Do Inter Miami stars Gonzalo Higuain and Rodolfo Pizarro complement one another?
Inter Miami's attacking Designated Players have produced just one direct goal between them in 2021.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Gonzalo Higuain made some remarks over this past weekend about his penchant for dropping deep, and you probably could not be blamed for immediately thinking about his understanding with Rodolfo Pizarro.
The two stars are Inter Miami’s most prolific attacking weapons, but they have failed to form a lethal partnership in the final third this season. The numbers back that up.
Inter Miami has surged up the standings since late July with a notable run of form that has seen the team lose just once in the last 10 games, but the good results have come in spite of Higuain and Pizarro’s inability to connect with one another in the final third. Neither of Pizarro’s two assists this season have been to Higuain, and the Argentine striker has only directly set up one of the Mexican’s three goals in 2021. A single tally is all they have managed to produce when playing off each other.
One reason for that lack of production together could be them missing multiple games this year for varying reasons, but even with that they have had significant time on the field together. A more pinpoint explanation is likely that the two are struggling to play off one another, something that head coach Phil Neville tried addressing earlier this year and that might just have come back into focus with Higuain’s comments after this past Saturday’s 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew.
“I much like to be in contact with the ball, but to play as a No. 9 you need to have players that can hit a ball in behind,” said Higuain in Spanish when asked about his positioning on the field. “You can be a 9 and make a certain movement, but if the ball does not get to you then eventually comes a moment where I get bored if I do not touch the ball and I start to drop back to take part in the build-up game.
“Obviously I like to play as a No. 9 more than a No. 10. … Clearly, the No. 9 spot is my position, but you need players that can hit a ball in that can play you in on goal.”
We have seen Higuain drop back often in 2021, including in this past weekend’s game. The center forward moved into deeper spots to get on the ball at times, but in doing so occasionally occupied the same spaces as roaming right winger Pizarro. The most clear example of that came in the 73rd minute when the two were practically in the same area as the ball was being moved around in the final third, with Higuain ultimately receiving a pass and Pizarro being rendered a harmless nearby bystander.
There were other instances, though. The 61st minute saw them both trail a penetrating Leandro Gonzalez Pirez dribble from similar spots (first image below). Another play in the second half saw the two attackers go after the same loose ball despite no one else being in relative close proximity (second image below) to it.
There are partnerships all over the field in soccer, but the one that may be the most important in MLS is that between the playmaker and finisher. Generally speaking, the formula of having an inventive No. 10 that facilitates for a No. 9 has proven effective in the league during the past decade and is why many teams use Designated Player slots on those two positions. The attacking midfielder gets tasked primarily with creating chances and the center forward with putting them away.
That has by and large not been the case at Inter Miami, though. Of course it must be noted that Pizarro’s player profile is not that of a natural No. 10, which is part of why he has been pushed out to the wing of late while still being given the tactical freedom to come inside in Inter Miami’s effective 5-2-3 formation.
Still, that has not yielded much better results in terms of the understanding with Higuain. The two DPs just do not seem to get on the same page regularly enough, raising the question as to whether they are a good fit together. What’s more, you have never really heard Pizarro say something like this about Higuain.
“I think (Victor Ulloa) is one of the players that I most get along with and best understand,” said Pizarro after Ulloa set up the attacking midfielder’s first goal of the MLS season in a 3-2 win vs. the Chicago Fire on Aug. 18. “I think that with both of us being Mexican we understand one another well both on and off the field. I think we are players that try to pass to one another the most and that know what the other is going to do the most.”
Additionally, the understanding between Higuain and Pizarro is something that was worked on earlier this year when the Mexican was being deployed more centrally as a traditional No. 10 that operated behind the striker.
“(Higuain) often occupies that spot because he likes to go for the ball or drop as a sort of 10, so we are working on that,” said Pizarro back on May 6. “Maybe it is occupying a different area or going out on the wing so that we do not cover ourselves and take away space from one another.”
It must be noted that Inter Miami might not need the two stars to better complement each other in order to continue this impressive ascent and make the playoffs. That said, solving the puzzle that is their unproductive partnership could boost the team’s inconsistent attack and take the Herons up a level or two during the stretch run.
Things might be good right now, but they could still be better. Especially when it comes to the chemistry between Higuain and Pizarro.
“There were plays today that if (my teammates gave the ball) to me I would have been 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper,” said Higuain this past weekend. “But that is a matter of understanding. I talk to the guys about that.”