HIS NICKNAME ‘CHICHARITO’ means ‘little pea’, but ex-Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez is proving to be a big deal for Bayer Leverkusen ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League match at Monaco.
The 28-year-old netted a hat-trick — his second in Germany’s top flight — in helping Leverkusen come from 2-1 down to claim a 3-2 win at Mainz on Saturday.
“Thank God, he’s in form at just the right time,” said Leverkusen’s coach Roger Schmidt after the Mainz fightback.
After five years at Old Trafford, Chicharito quit the Red Devils in August 2015 for Leverkusen’s ‘Werkself’ and has banged in 21 goals in 32 league games in Germany’s top flight.
Having fractured his arm in an accident at home in August, Hernandez was not fully fit when he played the first 45 minutes of Leverkusen’s opening Champions League group match at CSKA Moscow a fortnight ago.
He helped his side to a 2-0 half-time lead, only for the Russians to fight back for a 2-2 draw. The Mexico international is key to Leverkusen’s chances of getting a first win against Monaco at the fourth attempt. Hernandez’s hat-trick at Mainz proves he is back to his best, according to Schmidt.
“He wasn’t fully fit, but now he’s back on top form. It also helped him that he had a strike partner in the closing stages when Stefan Kiessling came on as that gave him more room to operate,” said Schmidt. “He doesn’t hesitate when he gets a chance.”
He certainly didn’t when the chance came along to bag the winner two minutes into injury time.
“I am obviously very happy, but my thanks go to my team-mates, who had a big game,” said Hernandez. “We had some luck, but the late goal was a reward for that hard work.”
The victory was important after two recent setbacks, for both Leverkusen and Chicharito. He missed a penalty in their 2-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt ten days ago and then failed to score in last Wednesday’s goalless draw with Augsburg.
With four league goals this season, he is just one behind Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski amongst the Bundesliga’s top scorers.
“He certainly did not win all his battles, but he won the important ones. That demonstrates his wily ability to know where the ball should go,” said Leverkusen’s director of sport, ex-Germany international Rudi Voeller.
Chicharito’s stats in Mainz speak volumes: he scored three goals and hit the post with his four attempts.
“I don’t know anybody who is as good as he is in front of goal,” marvelled Leverkusen’s Germany forward Kevin Volland.
Signing the Mexican international was a big coup for Bayer. Hernandez has already played in a Champions League final, when his Manchester United team lost 3-1 to Barcelona in the 2011 showcase at Wembley.
Leverkusen have yet to progress further than the last 16 of the Champions League since losing the 2002 final to Real Madrid.
But with the ‘little pea’ in their ranks, Leverkusen have big ambitions.
The IRFUs illegal policy of only 4 NIQ players per province will make it near impossible for him to get a pro contract in Ireland.
Despite being an Irish citizen, the fact he has played for Luxembourg means he will be classed as a foreigner and most likely denied a contract unless he turns out to be exceptional.
A shame really – best of luck to him at Queens
@Finn McCool: Hardly illegal if he cannot fulfil a key requirement for a job. A job that he does not actually have. Remember, all 4 teams are IRFU teams, not independent private clubs. Also, he is of Irish heritage but appears to consider himself from Luxembourg and has great pride in representing them. Like the younger Brennan boys born in France. Anyway, fair play to him and I hope he achieves his goals.
@Finn McCool: They’ve done away with the hard and fast rule for a case by case basis depending on provincial needs, IQ depth in that position and NIQs already there in that position across the provinces. Either way, nothing at all illegal about it.
@SomeGuy: Nationality Quotas in sport were abolished by the EU Courts in the mid 1990s – the infamous Bosman ruling – it is illegal to deny someone a job because of their nationality. Being eligible for the Irish National team is not a key requirement of the job of playing for the provinces – despite what the IRFU may claim.
Hence why FFR have adopted the JIFF rule, the FA the homegrown rule – they are finding ways around the Bosman ruling by requiring clubs to have a % of players that have been based in a that country for a certain number of years before a certain age as they know a nationality quota wouldn’t stand up in court.
@Finn McCool: would NIQ not be the same thing? Like its nothing to do with nationality. It’s about qualifying for the irish team. Connacht got rid of an irish outhalf cause he played for the US. Whereas CJ Aki Kleyn Lowe Gibson Park etc are all irish qualified now despite growing up somewhere else. The rule isnt racist or bigoted. It’s all about providing players for the national team.
@Rudiger McMonihan: Exactly rudiger. Nothing to do with nationality and everything to do with eligibility for our national team. Kleyn isn’t an Irish citizen, and McGinty is. Kleyn is free to play on Ireland but AJ is restricted.
@Peter McCarthy:
It’s still indirect discrimination. Basic tenant of EU employment law – every EU citizen should have the same opportunity for the same job regardless of their nationality.
National team selection has an exemption, club team selection does not.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303537688_Nationality_Based_Playing_Quotas_and_the_International_Transfer_System_Post-Bosman
@Finn McCool: so you think the IRFU should employ someone who cannot work for them?
@Chris Mc: does the IRFU only employ people to play for the national team?
Best of luck with the new adventure Tony!