Javier Hernandez Biography

Javier Hernandez, also known as Chicharito, born on 1 June 1988, in Guadalajara, is a Mexican football player who plays as a striker.

His best performance at club level was with

in the 2010/2011 season, where he won the

and the Community Shield, being one of the team's top scorers and beating greats such as Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen. He was named Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year. In the same season, he reached the final of the

, where his team lost to

, and finished runner-up in the tournament.

So far he has played 109 international matches for

, scoring 52 goals. His best performance for Mexico national team came in the 2011 Gold Cup, where he was named best player and Golden Shoe of the tournament after scoring seven goals in six games to win the tournament, his greatest achievement with the Mexican national team.

Javier is a striker known for his technique and skill in playing with both legs, especially in dribbling and passing. His technical ability and good pace give him agility and speed that complement his style of play.

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All You Need to Know About Javier Hernandez Biography

In this section of

Javier Hernandez biography

, we will share some more general information about him such as

Javier Hernandez nationality

to let you know him much better.

Javier Hernandez Bio

• Full Name: Javier Hernandez Balcázar

• Nickname: Chicharito

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Javier Hernandez Physical Stats

• Weight: 73 Kg

• Height: 1.75 m

• Eye Color: Green

• Hair Color: Black

Javier Hernandez Football Information

• Position: Striker

• Jersey Number: 14

• Professional Debut: 2006

Javier Hernandez Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 1 June 1988

• Birth Place: Guadalajara, Mexico

• Zodiac Sign: Gemini

• Nationality: Mexican

Stay tuned to this section of

Javier Hernandez biography

as we want to share some info about Javier Hernandez nationality.

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Javier Hernandez Early Life

Hernandez started playing football at the age of seven; two years later, he joined the youth team of one of Mexico's major clubs, Guadalajara. At the age of fifteen, Hernandez signed his first professional contract. His father - also named Javier Hernandez - was active in professional football himself and was a striker in the Mexican national team; he said about his son that he never thought he would see him in professional football and never expected to see his son in the highest Mexican league.

Hernandez made his debut in the first team of Guadalajara in the second half of the 2006 season in the first division against

. Leading 3-0, he replaced Omar Bravo, with whom he later played in the Mexican team. He debuted in the 82nd minute, followed by his first goal in professional football five minutes later when Hernandez scored the fourth goal for his team. In the 2006/07 season, he eventually made eight appearances in the Primera División.

The following season, Hernandez was less active with

; however, he did play for Chivas Coras, their lower division team. In twelve matches, Hernandez scored three goals and played alongside Marco Fabián, Alfredo Talavera and others, whom he would later meet at the international level. At Guadalajara, Hernandez played his first major international club match on 19 February 2008, in the

against Club San José (2-0 win).

Hernandez also played in the group matches against

from Brazil (1-0 loss) and Colombian Cúcuta Deportivo (1-0 loss). In the 2009 Apertura, Hernandez finished a joint third in the top scorer list (eleven goals), along with Aldo de Nigris and Humberto Suazo.

Javier Hernandez Profile

The 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons were Chicharito's most successful ones in Mexico: in both seasons he played more than twenty league games. In the 2009 Copa Libertadores, he scored three goals in the group stage against Everton de Viña del Mar. In his last season with Guadalajara, Hernandez scored 21 goals in 28 league matches and provided nine assists.

On several occasions, he was decisive in a match in the Liga MX. On 28 March 2010, against Santos Laguna (6-2 win), he scored one goal and gave four assists. Stay tuned to this section of

Javier Hernandez biography

as we want to share some info about his Man United career.

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Manchester United

In October 2009, Manchester United FC first spotted Hernandez. The club sent a scout to Mexico in December and had him draw up a report based on a few matches. The report was positive, but United's management wanted to wait with an official approach to the Mexican - his young age played a major role in this consideration.

However, the national coach of Mexico called up Hernandez for the national team, so United had to hurry. After all, if Hernandez were to be included in the selection for the 2010 World Cup, other clubs could start showing interest in him. So the chief scout was sent to Guadalajara and saw Chicharito score in all competitions. Manchester United then decided to offer him a contract, which took effect in July 2010.

The English club's coach, Alex Ferguson, feared that a top Spanish club would thwart the transfer and decided to keep everything surrounding the transfer under wraps; Hernandez's business manager, girlfriend and family members knew nothing about a transfer to

at first. On 8 April, Hernandez signed a contract with United, on the condition that he would receive a work permit. Part of the deal was a friendly match between CD Guadalajara and Manchester United to mark the opening of the Mexican club's new stadium. Javier Hernandez was the first-ever Mexican to sign with Manchester United.

His official debut followed on 28 July in the Major League Soccer All-Star Game against a representative team of the American Football League. He replaced Nani in the 63rd minute and formed the attacking line along with Danny Welbeck. Only twenty minutes later Hernandez scored his first goal for United by passing Darren Fletcher's pass with a curved ball.

Manchester United won 2-5. Two days later, Chicharito played for Manchester United in a match to mark the opening of the new stadium in Guadalajara: in the first half he played for his old team (one goal), in the second half he played for his new club. He made his competitive debut in the FA Community Shield match on 8 August against

(1-3 win) and scored in that game.

Edwin van der Sar, United's goalkeeper at the time, called Chicharito a "great talent" afterwards, who was impressed with his performance in pre-season and stressed the importance of the goal against Chelsea, as now the Manchester United supporters could see his worth. After all, his arrival was a surprise to English football supporters and Chicarito had been an unknown player whose qualities were still unknown.

Hernandez made his Premier League debut against

on 16 August, the first game of the league season. After an hour, he replaced Wayne Rooney to play alongside Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov. The match ended in a 3-0 victory for United at Old Trafford. On 14 September, Hernandez played his first match in the UEFA Champions League, in the group stage against Glasgow Rangers (0-0). Two weeks later, he was the only goal scorer in the away game against Spanish side

.

In the eighth matchday of EPL, Hernandez scored his first league goal against

(final score 2-2); a week later, he scored United's two goals in a match against Stoke City (1-2). In his first season in the Premier League, he eventually scored thirteen goals in 27 games. This put him second on the club's all-time scoring list behind Berbatov (twenty goals). With United, Hernandez played the final of the Champions League on 28 May 2011, which he lost 3-1.

He played the entire final, with Rooney behind him as a shadow striker. In all competitions combined, Chicharito scored twenty goals; he was the first player since Ruud van Nistelrooij in the 2001/02 season to score that many times in his debut season.

Hernandez returned to Manchester United after winning the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the summer of 2011 at a training camp in the United States. On 26 July, he suffered a minor head injury in training, which kept him out of action in pre-season and forced him to miss the Community Shield game and the first league game of the 2011/12 season.

Although United coach Ferguson ruled it a concussion, CD Guadalajara's club doctor reported that Hernandez had previously suffered from neurological problems and had also struggled with frequent migraine attacks in Mexico. On 22 August, he made his comeback in a home Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur (3-0 win).

A week later, Hernandez handed

the biggest defeat in their club history by winning 8-2 against them. He was not directly involved in any of the goals. In October, Chicharito signed a new five-year contract at United, committing himself to the club until 2016, at a time when he was being linked in media with a transfer to Real Madrid.

Although Chicharito had less time to play in the Premier League in the 2012/13 season, he was again involved in ten goals, including a goal (and an assist) in a game against West Bromwich Albion, which ended 5-5. Positioned as a shadow striker, he played the last game of the season, the second season that Hernandez won the title with United.

In the Champions League, he did appear more often, scoring three goals in six games. Hernandez scored nine goals in all competitions in the 2013/14 season. Primarily in a reserve role, he finished seventh on the league table with United under David Moyes, Ferguson's successor. Disappointing performances and consequently missing out on a place in European football led to Moyes' dismissal. His successor, Louis van Gaal, was announced in May 2014.

Hernandez played his first game under Van Gaal on 16 August, in the first match of the English league against Swansea City (1-2 loss). In a new 3-5-2 system, he was lined up alongside Rooney, who had brought United to a 1-1 draw on a pass from Phil Jones. Hernandez played his last game for Manchester United on 26 August in the English Cup tournament against Milton Keynes Dons FC. He played the entire match, which a defeat meant direct elimination and Van Gaal's first missed opportunity for a prize.

Stay tuned to this section of Javier Hernandez biography as we want to share some info about his Real Madrid career.

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Real Madrid

Javier Hernandez signed a contract on 1 September 2014 with Spanish side Real Madrid, which won both the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey in the 2013/14 season. At Manchester United, he was no longer needed at the moment, as Van Gaal had reached an agreement with AS Monaco on the arrival of Radamel Falcao as the new striker.

His contract was on loan, with an included option to buy at the end of the 2014/15 season. He was given the shirt number 14 in Madrid as well, which had become vacant following the departure of Xabi Alonso; at his new club, Hernandez would primarily play a role as a reserve for Karim Benzema. He made his La Liga debut on 13 September in the Madrid derby against Atlético. In this 1-2 lost match, he replaced Benzema after over an hour.

Two minutes after his arrival he received a yellow card for a foul. A week later, Chicharito scored two goals as a substitute for Gareth Bale in the 2-8 away win against Deportivo de La Coruña. Hernandez was given more playing minutes at the end of the season. On 22 April 2015, due to injuries to Bale and Benzema, he was allowed to play in the starting line-up in the Champions League quarter-final against Atlético Madrid.

The first match, for which he was not included in the squad, had ended 0-0. In this second game, Hernandez scored the only goal in the 88th minute on a pass from Cristiano Ronaldo that secured Real Madrid a place in the semi-finals. He spoke afterwards of the most important goal of his career; coach Carlo Ancelotti called his performance fantastic and the goal a well-deserved reward for Hernandez. Four days later, he started again in a league game against Celta Vigo. He scored two of the four Madrid goals (final score 2-4), keeping Real Madrid in contention for the national championship.

Bayer Leverkusen

After Real Madrid decided not to buy Chicharito, Hernandez left Manchester permanently in August 2015, signing a contract until mid-2018 with Bayer 04 Leverkusen, the Bundesliga number four in the previous season, which paid around €11 million for him to Manchester United. Hernandez made his debut for Leverkusen on 12 September 2015 in a league match against SV Darmstadt 98 (0-1 loss), as a substitute for Hakan Çalhanoğlu.

With Leverkusen, Hernandez played the first group match of the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League against BATE Borisov from Belarus on 16 September - Mexican Independence Day. On a pass from Kevin Kampl, he scored the 3-1 and his first goal in Leverkusen's tenure in the 58th minute. Fifteen minutes later Çalhanoğlu made it 4-1 with a penalty kick.

He finished his first season with 30 appearances and 17 goals in the Bundesliga, 3 appearances and 4 goals in the DFB Pokal, 6 games and 5 goals in the Champions League and 3 appearances in the Europa League. In his second season, he made 36 appearances and scored 13 goals in all competitions.

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West Ham United

After his departure from Leverkusen, Hernandez signed a contract until mid-2020 with West Ham United in July 2017, which had finished the previous season's Premier League's in 11th place. The club paid around €17,900,000 for him to

. In two seasons in England, he made a total of 63 appearances and scored 17 goals in all competitions.

Sevilla

On 2 September 2019, it was announced that Javier Hernandez had signed for Sevilla Fútbol Club for 8 million Euros, with a contract until 2022, and so the 31-year-old became the third Mexican player to play for the club after Miguel Layún and Gerardo Torrado.

On 5 September 2019, Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui stated the following about Chicharito: "A very complete striker in terms of skill level. He has pace, he has finishing, he has the experience, he has plenty of work rate and we want him to put all of that at the service of Sevilla."

Chicharito scored his first goal for Sevilla in the match Qarabağ in the first matchday of the UEFA Europa League group stage in the 62nd minute. In the winter transfer window of the same season, he left the club to join Los Angeles Galaxy.

LA Galaxy

On 21 January 2020, Chicharito moved to Major League Soccer to join the LA Galaxy. He signed a contract as a Designated Player with the franchise from Carson, California.

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Mexico National Team

Chicharito played his first international match in a friendly against Colombia (1:2) on 30 September 2009. He scored his first two international goals in a friendly against Bolivia (5:0) on 24 February 2010. On 17 June 2010, he gained international prominence when he scored Mexico's opening goal in a surprise 2:0 victory in a World Cup group stage match against then reigning World Cup finalists France. The win was also Mexico's first international victory over France.

In the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup matches, Chicharito played all matches for the Mexican national team and scored a total of seven goals, making him the second most prolific goalscorer in a single competition in Gold Cup history after fellow countryman Luis Roberto Alves, who managed to score 11 goals in 1993. In addition, Chicharito was voted the best player of the 2011 tournament.

On 25 March 2017, Chicharito scored his 46th goal in his 89th international match against Costa Rica, matching the previous sole record scorer, Jared Borgetti, who needed the same number of caps to reach this mark. On 27 May 2017, he scored his 47th goal in 91 international matches in Mexico's 2-1 loss to Croatia in Los Angeles, setting up the final goal and becoming the sole record scorer for the Mexican national team.

On 28 March 2018, he played his 100th international match in a friendly against Croatia. He was also nominated for the 2018 World Cup and scored his 50th international goal on 23 June 2018 when he netted the intervening goal in a 2-1 win over South Korea in their World Cup group match.

Stay tuned to this section of Javier Hernandez biography as we want to share some info about his playing style.

Style of Play

He has been described as a fast and strong player, and has a good header, shoots with both legs and usually from half distance. Chicharito was the fastest player at the 2010 World Cup, going at a top speed of 32.15 km per hour. Jesús Padilla former teammate of Chicharito described him as "incredible in the air", despite his short height. Former Man United defender Rio Ferdinand describes Chicarito as a striker who "moves the best in the world".

Reception

Many pundits regard Chicharito as one of the best strikers in the history of Mexican football. The American website The Sun, compared the player to Ole Gunnar Solskjær, for his high agility and good pace of play. He has also been compared many times to Hugo Sánchez and experts say he should surpass his marks. On 3 November 2010, he was named the third best striker in the world by IFFHS, behind only David Villa and Samuel Eto'o.

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Goal Celebration

Javier Hernandez never had a signature goal celebration to his name, and we have always seen him do different ones after scoring goals. For example, the sliding goal celebration is one of those we usually see him do. In November 2020, he celebrated his goal in the MLS as Le Bron James does with big steps in NBA and that got media attention.

Javier Hernandez outside Football

Javier Hernandez was the inspiration for the song 'Chico Is The Man', created by the group 'The World Red Army', which praises the player by describing his technical qualities and referring to his birthplace, the state of Jalisco; 'The World Red Army' also created the Manchester United chant 'Glory Glory Glory Man United'.

He took business administration classes at the Universidad del Valle de Atemajac when he was living with his parents in Guadalajara.

Javier Hernandez Personal Life

In this section of Javier, Hernandez biography let’s take a look into his private life and share some information about

Javier Hernandez life story

and

Javier Hernandez religion

.

Family, Children and Relationships

Javier Hernandez was nicknamed Chicharito about the former nickname of his father Javier, who was called Chícharo (pea) and was part of the squad of the Mexican national team that played in the 1986 World Cup on home soil; his father was also a striker. The same goes for his maternal grandfather, Tomás Balcázar, who played in the 1954 World Cup and scored in the match against France.

After moving to Manchester United, it was reported that Hernandez and his entire family were going to live in England, including his grandfather Balcázar.

In addition to his native language, Spanish, Hernandez speaks fluent English. He is also a Catholic.

On 20 March 2019, he married Australian model Sarah Kohan in the United States. The couple has a son named Noah who was born in London, England at 12:27 a.m. on Sunday, 16 June 2019.

Philanthropy

Chicharito became the Mexican ambassador for UNICEF on 26 May 2012, making him the third Mexican to assume the post, as did singers César Costa and Julieta Venegas respectively in 2004 and 2009. As an ambassador, he will take part in a series of activities to encourage children and adolescents not to abandon their studies.

He celebrated the post at a press conference, where he said he felt "proud and committed"; however, he refused to answer questions about how he felt about not being able to participate in the 2012 Summer Olympics and in his opinion, the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers. His response was that he was "[at the press conference] to talk about UNICEF, not about [his] profession".

Legal Issues

Right now there are no reports about any legal disputes or issues regarding Javier Hernandez on media.

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Javier Hernandez Career Statistics

In this section of Javier Hernandez biography, we will take a look into his career stats as s footballer both on the international and club level.

Club

During the 14 years that he is playing football, Javier Hernandez has so far played 436 matches and scored 158 goals. Without a doubt, the highlight of his career was the 157 matches he played in all competitions and 59 goals scored for Manchester United between 2010 and 2016.

International

As the record goalscorer of the Mexico national team, Javier Hernandez has played a total of 109 matches for his country, scoring 52 goals as of September 2019.

Javier Hernandez Honors

At the club level, Javier Hernandez has won some many titles and awards including Mexican Primera División, English Premier League, FA Community Shield, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Europa League.

With Mexico, he has also won CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2011 and the 2015 CONCACAF Cup.

Of his notable individual titles and awards, we can include Mexican Primera División Forward of the Season, Mexican Primera División Golden Boot, Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, Bundesliga Idol, CONCACAF Gold Cup MVP and many others.

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