Chicharito Hernández

Biography of Chicharito Hernandez

Javier Hernandez Balcazar, better known simply as Chicharito Hernandez or just “Chicharito,” is a Mexican soccer player who has played for teams such as Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, West Ham, and Los Angeles Galaxy. He was born on June 1, 1988 in the city of Guadalajara, in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Chicharito comes from a family of soccer players, as his grandfather, Tomas de Balcazar, was a star of Club Deportivo Guadalajara and one of the players who participated in the 1954 World Cup on behalf of Mexico; and his father, Javier “Chicharo” Hernandez, was one of the main players for Tecos Football Club and also participated in the 1986 World Cup, which was hosted by Mexico.

His soccer career began in the youth categories of Club Deportivo Guadalajara at the age of nine. For the 2005-06 season, he played for a team from Tepic, Nayarit, called Chivas Coras. He later played six games for Guadalajara without scoring a goal. For the Apertura tournament in 2008, he returned to play seven games without scoring, and the following year he scored four goals in a total of fifteen games. Nevertheless, in 2009 he became the third-highest scorer in the Mexican competition with a total of eleven goals in just seventeen games. With this performance, he secured a place in Guadalajara’s starting lineup.

As a starter, Chicharito had a good performance with Guadalajara, so offers from European teams such as Spanish team Valencia, Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, or German team VfL Wolfsburg didn’t take long to arrive. However, Chicharito knew how to wait and by 2010 he had signed a five-year contract with the English team Manchester United. To celebrate this, both teams played a friendly match at the Omnilife Stadium, where Javier spent some time in the ranks of Guadalajara and some time in those of Manchester United. In July of that same year, Chicharito made his official debut during the preseason in a match against the American MLS team Las Estrellas, against whom he scored his first goal in the eighty-third minute of play. Thus began the 2010-2011 season with sporadic appearances, scoring in the League of Ireland XII, in the Premier League, and in the UEFA Champions League. With this performance, the coach of the Spanish team Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho, was interested in him; although he never made a transfer due to the contract that prohibited the Mexican from leaving Manchester for at least 50 million euros.

For the following season, between 2011 and 2012, Chicharito Hernandez was absent due to a hospitalization he had in July, although he was able to return in August, scoring goals against teams such as Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool, Everton, and Newcastle United. For the following season, 2012-2013, he had a great performance, being recognized by the fans as the best player of October. After another successful season, 2013-2014, Chicharito was signed by Real Madrid for one season, with the possibility for the club to buy him. In this way, Chicharito scored his first goal and first double with the white shirt in a match against Deportivo de La Coruna in September 2014. With the merengues, he would win that same year the World Cup of Clubs organized by FIFA in Morocco. One year later, he would play as a starter in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League due to injuries suffered by teammates Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, scoring the winning goal against Atletico Madrid.

However, despite the nine goals and five assists that Chicharito achieved with the Spanish team during thirty-one played matches, taking fifth place among the team’s top scorers that season, Chicharito Hernandez was transferred to the German team Bayer 04 Leverkusen, signing a four-year contract. In that season, 2015-2016, he reached 100 goals with professional level clubs, participated again in the UEFA Champions League, and had his best season with a total of 26 goals in 40 games, being the fourth top scorer in the league. After another season with this German team, 2016-2017, Chicharito was transferred to West Ham United.

After what had been, until then, his worst goal-scoring season, Chicharito joined Sevilla Football Club in September 2019 after three seasons with West Ham United in England. However, his performance at Sevilla was not as expected and, after scoring only 3 goals in 15 games, he was transferred to Los Angeles Galaxy during the same season in the winter transfer window.

Since his arrival at Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicharito has experienced a noticeable change in his lifestyle. He has significantly increased his presence on social media with the help of coach Diego Dreyfus and has been involved in some controversies due to his controversial statements. Although he has achieved his highest goal average with the American team, he has been blamed for the team’s sporting failures on several occasions. The team has not yet managed to proclaim itself champion in any of the competitions.

For the Mexican national team, he would start by playing for the Under-17 team and later play for the Under-20 team. Already in 2009 he would debut with the Mexican national team in a match against the Colombian national team, in which, despite the 2-1 defeat, he would make an assist. In 2010, like his father and grandfather, Chicharito would play in the World Cup in South Africa, reaching the quarter-finals with his team. This same performance, having him in the lineup, would be repeated by the Mexican national team during the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.