Gonzalo Higuain is a new man since playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo arrived at Inter Miami

It was just a short video on social media, but it spoke volumes about how Gonzalo Higuain’s mood has drastically improved since Inter Miami added playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo to the roster a month ago.

Higuain, holding a portable microphone, looked into the camera with a huge smile and playfully said: “Testing, 1-2-3, testing 1-2-3. Looking for Alejandro Pozuelo! Alejandro Pozuelo, please report to the reception desk.”

He then walks toward the whirlpool in the team’s training facility, where he finds Pozuelo.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am here with my friend to deliver the news that he has been voted MLS Player of the Week and I want to congratulate him. I am very happy for him.”

Before Pozuelo was traded from Toronto FC, Higuain, the third-highest paid player in the league at $5 million, had scored two goals in 18 games and was replaced in the starting lineup by Leo Campana. Since the arrival of the Spaniard, Higuain scored six goals over seven games heading into Saturday’s home game against Toronto.

Higuain returned to the starting 11 when Campana was injured and has played so well in recent weeks that he earned coach Phil Neville’s nod as the starter at center forward.

It isn’t just Higuain’s goal production that changed, it’s his attitude. Not one to hide his emotions, the Argentine star’s early season frustrations were visible with his gesturing toward teammates when he didn’t get the pass he wanted to his moping on the bench. He even sat on the ball during warmups before one game.

Fans booed him a few times earlier this season, and one fan berated him in the parking lot after the exhibition game against FC Barcelona. Higuain was motivated by the criticism, got himself in peak fitness and is playing the best he has since joining the team from Italian power Juventus in 2020. He was voted MLS Player of the Week after a first-half hat trick against Cincinnati.

The past few home games, he received standing ovations. Higuain has been jovial around the training ground and more open with the media.

Asked how Pozuelo has helped him, Higuain said: “Without a doubt, he is a player who has helped me a lot because with him on the field, I don’t feel an obligation to drop back and get the ball. I can play where I’ve played my whole career, up top as the No. 9. His arrival has made the team better, which you can see with our recent results. I am so happy that he came for what he contributes to the team and for motivating me to play better and allowing me to stay higher up in the attack.”

Neville agreed that Higuain is a different player with Pozuelo as his partner.

“Last season we joked that we needed two Gonzalos, one to pass the ball to Gonzalo and one Gonzalo to finish,” Neville said. “Now he trusts the players to pass him the ball and that’s why he’s staying higher, he’s getting more chances in behind. His goal against Montreal was sensational, especially his movement. He now has great trust in Pozuelo and Bryce [Duke] to make that pass for him and that’s why we’re seeing Gonzalo play the best he has in three or four seasons.”

Higuain is 34 years old. He has scored 271 goals over his 17-year career, including 107 for Real Madrid, 48 for Juventus, and 31 for Argentina’s national team. He tries not to take the applause or the boos too seriously.

“That’s soccer, you’re judged on the results now, not on what you do over your career,” Higuain said. “That’s how fans are. So, in soccer there are more moments of sadness than happiness because happiness is fleeting, but bad moments stick with you longer. If you can’t live with that, you can’t play soccer at the highest level.”

The criticism “has made me stronger,” he said.

And then he added: “Forget what they tell you that being a pro soccer player is all rosy and wonderful. That’s a lie. Professional soccer is sacrifice, work, making people change their mind when they insult you. The key is to ignore the destructive criticism and take the constructive criticism. You learn that with experience.”

He conceded that he has had mood swings this season.

“I always try to be a happy person, but I’m a human being and can’t be happy 365 days a year,” he said. “Everyone has good days and bad days. I am not a robot. What changed me is that I am enjoying playing again. Earlier this year I wasn’t enjoying it as much because I wasn’t playing or other reasons, but now I am having fun. Things are going well for me and the team and you can see that on the field. To get applause is always nice, but you can’t fool yourself. Next week I could receive insults again. That’s soccer.”

Higuain retired from international soccer in March 2019. An Argentine reporter asked if there was any chance he would return to the national team. The answer? No.

“When I make a decision, whether it’s the right one or the wrong one, I don’t have regrets or look back,” Higuain said. “I had great experiences with the national team, others not-so-great. For a soccer player it is the greatest honor to play for your country. I got to play in World Cups. I fulfilled all my dreams. The only thing missing for my generation was winning it all.

“But the journey nobody can take away from me, what I lived, what I enjoyed. Most people would pay to play in a World Cup and I had the chance to play three. As time passes, the more I realize how much I enjoyed it, what I experienced, but I don’t see any possibility of returning.”

He wants to spend more time with his wife and daughter, help get Miami to the MLS playoffs, and said he would have to be “a masochist” to return to the intense bubble of a World Cup.

Higuain’s MLS contract expires in December, at which point he said he will make an announcement about his future. In the meantime, he intends to have fun.

Inter Miami launches foundation

Inter Miami announced the official establishment of its foundation, a nonprofit arm that has been working since the club’s inception to aid at-risk youth and underserved communities in South Florida.

All 28 players on the roster kick-started the initiative by making donations. Fans will be able to support the Foundation by purchasing Inter Miami CF Foundation merchandise and signed memorabilia with all proceeds going directly to the Foundation.

Among the projects the club has participated in this far: soccer equipment drives, back to school drives, fundraising for cancer research, youth clinics, food drives, literacy programs. The club has been generous with Little Haiti FC, a nonprofit free-to-play youth soccer program. Last week Inter Miami donated laptop computers to the Little Haiti FC players who were headed to college on scholarship.

“When I was a player, it was always important to get out in the community and help people,” said Inter Miami sporting director Chris Henderson. “You have a short period where you’re a professional athlete and can influence people’s lives and be a role model.”