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In an interview with iconic EPL defender Rio Ferdinand, Javier Hernández delivered some fascinating insights about his time at Manchester United. Hernández, better known by his nickname Chicharito, played for the EPL club for four years since his arrival from Mexican club Guadalajara. He was a fan favourite at Old Trafford and shared the stage with several other EPL legends, winning several trophies along the way.
Ferdinand noted how Chicharito has always been a focused and dedicated player right since day one of training with United. The Englishman then asked the Mexican of the impact that Sir Alex Ferguson had on his stay in the EPL. An excited Chicharito began to express the incredible impact that the legendary manager had on his career.
'Sir Alex knew that United was the most important thing' says former EPL star
Chicharito began talking about Sir Alex's treatment of foreign players, saying,
"Sir Alex would make sure that every time something would happen (altercation between player and manager), after the game in the next couple of days he would make sure that I didn't take it personally. We could have a drink, hang out, or chat but at that moment, he's the manager."
He then recalled an incident with an EPL player who was hooked at half-time and got the 'hairdryer' treatment from Sir Alex. But, to the amusement of Chicharito, he saw them both laughing the following day.
"This is one thing about Sir Alex's character that I have ever seen any other manager have. At the end, he knew that what's important was Manchester United. He was incredible because he could separate between what is work and what is personal. He was an excellent judge of character."
Ferdinand and Chicharito went on to reminisce over one of the latter's goals against Bolton Wanderers in the EPL. The Mexican made three different movements inside the opposition box to drag the defenders out and score an easy goal. Ferdinand compared Hernández' movement to that of former EPL great Ian Wright upon recollecting his own reaction to the goal.
Speaking about the movement of such 'old-school' strikers, Chicharito said,
"That movement to try and drag the defender out is something I've always had since early days. Strikers off-late are amazing but that type of movement is different. Now, I think (Mauro) Icardi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang because of his speed are those type of strikers. (Luis) Suárez for me is exactly that type of striker with the old-school movement."
When asked about the best striker he played with during his time with the EPL giants, the former United forward went on to list three strikers and his experience playing with them.
"I knew how to play with Wayne (Rooney), Berba (Dimitar Berbatov), and Robin (van Persie) and all three were just unbelievable for United."
However, he went on to say that former EPL Golden Boot winner Robin van Persie was the most complete striker he played alongside.
"In the time that I played with Robin, I felt that he was the most all-round striker of them. He could go in behind, he could come short and ask for the ball, he could even go to the wing and try to dribble. It was easy to play with him because I just need to look at him and I knew where he would go."
