Napoli’s former fitness coach insists Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain “is not lazy” but “falls back on his talent” too much.
The Argentinian international has come in for a barrage of criticism for his performances against Barcelona, Sassuolo and Fiorentina, with some suggesting he’s overweight.
“I think he’s one of the most talented players in the world, he’s a champion,” Corrado Saccone, now at Partizan Tirana with Mark Iuliano, told TuttoJuve.
Napoli’s former fitness coach insists Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain “is not lazy” but “falls back on his talent” too much.
The Argentinian international has come in for a barrage of criticism for his performances against Barcelona, Sassuolo and Fiorentina, with some suggesting he’s overweight.
“I think he’s one of the most talented players in the world, he’s a champion,” Corrado Saccone, now at Partizan Tirana with Mark Iuliano, told TuttoJuve.
“I’ve seen important players at Napoli and in Italian football, but no-one as talented as him. He has great talent and he knows it, and I can say that he falls back on that too often.
“But, to be clear, the lad is not lazy.
“When you know you’re better than the others, maybe you don’t always work 100 per cent. He’s a champion to be taken for what he is, and he needs an environment where he can make the most of it.
“Higuain, when he’s on the right path, makes the difference in a monstrous way and he already showed that in his first season in Turin by winning a Scudetto.
“It’s not a question about being overweight, it’s more what workloads he’s doing at Juventus – though, obviously, I don’t know what they are.
“It may be that he’s below-par for a moment, but I’m sure in the end the Higuain we all know will be able to play with his extraordinary and unique magic.
“In a moment like this, all it will take is just a little chink to unblock things. In the year of 36 goals [2015-16] the first went in off his back if I remember, and we all know what happened then!
“If I were the Juventus fans, I wouldn’t be worried, his time will come.
“He has a remarkable ability to balance and unbalance, he kicks cleanly, he has an extraordinary peripheral vision, he can see a teammate even if he’s behind him.
“He has a speed of thought that’s unique. He looks a bit awkward, but he absolutely isn’t overweight.
“He’s just like that, with the ball at his feet he has the ability to beat four men in the space of an ‘amen’ or he can beat them on the outside. That’s his standard.”