Federico Higuain made a number of stops before landing in Major League Soccer with the Columbus Crew in 2012. The Argentine attacking midfielder started with River Plate, appearing for many other Argentinian clubs, while also making stints in Mexico and Turkey. On July 27, 2012, Higuain joined Columbus as the club's third-ever Designated Player, on a reported transfer fee of just $650K. He scored and assisted 16 goals a piece across his first two seasons, prior to 2014. In 2012, Higuain was named the MLS Newcomer of the Year.
In 2014, he opened his account with a brace against DC United. He followed that up by smashing a penalty kick in Seattle to earn a point. In May, Higuain sent a beautiful chip off the underside of the crossbar and in. In the same Providence Park match, he tucked another PK in. He scored in three straight matches in the summer, including a curling free kick over the wall and in against New England. In September, he did the same exact thing against Bobby Shuttleworth and the Revolution. In the postseason, Columbus came up against that same New England side. Higuain scored his third dead ball goal against the Revs on the season, but they lost the series and got sent home.
After scoring 11 goals and assisting 7 goals in 2014, Higuain was rewarded with the biggest Columbus Crew contract in club history up to that point. It was quite worth it, as he led his team to MLS Cup in 2015 on the back of his 8 goal and 9 assist campaign. Higuain scored his first goal of the season with a lovely backheel flick. Pipa scored the equalizer and lone goal of the game for Columbus in a 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy. On Decision Day, he lobbed the goalkeeper at BMO Field to secure a win on the final day. This solidified the Crew's second position in the East. Higuain opened the scoring in the playoff series against Montreal off a poor clearance. Columbus won on aggregate, then defeated the New York Red Bulls in the ECF. In MLS Cup, Federico Higuain's side went out in a heartbreaking 2-1 loss against the Portland Timbers.
In 2016, it was a bit of an off year stat-wise for Higuain. He scored just 4 times, while assisting 3. He played significantly less minutes than the previous two seasons, as he underwent surgery on his groin. He did score in the very first game of the season, in a rematch of MLS Cup, and in the most spectacular bicycle kick fashion. Half of his goals came in a wild 4-4 draw with the Montreal Impact. Higuain scored the latter two goals of the four, finding some space around the goalkeeper, then sticking a penalty in the corner. The Crew had a pretty bad year without their No. 10 for so long.
In 2017, Higuain fully returned in a big way. He set his career-high in assists by a long shot, as he provided 14 helpers. He also scored 9 goals. He grabbed their first win of the season with a penalty kick in the nation's capital. Higuain hit another stretch of scoring in three straight games, one of which was a beauty against New England as he continued to be a Revs killer. He got the best of Montreal with yet another direct free kick from downtown Columbus. It became a brace when he laced the left footed shot into the bottom right corner. Federico Higuain registered a hat trick of assists in a match against the New York Red Bulls, finishing it off with a whipped corner kick. Columbus finished fifth, then sent Atlanta home in the knockout round. Higuain assisted two goals in the first leg against NYCFC. This pushed them into the Eastern Conference Final against Toronto FC, where they did end their run.
In 2018, Higuain had what could be described as his last truly productive year as an MLS player. He scored 6 more goals and added another 9 assists onto his rapidly growing career total. It seemed as if he was poised for an even higher goal output in his first two games, as he scored in both. He did not keep up the pace for 34-goal year, though. In fact, his next goal was a penalty against Chicago in May. He notched the match-winner versus Colorado closer to the end of the season. It was another solid regular season, as the Crew finished fifth again. Higuain absolutely lit up DC United in the knockout round. He scored a brace, the first pushed home during chaos in the box, the second a flick header by one of the shortest players on the pitch. The Crew went out to RBNY in the next round.
In 2019, Higuain finished his iconic Columbus Crew career up. He scored on one occasion, his last Crew goal, which came against the LA Galaxy. Once the Crew missed the playoffs, his time with the club was over. On March 2, 2020, DC United signed Higuain as both a player and a Player Development Coach. Higuain came back alive in the MLS is Back Tournament. He ran in behind and chipped a goal during his debut, a comeback against Toronto FC. In the very next match, another short sub appearance, Higuain picked up an errant Antonio Delamea pass, and continued to kill the Revs with his new team as well. Despite his heroics, DC United offloaded him quickly. On October 10, 2020, Inter Miami CF acquired Higuain in exchange for $50K in allocation money.
In 2021, Higuain had himself a decent little season for Inter Miami while playing with his brother, Gonzalo. Gonzalo scored to equalize in Philly, while Pipa headed home the match-winner for a true family road victory. This was Federico's first Miami goal. He would score two more, two matches in a row in October. He intercepted a pass and tapped it into the waiting net against Toronto FC. With mere minutes remaining in his career, Federico Higuain somehow scored yet another snap header during a 5-1 victory over FC Cincinnati. He was set to retire after the season, though he waited until the start of the following season to sign a one-day contract with Columbus and retire there. He said, “Home is where the heart is and my heart is forever in Columbus." Now, Federico is the head coach of Inter Miami CF II in MLS NEXT Pro. Pipa was an incredible attacking force and player during his time with the Columbus Crew, and he comes in at #49 as a result.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2021 | MIA | 802 | 3 | 4 |
2020 | MIA/DC | 176 | 2 | 0 |
2019 | CLB | 1,133 | 1 | 5 |
2018 | CLB | 2,381 | 6 | 9 |
2017 | CLB | 2,238 | 9 | 14 |
2016 | CLB | 1,607 | 4 | 3 |
2015 | CLB | 2,724 | 8 | 9 |
2014 | CLB | 2,488 | 11 | 7 |
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