Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez is one of the best strikers to ever come out of Mexico. He is Mexico’s all time goal scorer with 52 goals. He has played for some of the best clubs in Europe and is a fan favorite to Mexicans.
However, failing to get the call to the national team, it was looking like his career was going south. After taking the opportunity to move to Los Angeles that all changed. So how did the Galaxy help him change his career around?
Chicharito arrived to Los Angeles in 2020. The city has a big population of Mexican fans who were excited to see their beloved national team star play. He attracts a huge crowd in almost every city he plays in. This helped give him the confidence to find his form again. In 2021 he finished the season tied for second in the golden boot race with 17 goals.
After the World Cup in 2010, Chicharito moved to England to play for Manchester United. He had a successful run with 73 goals in 103 games with the club. However, Chicharito saw lack of minutes under David Moyes, which led them to loan him to Real Madrid for one year.
After not establishing a permanent spot with the Spanish giants, he went back to Manchester where he then agreed to sign a three year deal with German side Bayer Leverkusen. He had a good run with the team, scoring 28 goals over three seasons. He was even the teams top scorer during the 2015-16 season.
Since leaving Germany is when things began to go south for the Mexican. Dealing with several injuries, Chicharito had struggling seasons with both West Ham and Sevilla. He was also starting to get left off the Mexican national team roster. He has not played a game for Mexico since 2019.
With Chicharito performing well in the MLS, there have been rumors of Mexico head team coach Gerardo Martino in talks with Chicharito on a possible return to the national team.
Playing in his last year of his contract with the Galaxy, there are rumors of Chicharito possibly leaving the team after reports say he sold his mansion in Los Angeles.Regardless, Chicharito is ready to win another MLS cup for the Galaxy.
“The main objective here is getting the sixth [title],” Chicharito said according to the LA Times. “We want to be champions. I want to be a champion. And then, of course, we need to win as many games as we can, getting as much points as we can. If I need to score as many goals as I can, help my teammates with assists, goals, good performances, whatever. We all as an organization need to do to get to the playoffs and then try to gain the sixth championship.”
Chicharito regained his form and the mentality to win games again. Though the Galaxy were recently knocked out of the U.S Open cup by USL side Sacramento Republic FC and sit sixth in the Western conference, he want to bring a championship to the Galaxy over town rivals LAFC.
Even if Chicharito does not stay with the Galaxy beyond this season, he will have the confidence that he still has it in him to be a solid striker even at the age of 34 years old.
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