Javier Hernandez’s Golden Moment: Is it Luck, or is it Form?
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Frustration, eagerness, aggravation. One can only imagine the feelings that Real Madrid supersub Javier Hernandez has experienced during his current campaign with the Spanish club. Hernandez, however, has kept his emotions in check and continued to prepare for the moment when the opportunity to prove himself would arrive. That moment would be during one of the most important weeks of the year for “Los Blancos”. Has it been simply luck or perhaps even form or has the Mexican striker’s skills simply been overshadowed by the football giants at Real Madrid?
Hernandez’s chance began on April 11 in a league match against 16th-placed Eibar. Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti started the Mexican striker, presumably to test him against one of the weaker teams in the league. Hernandez played as expected that night. He made some good runs, played some nice passes, and although he missed some chances, he was not too greedy with the ball. He even managed to score the second goal in Madrid’s 3 – 0 victory with a well-headed strike to the far post to finish off an Alvaro Arbeloa cross in the 31st minute. It was not exactly the best performance of his career, but it was a decent performance by the “typical” Chicharito.
Just one week before Real Madrid were set to face off against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Champion’s League, the French number nine, Karim Benzema, picked up a small knee injury during training. Benzema was unable to recover in time for Madrid’s bout against seventh-placed Malaga the following Saturday weekend. To make matters worse, even as Ancelotti factored the Frenchman’s injury in his lineup against Malaga, Welsh forward Gareth Bale picked up an injury in his left soleus just five minutes into the match, forcing the Italian manager to make an early substitution.
This series of unfortunate injuries paved the way for Hernandez to begin proving himself. The Malaga match was where Hernandez seemed to realize the magnitude of the opportunity before him, and he looked as if he finally came alive. Hernandez was beating defenders with pace and proper cuts, his runs were correct and effective, he made an effort to fight with opposing defenders for the ball, he even found himself crossing the ball, and perhaps most importantly, he recognized when his teammates were in better positions than he was, and he made some correct choices. All told, he had a wonderful performance, and looked like he was ready to seize his moment and fight to stay with Madrid for another season. He was denied a couple of times and missed a couple of opportunities but ultimately took the ball down to the touchline off of a rebound and placed a low pass into the box for Cristiano Ronaldo to easily tap in. Hernandez’s performance was well above what his previous performances had shown, considering the amount of time he has accumulated all season. Watch Hernandez’s performance highlights below.
The next challenge was against Atletico Madrid. His confidence was through the roof and the time had finally come for Hernandez to make a difference in the match. In this Champion’s League bout, Hernandez played with similar enthusiasm but seemed a little more greedy. He took on more chances at goal and at some points did so despite his teammates being in better positions. His pace continued to be a major factor in the match and despite being denied a few times, he ultimately found the back of the net, scoring the only goal in the match and the goal that would send Real Madrid to the semifinals of the Champion’s Leagu.
Just a few weeks ago, Hernandez had expressed his frustration at his lack of playing time, and now, here he was scoring a late winner in a local derby to see his team through. It was almost as if Ronaldo was ready to return the favor. Against Malaga, it was Hernandez who fought down the right side of the pitch to get in position and laid the ball off to Ronaldo for the finish. This time, in one of the most important games of Madrid’s current campaign, Ronaldo was the one who powered the ball into the right side of the box and cut inward. When he realized he had three Atletico players, including goalkeeper Jan Oblak, between him and the goal he laid the ball off to Hernandez for a simple tap in. Watch Chicharito’s performance highlights below.
With the bragging rights of scoring the goal to move Real Madrid into Champion’s League semifinals, Hernandez had one more test ahead of him before the return of Benzema. On April 26th Real Madrid faced off against 9th-placed Celta Vigo. Hernandez once again started for “Los Blancos” and made the most of the opportunity to demonstrate his talent.
Hernandez looked like a new player who had been playing at the top level for an extended period of time. He handled himself professionally and made the most out of his time on the ball. It was as if he was the only starting striker at Madrid and he was ready to prove why. His first goal of the night came from a well put-together exchange of passes between himself and James Rodriguez on the right side of the pitch in the 24th minute. Hernandez made his way into the box and near the goal line before placing his shot into the lower right side of the goal past Celta’s keeper, Sergio Alvarez. He continued to create chances for Madrid and finally netted the goal that would secure the match in the 69th minute.
The goal was a product of a dangerous diagonal run into the box that Sergio Ramos was able to spot. Ramos placed a nicely lobbed through ball that Hernandez reached at the edge of Celta Vigo’s 18-yard box. Hernandez brought the ball down with his first touch and then placed the shot past Alvarez into the lower right side of the goal again. Real Madrid, who looked a little shaky on defense all night, were able to clinch the victory and stay alive in the title race with Hernandez’s goals. Watch Hernandez’s highlights below.
This good spell for Hernandez has put him in the spotlight recently as he has continued to prove his worth to Madrid’s fans and Ancelotti. Although Madrid have not made their option to buy active, Chicharito’s recent form could see him earn a longer stay in the Spanish capital. If that is not the case, he has surely attracted the attention of other European clubs. The question is, can Hernandez keep up his good form and prove that he is a good player, or will we see a dip in the Mexican striker’s performances?