria, Ozil and Kaka to occupy the attacking positions

There’s a reason that group holds the record for the most points and goals in a La Liga season.

I remember when people argued with me that Giroud was as good as Higuain lol

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That’s crazy. That said Giroud had a better career.

How did he have a better career? Trophies won aren’t an indicator of a better career. Higuain was a magnificent goalscorer and one of the best strikers in Europe in his prime.

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Apart from one season with Napoli, Higuain has a pretty forgettable career and often remembered for his misses while playing for Argentina. His career has gone downhill ever since he joined Juventus at the age of 28-29.

On the other hand, Giroud has won Ligue 1 with a mid-table club against PSG. He won the World cup and has been a relevant figure for good 15 years up until last season with Milan.

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Huh? What’s forgettable about the fact he was a prolific goal scoring machine for Real Madrid, Juventus and Napoli ??

Giroud getting credit for the WC win has and always been a stretch. 0 goals. Don’t even think he had a shot on target. Nobody remembers Guivarch for 1998 and nobody will remember Giroud for 2018.

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I don’t think anyone will remember Higuain either. Hardly gets talked about these days.

I am not talking about footballing ability.
Career wise, Giroud’s longevity & achievement puts multiple prolific strikers in shame.

When all is said and done I’d rather have been a prolific goal scoring machine for Real Madrid, Napoli and Juventus rather than being remembered for scoring 0 goals and having 0 shots across the World Cup, and being a bench warmer for most of my success at club level aside from that random Serie A that Milan won because everyone else was shit.

On the other hand, Giroud has scored in the FA Cup and Europa finals, whereas Higuain is often remembered for not scoring in the WC and Copa finals.

Higuain is lucky Messi won the World cup and eased all that bad memory from Argentine fans.

When all said & done, one player would be highly content with his career while the other will have regrets.

Ok and what’s your point? Thierry Henry didn’t score in finals either?

Thierry is also remembered for not scoring in finals. Still, he’s regarded as the greatest player to play in the PL.

Higuain is undoubtedly one of the best strikers of his generations. To compare with Giroud, he’s scored more goals than him and he retired 2 years ago at 34.

I actually like Giroud btw but Higuain was on a different level.

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Apart from Messi Di Maria was really the only other Argentinian player to step up in multiple major tournaments, he did his thing again and again.

Argentinian legend and so exciting to watch in his prime

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We were talking about the career & being remembered.
No one will remember either Giroud or Higuain in 10 years time.

You made Giroud look like a journeyman since he was an average goal scorer on club level and wasn’t a starter beyond Montpieller and Milan. Fair.

I am making the argument that, similarly, on the international level, Higuain has been a journeyman and, in fact, a detriment to his nation.

I am sure many would rather be remembered to have a good game, not scoring, but helping the team win the World Cup - rather than being remembered for having a poor game, missing chances & stopping your team from winning the WC.

So on balance, forgettable career but one’s career is better than the other.

Mate, only 20% of Higuain’s international goals came in friendlies. Over 50% of Giroud’s international goals were in friendly fixtures. That should tell you who the stat padder is at international level too. To say Higuain was a detriment to his nation is an ignorant point of view and it’s based solely on his famous 2014 WC final misses. Higuain didn’t score in major finals for his country and neither did Giroud so I don’t see your point about their international careers?

And Giroud was utterly useless in the World Cup final. He did nothing. That was the Pogba, Griezmann and Mbappe show.