Who is Javier Hernandez?
Posted by Ross A. Schweitzer on June 19, 2017
Javier Hernandez was born in the city of Guadalajara. His first time playing soccer was at the age of 7 in a local recreational league. His father, who was nicknamed “Chicharo” meaning “pea” due to his green eyes, played in the town of Morelia for over 4 years. He definitely got some of his skill and a lot of his inspiration from his father. That’s also where he got his own nickname, “Chicharito” meaning “little pea”. Both his father and grandfather were professional soccer players and all 3 have played in a World Cup. It would be easy to say that soccer is in his genes.
At the age of 9 little Javier joined up with C.D. Guadalajara. When he was 15 he signed his first professional contract. He was scheduled to play in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Cup, but was sidelined with an injury. While building his soccer career, he also took business admin classes. Not just an athlete, he’s clearly got an eye on what happens when he has to hang up his boots.
He had a rough first few years at Guadalajara. He hardly scored. He didn’t play a lot. He was frustrated and discouraged. Yet he kept pushing. The future took an upswing in 2009. He scored 11 goals in 17 appearances. That’s when a scout from across the ocean took his seat and observed a young kid from Mexico.
He was scouted in 2009 for the first time by Manchester United. After taking notes for a few games, the scout reported positively back to his superiors. A few months later another scout was sent to Mexico to observe the young talent. This time it was none other than Man U’s chief scout, Jim Lawlor. For 3 weeks he scouted him. For 3 weeks he was impressed. This kid was going places. The Red Devils wanted a part of that. They officially signed him on July 1, 2010. No one knew of the deal, not his agent or even his own grandfather. They wanted and got total secrecy.
His time with Manchester United was marked with unbridled potential and failure. He never fully settled in with the Red Devils despite having amazing moments. He never fully locked down a starting spot. He was a super sub, but could never really make a starting spot his own. He impacted games with his quickness, clinical finishing inside the box and aerial prowess despite his lack of real stature. Manchester United would want a striker of more magnitude even though Chicharito performed very well when given the chance.
His time at Manchester was coming to an end. He was loaned out in September 2014 to Real Madrid. He performed admirably for Los Blancos yet was never really featured in a prominent role. He ended up with 7 goals in 23 appearances with Madrid. His 1 year loan deal with an option to purchase ended with Real sending him back to Manchester.
August 31, 2015 saw him sign a 3 year deal with Bayer Leverkusen. He’s settled into the Bundesliga quite well. He leads the line for Bayer Leverkusen. The world can now see what he’s capable of when he has the opportunity to be the main striker for a side. He’s won Bundesliga Player of the Month award several times and was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season for 2015–2016.
For the Mexican National Team he has had quite the career. He is the all time leading goal scorer for his native country. He always represents El Tri well as was evidenced yesterday with his wonderful header against Portugal in the Confederations Cup. Whenever the Mexican National Team suit up you have to keep an eye out for Chicharito. Chances are he’ll score at least once. He was the CONCACAF Player of the Year in 2015. When he’s on the pitch he always performs well.
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