Rarely have I seen a player make such an impressive debut for a club than the one I saw Wednesday night when Javier Hernandez came on as a second half substitute for Manchester United against the MLS All Star team. I’ve seen him play for Mexico before, but all of his skills were crystalized before my eyes in an incredible 30 minutes of action.
Simply said: This. Man. Is. Amazing.
Hernandez (aka Chicharito) possesses pace and skill that is far beyond the average Premier League footballer. He is a gifted two-footed player who is a natural goalscorer. And on top of that, he can launch blistering attacks that will definitely rip apart weaker defenses. This is, by far, the player I’m most looking forward to watching this upcoming Premier League season. The prospect of seeing him lining up alongside Wayne Rooney and seeing them create a goalscoring partnership is mouthwatering and I’m not even a Manchester United supporter.
The last time I saw a player make such an impression on me was when Wayne Rooney scored a sensational goal against Arsenal after the 16-year-old came on as a substitute. That was eight years ago. In between 2002 and now, I’ve seen plenty of players come and go, but no one has been close to the promise that Hernandez shows.
When he arrives in England and begins playing there, he’ll need to adapt to a different culture and lifestyle. And a much different style of play on the soccer pitch. But I’m hoping he can keep himself focused on doing what he does best, which is on the field.
Thinking back, Chicharito’s debut for Manchester United was far more impressive than that of one Cristiano Ronaldo. When the Portugese wizard began for United, he made an immediate impression but it was a combination of wonderful skills but with all of those silly stepover moves. Ronaldo, at the time, was also guilty of having a poor final cross. Over time, Ferguson and his coaching staff turned Ronaldo into a more complete footballer and Ronaldo’s stepover moves – for the most part – vanished.
But with Chicharito you have a player who is already more advanced than what Ronaldo was when he joined United. Plus Chicharito has already proven himself in the World Cup when he scored two goals for Mexico. Interestingly, he was clocked as the fastest player during the entire tournament.
If you want to see for yourself how gifted Chicharito is and how much he means to Mexico, watch Manchester United’s game tonight against Hernandez’s former team C.D. Guadalajara on ESPN Deportes and ESPN3.com at 10pm ET. The game was organized as part of the transfer deal that saw Chicharito move to United in April. This is going to be a wonderful game to see how well Hernandez plays on his home turf in front of a crowd of approximately 45,000. Plus, it’s the first game to be played at Chivas’s brand-new stadium, so expect a carnival atmosphere on a hot and humid night in Mexico.
If you missed his performance Wednesday night against the MLS All-Star team, here are the highlights on video:
Looks like a decent player, but can we wait to call him “amazing” until after he has tasted the rough Premier League defences? Way too early to judge him.
Yes, he needs to prove himself in the Premier League. But, he has proven himself in the World Cup and in the Mexican league, which is one of the best leagues in this hemisphere. There he scored 26 goals in 64 appearances. Not too shabby.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Exactly, the league Herculez Gomez led in scoring.
This is a ridiculously premature post, filled with unnecessary hyperbole for someone who played 30 minutes against a beaten down and confused MLS squad.
Well they both had 10 goals same as mancilla and Fano , but Javier only played 11 games and Gomez played 15, Mancilla 22 and Fano 16, so there is a difference, However, I do agree that people are getting a little carried away, I don’t doubt that he will be great, but we have to give him time to settle, people talking about him scoring 30+ seems pretty stupid to me.
However we need to consider that Chicharito played 6 games less that Hercules as he had to go Mexico’s national team’s long concentration. Otherwise might to have tied him.
wat ever chicharito is da best u r just jelous cuz he can play notl ike u!! hater
Agree with Uptheblues, looks to be a good young player but way too early to start talking about him like that. lets judge him on what he does week in week out in the prem, not on 20 mins in an ‘all star’ game.
agreed looks very good – but lets see him being roughed up against tough big strong organised EPL defences. and the speed of the EPL too. and i am a man utd fan. so not being -ve to be anti man utd.
just wondering what you think of Chicharito now?
or now??
I think this kid is probably going to be the breakout player of the year in the Prem. If he keeps this up i see no reason Utd shouldn’t start him over Berbatov.
As for that finish that we can see above, I have more fingers on my right hand than there are premier league strikers who could finish that ball on their first touch. This kid could be scary good. There is already a strong case for him as the best Mexican player ever, at the ripe old age of 22 no less.
He is good but to say he could be the best Mexican player ever, I don’t think so. Hugo Sanchez is the best Mexican player ever, 5 time Pichichi winner in Spain’s La Liga, with 207 goals in 283 games betweem 1985-1990 with Real Madrid. Don’t get me wrong I like Chicharito he might one day be the one of the best but he still needs a long way to be the best Mexican player ever.
Looks like Fergie has high hopes for him, Berba flop on the bench me thinks.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7917236/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-to-pair-Javier-Hernandez-with-Wayne-Rooney-in-new-look-strike-force.html
If this is true, then Hernandez is a Fantasy Premier League studmuffin!
How much is he on fantasy football. My strke force is:
Rooney
Van Persie
Drogba
And I like it
haha strong strikeforce. 3-4-3 or 4-3-3?
and hernandez is only 7.5
3-4-3
7.5 is good if he plays every week but I would want to see that before I start moving him in.
Ive gotta ask, who do you have in the midfield? Because the piggy bank must be smashed with that staggeringly impressive strike force.
I agree with your comment as well, until there is real confirmation that he will be used as a starter then you might as well have welbeck. Okay, bad example hahaha.
lets just say my defence and midfield are made up of players on the cheap side.
Not ready to anoint him just yet, but if and when he gets to play he should be fun to watch.
Poor old SAF. Nothing but problems, problems, problems.
lol Matt the best Mexican player ever?!Im pretty sure Hugo Sanchez would say otherwise..And for the people that say he wont be able to cope with the physical toughness of the PL,Other player’s his size have done well Modric ect ect so I see him adapting without a problem..
Wow, I dont know how i missed Sanchez. He is well before my time but still.
Maybe 2nd best then, eh?
are you high? its one preseason match, if you know anything about sports,you can never base anything out of one preseason match let alone one match,he has potential,but yer higher than snoop dogg right now..nerd
THIS IS NOT ALL ABOUT YOUR SNOOP DOGG BUT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE YOUNG STAR CALLED CHICHARITO.
“ALWAYS REMEMBER TO GET UPDATED mike”
big up
For u guys who say he has to adjust to the tough PML D u obviously haven’t seen him play enough I’m a lifelong Chivas fan and Ive seen him since he played his first club game and he can witstand a beating
Gaffer – I agree with most others that you seem a little over-excited about Hernandez, given that he’s not even played a competetive game for Man Utd yet.
In particular when you say this:
“In between 2002 and now, I’ve seen plenty of players come and go, but no one has been close to the promise that Hernandez shows.”
Now you know I don’t like to be just an internet pedant, but here are some of the players who have made their professional debuts SINCE 2002: Messi, Pique, Muller, Nani, Walcott, Balotelli…I’m sure you’ll agree at least SOME of those guys have more promise than what Hernandez shows.
Dave, I should have prefaced that statement by saying that I meant the Premier League only. That said, Nani and Walcott didn’t make a very good impression on their introductions to the Premier League. Both players are nowhere in the same league as Hernandez.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Yeah Ok, I admit I was stretching things a bit by including Nani and Walcott…
Kakuta for Chelsea made a pretty good impression when he came on as a sub for about 20 minutes IN A COMPETITIVE GAME last year…Mind you, I believe it was against Stoke and Chelsea was already up 3 or 4 – nil…Still, all the football pundits declared him as the future of Chelsea.
This kid made me watch the film ‘Goal’ the other day, I forgot how good that film was.
Yeah, Gaffer definitely forgot that the best Mexican player of all time was Santiago Munez!
It’s funny because before I wrote the article I was thinking the same thing and was going to mention it in the article. Lots of comparisons to Munez in the film. Shame he’s not playing for Newcastle United instead.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
I have seen him play with his Mexican team Chivas, and let me tell you, this guy IS amazing. He was totally at another level in that league. Its just incredible how good this kid is!
Hopefully this guy turns out to be good for Man U but does anyone remember the hype of Vela and Dos Santos when they went to the EPL. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves before he can grind out the physical play of the Premier League, we all know that even if he has talent and does not posess the strength to be physical enough to be pushed around he will not make it just like many others.
Im mexican and I kinda agree with somethings you say, but even before any of them arrived in england (Vela, Dos Santos and Hernandez) it was awfully clear that Hernandez was way better than the other 2. He is just another level.
Just to give an example, Vela and Dos Santos are constantlly involved in silly gossip, in TV shit and so. Hernandez knows only one thing: PLAY SOCCER!!!
Here in Mexico you never hear s**t like who does he f**k, dates or anything like that. He never appears drunk in paparazzi videos and he never gives silly declaratiosn. Vela and Dos Santos do. So what I mean is that this kid is diferent, this kid is indeed there for love to the sport!!!
This guy looks exciting and i can’t wait to see him do some damage in the premier league, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, its only been one game.
For those watching the game tonight on ESPN Deportes: ‘Chicarito’ will be playing one half with Man U and the other with Guadalajara…should be a fun game!
http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2010/07/26/2042708/sir-alex-ferguson-scouts-saved-manchester-united-millions-by
cp3
You people are forgetting what team he is going to play for ….MANCHESTER UNITED! vela and dos santos obviously have talent but lacking the right club and staff….united have been known in making superstars and its proven by the same superstars leaving then becoming bums………CHICHARITO cannot wait to see him in action
its not all about the play…its about the enviroment around them…thats my theory in soccer…..
The speed he showed when he got on the end of a cross for his first shot was just unbelievable. When Cleverly sent that cross in I thought there was no way he would get on the end of it. But not only did he get on the end of of it he got a really good shot on goal.
I don’t care what anybody says. His speed will give EPL defenders fits. And the kid can flat out score. His goal against Argentina in the World Cup was brilliant.
I root for chivas and I’ve seen him playing here in Mexico and I’m impressed how well he’s done over the last year. Of course he’s a talented player but I think he still has to prove what he’s made for, cause playing in the mexican league is nothing compared to playing in EPL.
In my opinion… He’s is a really good player … He controls and kicks with both sides which not all player can do … He’s an amazing player and I know he will be one of the best players soon … He’s that kind of players that never give up and keeps fighting now matter what… Chicharito is a great player .. Sure , he needs to learn more skills and that’s why he’s there, to learn and to improve his skills … And in sure he will … He has a great future …
scored at the 8th last night for chivas (you have to see the goal, indescribable!!) he could have also scored for manutd during the second half (had a couple chances there) but was subbed out early. im no manure fan, but im watching every single manure game this season because of him. im very excited to see him paired with potatoe face. matter of fact.. has he scored in every single game he has played in since world cup? i heard sir alex compared him to the baby face assassin… is chicharito destined for such a legendary career as solskjaer had? ohh man, i cant wait.
Me Tinks that this guy will die in a horrific airplane accident wiping out most of the squad and inspiring mass glory hunting and armchair fans. C’mon on Norwich!!! munich till i find a better team init kidda….Loyal Utd fan since 1993 giggsy wooo!
hey huys.. im mexican and im a chivas fan.. well, i think chicharito has a talent but dont get ahead yet, wait, all the things need time. I think he really deserve this oportunity because in mexico he made all his best but as i said it took time, he need one year.
When does this young star plays agene ?
“Hot and humid night?” you guys ARE to stop watching bad Hollywood-mexican-theme-movies! This comment just made my day and still laughing. Guadalajara a humid place? London and the rest of the UK is far more humid than Guadalajara and the rest of the “altiplano mexicano”, get your facts right and cultivate yourselves.
Cheers!
I’m a mexican and I’m a fan of “santos laguna”, which is currently one of the most competitive teams of the mexican league. (One of the most expensive teams in america).
In the last season, when Santos Laguna played vs Chivas, chicharito played really amazingly. That game Santos played with a physically impressive defense (those guys could be as rough as Premier League’s defenses) and Chicharito destroyed them with speed, dribbling and the flexibility he has by being able to shoot with both feet.
That night I said, this guy has something different, the Santos Laguna’s defense looked very messy and powerless.
yup chicharito iz#1 nobody could take hiz place te amo
hello you know you´re great and i would love to meet you i love you much. y te extrañamos mucho por aca ok besos
zory put hiz mine
Chicharito is the bomb and he is also cute and hot! i luv him
! SEXY BABY!
just saw Chicharito score against Valencia in the Champions league… seems like this post wasn’t premature at all.
he was too good for the opponents. congrats!
I love chicharito.
Chicharito is the best chivas player by far. I gonna miss watching play for them
He has all the attributes to be a great player in the EPL and he is a natural finisher, a quality even Wayne Rooney has historically lacked (yeah I said it: Despite a great season last year the major criticism of Rooney was that he didn’t score enough goals, frequently enough). This post was certainly pre-mature and you still can’t say he is the answer to Man United’s woes but I for one am very impressed by the “the boy.”
Iiiiie
this post will be pre-mature till the end of the season once Chicharito reaches 20 goals in the premier. two today, one last week, one in the champions, one with Mexicos national team oct 12. and this is just in a month! hell 27 just this year!!
Add one more to the count from the Carling Cup!
So did you enjoy Chicharito’s goal yesterday??
Guess he is on his way to become a real star, cant wish him wrong, he is a hope for all Mexican fans, but we have to remember what the media did to other Mexican players like Giovanni do Santos or Carlos Vela or even Nery Castillo, they create a lot of expectation which then ends up affecting the players, remember what they used to say about Giovanni that he was the next Ronaldinho… we have to be careful on creating a lot of expectation around such young players, never the less I think Chicharito is different personality you can clearly see it… all the best for him!
Viva Mexico!
cool chicharito is the best
YOU ARE TELLING THE TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
chicarito is the best
Yup his da men
Chicharito is doing great now!
More goals than any other Mexican Ever in the FA in only 3 months
chicharito is the only guy to talk about
Chicharito is a role model for all of us soccer players that want to become something. Coming from the mexican league and going to the premier league-one of the best leagues in the world- is an accomplishment in its self. That just shows how much talent this ‘kid’ really does have. His sense of soccer and passion for it is outstanding. And we all know passion is hard to find in a good player now a days. So yea, give him some more time..just to prove all of you guys wrong. Sit and watch as this player becomes one of the best.
p.s.- and he is pretty damn good looking (just saying).
chichareto i realy want to be came just like you.Can yougive me advise to be came a soccer player that came out mexeco if god want i can be like you.