Spanish Inquisition: Higuain Is The Right Man For Real Madrid's XI - Raul And Benzema Must Rotate Instead

Real Madrid's summer spending came in for some fierce criticism, ranging from accusations of insensitivity to irresponsibility, particularly when it came to the record-breaking captures of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Karim Benzema was deemed the third and final Galactico to arrive (many have not counted Xabi Alonso, perhaps because he is too defensive a player or too modest a personality). 'Benz', as the youngest, cheapest, and least publicised name of the three, immediately seemed to be the most accepted, least supposedly gratuitous signing of Madrid's star-studded summer.

But was he really? Cristiano Ronaldo gives this team just what they need - as he evidenced in his stunning, non-coincidental start to the season - and Kaka, as soon as he is able to play his preferred position for a prolonged period of time, is also bound to produce more consistent results than he has been so far.

Karim Benzema has been far from poor in his first couple of months with Madrid, but there have been more teething problems than perhaps would have been expected. He has struggled to interchange with and read the movements of his team-mates, more so than anyone. He often has taken a touch too many in the box and been hesistant where a striker must be ruthless, and he has not yet put a fear factor into La Liga defences.

Then consider Gonzalo Higuain. He has directly suffered from the signing of Benzema, despite being joint top goalscorer with Raul for Madrid last season, with a healthy 24 strikes, many of which were crucial and often exceptional match-winners.

His reward has been to sit on the bench. There existed a debate as soon as Benzema was signed about whether he was really that much of an improvement on Higuain, and as yet, the signing has not yet been fully justified.

Benzema will soon be a world class forward, and he is certainly the type of player Madrid can and will get many great years from, but this campaign, while Raul still makes a substantial number of appearances and Ruud van Nistelrooy is even still at the club as a back-up option, Benzema's purchase was not entirely necessary. He was a signing for next summer.

This season deserved to be the one in which Gonzalo Higuain made his name as a starting centre-forward in the new Galacticos. If Madrid's under-fire coach (do they have any other kind?) Manuel Pellegrini can summon up the courage, then Higuain may still have his chance, though perhaps not quite in the way that he would like.

In starring for Madrid at the weekend in the must-win encounter against Getafe with two goals - one which was particularly outstanding - Higuain showed that he is still good enough for Real Madrid.

More important than his goals, even, was that he played the majority of the game from the right.

The right flank has troubled Madrid since David Beckham was allowed to leave for LA Galaxy in 2007. Arjen Robben proved a valuable asset from that side, but still remained stronger on his natural left, was sold to accommodate Ronaldo's presence in the team (as was the official line: in reality, he was just a player who could generate enough of a transfer fee to begin making up for all the summer's expenditure).

And so with 'CR9' in the team, Pellegrini and Madridistas worldwide soon came to realise that the Portuguese will struggle to play on his 'natural' side in Spain, as there will often be so much less space to run in behind in La Liga than there was in the Premier League. So over Ronaldo went to the left, and Madrid were back where they started.

Kaka prefers the left, Madrid 2010 target Ribery even prefers the left. Looking all across the world: Iniesta, Rooney, Villa and Robinho prefer the left. The fact the world's best player happens to currently play from the right has gone some way towards masking the fact that no one else really wants to anymore. Ronaldinho set the trend, and the world's elite have followed in his wake.

Higuain now has an opportunity - like Pato is being asked to at Milan - to forge himself a position in the team as a right-winger/forward, giving Madrid a much more natural and threatening shape. Ronaldo, Kaka, Raul, and Benzema, who went as far as to argue with Lyon coaching staff when asked to play on the right, have all tried and failed to play from the right so far this season. Sergio Ramos, the one-man flank, has suffered as a result. Esteban Granero has certainly held his own in the Madrid team when playing from the right wing, but does not supply so much pace or creativity as to justify the omission of 'El Pipita'.

With a fully-fit Ronaldo ready to fire from the left, Higuain from the right, Kaka then allowed the freedom to play creatively through the middle while being supplied by Xabi Alonso and enforced by Lassana Diarra, it is in centre-forward where Raul and Benzema can fight for the same position. Then there is a team and a squad with a considerably more healthy-lookng, though not perfect balance.

Though cynics may rightfully suggest that Higuain's performances will always come secondary to the fact he is not a record-breaking, history-making cantera product nor a Galactico super-signing, the smile of appreciation on Florentino Perez's face as Higuain saved his reputation on Saturday may turn out to be more telling than any prior politics or status quos.

Madrid have some catching up to do, and there currently seems to be no man more genetically wired for a comeback than Gonzalo Higuain.

Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com