Reds agree Hernandez deal - Manchester United Official Web Site He's only my favorite player. My first reaction after I dropped my jaw for five minutes was excitement, then felt a bit sad. Chicharito has had a quick ride with Chivas, and I truly wanted him to get shipped to Europe, just not this fast, and not to a team I kinda hated before this transaction. **********Automerged Doublepost********** Posted this on the morning of 4/9, at niners.com It's a long butt read, but is a must read for ManU fans, if there are any here. Last night I surfed around the official ManU site and obviously I took a look at the MB. Read too many negative posts for my liking. Obviously the majority of the fans thinks it's a small acquisition (and it is, for now) and that Chicharo shows promise, but I saw a few guys who were enraged because they got another bloody youngster, which seems ManU's modus operandi. Too many young strikers and none of them proven besides Rooney. Those negative fans are crying out loud about the team's decision to pull off the big-name-striker sweepstakes (essentially, kissing Villa and Benzema goodbye). TBH if I were so spoiled, rooting for a team with a giant budget and used to contend for every league title and cup every year, I'd be upset too. What is ManU getting in Chicharo? The ultimate hustler. You'd be hard pressed to find a man who works harder than him, and with a greater desire to get better and improve his game. I've mentioned many times: I remember his first game in primera division with Chivas. He scored the last goal on a 4-0 win against Necaxa, and he looked quite raw. Had you asked me back then, he looked more like a guy taken from the stands whom they put a jersey on and let him play. That was back in sept 2006; chivas ended up winning the championship 3 months later. He didn't take the starting spot right away because the team had a potent offensive trident in Bofo, Medina and Bravo (back when he was worth a lick). Then along came a handful of signings, none of which have been a homerun: Santana, Borgetti and Arellano. The first two are no longer with the team, the latter I still have big hopes for, but is too darn injury prone, albeit he's slowly coming back to his dominant form. Basically, Chicharo was buried in the depth chart all these years. He was given sporadic chances: a few minutes here, a few minutes there. Up until the start of the year 2009, he had only scored once, which was the aforementioned goal he had in his first game as a pro. Did that make him fall into obscurity? Well, obviously not. He did fall on the dark side, but that's another story. Got rid of Santana and Borgetti, and Arellano had his usual foot injury. What did Chicharo do upon given the chance? He... just... took... over. (Note: we play 2 "torneos" every year, JAN-JUN (called Clausura) and JUL-DEC (called apertura); we don't use the euro format of running a year-long schedule beginning in september and finishing somewhen june of the next year, also we don't have Cup tournaments like the FA or Carling. Mexican clubs only play in Concacaf Champions League, and also Copa Libertadores as guests) Clausura 2009: 4 goals in 15 league matches, and add up 3 goals in 5 Copa Libertadores matches. The following torneo, Apertura 2009, BOOM. 17 matches, 11 goals. Finished second in scoring. Now lets set this straight. I admit that the mexican league is marred with mediocrity. The foreigners are the stars here, the best players. Seldomly does a mexican player win the scoring title... hell, seldomly does a mexican player appear in the top 5 scorers list. Chicharo was given his first chance to start a whole torneo, and he finished second. This time? The league has played 14 rounds, Chicharo missed one due to injury and also last week's Super Clasico (only the biggest game of every torneo); he's still leading the league with 10 goals, 2 above runners up Jackson Martinez (Colombia) and Herculez Gomez (Mex-American). BTW, there are 3 games left in the regular season. He still has realistic hopes of becoming the scoring champ, having played only 12 of 17 games. Diehards would say that speaks volumes about him and how special he is. Some may say the fact speaks volumes of the mediocrity of the league. I say it's a combination of both. You have probably read his scouting report already. Can kick it with either foot; relatively undersized (5'9") but makes up for it with an amazing leaping ability; deceptive speed; can play either center forward or wing; agile; great body control; willing to make the sacrifice of coming down to recover the ball in the midfield; doesn't seem to struggle when he has to play with his back to the opposite goal for extended periods of time. The comparison has been beaten to dead in Mexico, but I have to say it. He compares to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, only shorter and a bit more agile. As for his negatives, I was going to state that he gets nicked up often, but then I realized his missing the Super Clasico last week because of a hamstring injury was just a plot (a perfectly played one, BTW) to get the deal done with ManU. All bias aside, I'm still hard pressed to find a glaring hole in his game. I'd nitpick and say he has no experience whatsoever in free kicks. His size might be, as he will definitely need to bulk up for the euro atmosphere, and the challenge will be to achieve that without losing his agility and speed. What makes him truly special, though, are his intangibles. He has the drive, the will, the desire to get better. Won't coast during matches. He's a extremely smart futbol player with a high level of awareness. He understands the role he's given to him. Play wing? No problem. Play center forward? Puh-lease. Never looks like a fish out of the water. Has excelled the art of playing the 1-2 pbutt. Knows how to draw single and double covers to leave teammates wide open in the box. Knows how to position himself for the aerial game in crosses, FKs and CKs. And the best part: Cold blood. Historically, mexican strikers always struggle with definition. Upon getting a clear chance, adrenaline kicks in and they get too rushed up and end up kicking the ball right at the keeper's body or off the target. Not him. As a positive, you have to consider that his family will be living with him, which to date is one of the reasons why he's a down-to-earth guy despite the turbulent ride he's had. BTW he has great bloodlines. His father (who goes by the same name) was a professional player, although he never was a star and IIRC he never played for Chivas. His grandfather was also a player in the 50s, he did play for Chivas and was an assistant coach for the Campeonisimo Chivas, the glory years, when it seemed the club won every darn thing they participated in. Given the chance, he won't disappoint ManU.
Tearing up the Mexican League means absolutely heck the following year in the same league. :icon_eek: But I believe Chicharo is a special player, and with with his desire to get better and proper training he will do well in the EPL.
say what you will but Hernandez is gonna make it. I'm a Man U hater but I got to show Chicharito much love.
