He may be miles away across the Atlantic Ocean but Guadalajara-born soccer star Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez is still hogging the headlines in the local sports pages.
"Little Pea," as the British press seem to be calling Chicharito, scored a bizarre goal for Manchester United in his first competitive game for his new club as the Red Devils came out 3-1 winners against Chelsea and lifted the Community Shield.
"It's like a movie," reads the headline in local sports' daily Cancha and although the young striker is not yet a "Champion" as the headline in La Aficion pronounces, his story does have the beginnings of a blockbuster.
After agreeing to sign for Manchester United in April, everything has gone right for the former Chivas star.
In the World Cup playing for Mexico "Chicha" broke the deadlock against France with a sublime finish and added to his tally with a rocket of a goal to give el Tri a flicker of hope in the game against Argentina.
After a break back in Guadalajara, Chicharito joined up with his new Manchester United teammates in Houston for the game against the MLS Allstars. Coming on as a sub in the 62nd minute, it wasn't long before he put the ball in the back of the net to the delight of the Mexican-Americans present.
The next stop for the 22-year-old was the inauguration of the Estadio Omnilife in Guadalajara. Playing for his former team Chivas in the first half against Manchester United, it was Chicharito who scored the first goal in the impressive stadium within ten minutes.
The furor surrounding Chicharito's visit seemed more suited to Enrique Iglesias or David Beckham but shows the popularity the youngster has garnered in Guadalajara and around Mexico. Around 1,000 mainly young girls screamed his named at a signing session and his boyish face seems to be in every commercial and billboard around.
For someone who prefers to stay in with his family than go out and doesn't drink alcohol, the sudden fame must be hard to deal with but perhaps his private school education, English language skills and the gap of an ocean from the Mexican press may help.
The fame certainly doesn't seem to be affecting the Little Pea thus far. In a friendly in Ireland last week, the wonderkid continued his run of goals, netting a goal Machester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson described as "fantastic."
As if further evidence was required that everything is going right for the Tapatio, Chicharito's goal against Chelsea on Sunday at Wembley Stadium, London is the icing on the cake.
Manchester United were winning 1-0 deep into the second half but were coming under increasing pressure from English champions Chelsea.
On a quick break, Ecuadorian Antonio Valencia swept a fast, low cross beyond the Chelsea defense. Chicharito had the goal at his mercy but seemed to run past the ball in his enthusiasm to get there. Whilst slipping, Chicharito connected with his right foot and the ball bounced up, smacked him in the face and ricocheted into the empty net. A jublilant Chicharito celebrated by kissing the badge on his shirt and pointing wildly at his head.
Blessed with natural athletism, speed and the knack of being in the right place at the right time, it seems the devout Catholic can do nothing wrong.
The long English season and cruel winters mean that it would be wise to err on the side of caution though, at least for now.
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
Friday, 16 July 2010
Chivas’ big day nears and new stadium still has no permit
Zapopan City Hall has yet to grant a license for the new 45,000-seat Chivas stadium that will enable the July 30 inaugural game against English football giants Manchester United to go ahead as scheduled.
Several conditions stipulated by Zapopan Mayor Hector Vielma and agreed by Chivas owner Jorge Vergara on October 20 are still to be met.
Primarily, 40 million pesos (3.1 million dollars) that Vergara promised as a down payment for his part in the funding of the stadium’s access roads has not been deposited in municipal coffers, according to Vielma. Work on the main access road has yet to begin.
Despite his hard-line stance over the past few months, Vielma this week provided some hope that the July 30 game could go ahead by suggesting a temporary license might be granted.
“We can grant a provisional license, but the principal requisite is that (Vergara) comes up with the 40 million pesos,” said the mayor. (Vergara, a business magnate who owns the multi-level Omnilife nutritional supplements empire, told the Guadalajara press this week that he was ready to pay but didn’t know which bank account to deposit the money.)
Even if the ancillary road work around the stadium is incomplete, the game could still be played as long as municipal inspectors deem the site safe, Vielma said.
And while the stadium itself may be finished on time, the limited access and parking, and inevitable traffic and transport chaos on the day, could transform the opening game from a showpiece into a media disaster.
Located at the corner of the Periferico (city beltway) and Avenida Vallarta, the stadium has taken more than five years to complete. As well as hosting all the games of the Guadalajara Chivas – Mexico’s most popular soccer team – it will also be used for concerts and other large-scale public events.
Fans of Manchester United – who habitually travel around the world to see their team perform – have been complaining on fan websites about the disorganized nature of the planning of the game. Even Manchester United officials are telling fans hoping to travel to Guadalajara that they “don’t know” how to go about getting tickets.
Wrote one fan from Manchester on www.manutd.com: “I hope we get news sooner rather than later. I’m all paid up for both flights and hotel and would really rather not be traveling out there just to see a mariachi band - as much as I loved ‘Desperado.’”
Chivas’ website says tickets will be on sale “soon,” but the reality is that they can’t be put on sale until a license is granted.
Several conditions stipulated by Zapopan Mayor Hector Vielma and agreed by Chivas owner Jorge Vergara on October 20 are still to be met.
Primarily, 40 million pesos (3.1 million dollars) that Vergara promised as a down payment for his part in the funding of the stadium’s access roads has not been deposited in municipal coffers, according to Vielma. Work on the main access road has yet to begin.
Despite his hard-line stance over the past few months, Vielma this week provided some hope that the July 30 game could go ahead by suggesting a temporary license might be granted.
“We can grant a provisional license, but the principal requisite is that (Vergara) comes up with the 40 million pesos,” said the mayor. (Vergara, a business magnate who owns the multi-level Omnilife nutritional supplements empire, told the Guadalajara press this week that he was ready to pay but didn’t know which bank account to deposit the money.)
Even if the ancillary road work around the stadium is incomplete, the game could still be played as long as municipal inspectors deem the site safe, Vielma said.
And while the stadium itself may be finished on time, the limited access and parking, and inevitable traffic and transport chaos on the day, could transform the opening game from a showpiece into a media disaster.
Located at the corner of the Periferico (city beltway) and Avenida Vallarta, the stadium has taken more than five years to complete. As well as hosting all the games of the Guadalajara Chivas – Mexico’s most popular soccer team – it will also be used for concerts and other large-scale public events.
Fans of Manchester United – who habitually travel around the world to see their team perform – have been complaining on fan websites about the disorganized nature of the planning of the game. Even Manchester United officials are telling fans hoping to travel to Guadalajara that they “don’t know” how to go about getting tickets.
Wrote one fan from Manchester on www.manutd.com: “I hope we get news sooner rather than later. I’m all paid up for both flights and hotel and would really rather not be traveling out there just to see a mariachi band - as much as I loved ‘Desperado.’”
Chivas’ website says tickets will be on sale “soon,” but the reality is that they can’t be put on sale until a license is granted.
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Chivas release new shirt
Chivas have released the first images of the shirt that they will play in starting against Manchester United on July 30.
Not bad. It also has a little note on the back of the neck saying "100% Mexicano" on the back of the collar. No non-Mexican has ever played for the famous rojiblancos.
Not bad. It also has a little note on the back of the neck saying "100% Mexicano" on the back of the collar. No non-Mexican has ever played for the famous rojiblancos.
Chicharito tops World Cup poll but he doesn't have Twitter
Mexico's top goalscorer in South Africa, Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez has topped a Mitofsky poll which asked Mexicans to rate each player's performance.
New Manchester United player Chicharito scored two goals in the tournament and received an evaluation of 8.8 out of 10.
Barcelona player Rafael Marquez got 8.7 marks, the same as Tottenham Hotspur's Giovani Dos Santos. Ironically both players are unsure as to where they will be playing in a matter of weeks.
Rumours suggest Marquez could be moving to Galatasaray while the latest club to express an interest in Dos Santos is Blackburn Rovers.
At the bottom of the table, the much maligned Guillermo Franco scored a 7.1 out of 10 with Mexican fans, just below Paul Aguilar (7.4) and Ricardo Osorio (7.5) who made that grave mistake against Argentina. The average score was 7.7.
Seventy-two percent of Mexicans said they watched the game against South Africa 64% the one against France, 62 % against Uruguay and 68 percent the game against Argentina.
Mexico officially finished in 14th place in FIFA's assessment of the World Cup, but have slipped seven places down the rankings from 17th to 24th spot. The United States is in 13th and Paraguay in 16th.
In this blog's poll, a massive 68 percent of voters thought Chicharito was Mexico's best player, followed by Carlos Salcido (11%), Giovani dos Santos (6%) and Rafa Marquez (5%).
And, in case you were wondering, Chicharito doesn't have Twitter, as this photo seems to suggest:
New Manchester United player Chicharito scored two goals in the tournament and received an evaluation of 8.8 out of 10.
Barcelona player Rafael Marquez got 8.7 marks, the same as Tottenham Hotspur's Giovani Dos Santos. Ironically both players are unsure as to where they will be playing in a matter of weeks.
Rumours suggest Marquez could be moving to Galatasaray while the latest club to express an interest in Dos Santos is Blackburn Rovers.
At the bottom of the table, the much maligned Guillermo Franco scored a 7.1 out of 10 with Mexican fans, just below Paul Aguilar (7.4) and Ricardo Osorio (7.5) who made that grave mistake against Argentina. The average score was 7.7.
Seventy-two percent of Mexicans said they watched the game against South Africa 64% the one against France, 62 % against Uruguay and 68 percent the game against Argentina.
Mexico officially finished in 14th place in FIFA's assessment of the World Cup, but have slipped seven places down the rankings from 17th to 24th spot. The United States is in 13th and Paraguay in 16th.
In this blog's poll, a massive 68 percent of voters thought Chicharito was Mexico's best player, followed by Carlos Salcido (11%), Giovani dos Santos (6%) and Rafa Marquez (5%).
And, in case you were wondering, Chicharito doesn't have Twitter, as this photo seems to suggest:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
