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As I recall, the moment Javier Hernandez came on as a substitute against Uruguay at the World Cup, the world started buzzing. This was the impact, signing for Manchester United meant, even when he hadn’t played a single game for the Red Devils.
A friend shortly called after he had scored the opening goal against France at the same World Cup and said “remember the name, Javier…. Javier Hernandez (a slight pause, just like the way James Bond discloses his name)”. He had become the voice of every United fan after his brilliant goal where he spotted the through ball from Rafael Marquez and calmly finished it by fooling a charging Hugo Lloris. The goal reminded the people of the Brazilian phenomenon and it was truly a Ronaldo – esque.
Expectations were lived as Chicharito started to write the destiny from his own hand. He came on as a substitute and kept on scoring some vital goals, scoring a total of 20 goals in all competitions in his debut season. His form forced Sir Alex to leave the Premier League’s top scorer Berbatov out of the Champions League final against Barcelona.
This was some three and half years back and actually registered in history. Just when you start getting everything at you feet, experiencing things from out of the blue, getting rewards more than you expect, comes a phase when you learn that there is a test to pass. The struggle to remain match fit throughout the season did not help Chicharito to match the performance of other quality strikers in the team.
With limited opportunities, Chicharito has scored 7 goals including the crucial equaliser against Sunderland in the Capital One Cup semi-final that brought back memories of the Old Manchester United’s late comeback. Chicharitos’s season has not been really great in terms of the matches he would have liked to play. An unused sub for a colossal number of times, the last match against Crystal Palace was marked as 11th such incident this season.
Chicharito’s late equaliser against Sunderland
Unlike many players who would have wanted a panic move, as the winter transfer window opened, sighting the world cup in June, the Little Pea had no such intentions. After Carlos Vela excluded his name from the World Cup squad, Hernandez will be an important figure for the Mexican National team.
However it is still not clear whether Hernandez will stay with the club after the FIFA World Cup. With interest to acquire the services of the player, clubs from all over from the world, look set to submit a lucrative bid, in order to lure him out of Old Trafford.
Is Javier Hernandez “the super sub”, as often compared to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer happy with role he is given?
Is he satisfied being the fourth choice striker behind Danny Welbeck?
Has the time arrived when he bids farewell to Manchester United?
A player of his calibre certainly needs to move on in order to make his name as a striker, or be satisfied, earning the title of a SUPER SUB. A similar case happened at Old Trafford a while back when long time servants and youth academy products Phil Neville and Nicky Butt were shown the door to maintain their level of being top class footballers. An emotional sight for every Mancunian, when they witness such a moment, where a player of Chicha’s potential who worships the club, has to leave.
To compete in the premier league one does need to work on his physical presence which is an attribute, he still lacks. A question raised a lot of times of about him being just a poacher, and not scoring goals from long range, also adds on weight if Moyes decides to let him go.
At 25, Hernandez still has a lot of years in his bag and the prime of his career still to be unleashed. He is still learning and in a recent match in the Premier League, he drifted to the middle of the park and passed a well crafted diagonal ball, that met Smalling’s run into the oppositions half; a rare sight, suggesting how hard he has worked, to get back in the starting eleven. To be honest, the chances he has got, he looks very creative, when the ball is played towards him.
A decision that every Manchester United fan awaits, even in the transition phase, where the club is looking to bring in world class players, it will still be what Hernandez wants, rather than facing the axe at Manchester United.
