Chivas turn the page on the ‘Chicharito’ affair

It has been a controversial period of time in Guadalajara, particularly for veteran ex Manchester United and West Ham United forward Javier Hernández.

The striker signed by Sir Alex Ferguson to play in the Premier League for Manchester United and known as ‘Chicharito’ (translated to “little pea” from Spanish) was hit with sanctions from both Club Deportivo Guadalajara S.A de C.V. (nicknamed Chivas) and the Mexican Football Federation after posts on social media that stirred controversy and reached as far as Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, who labeled his comments as “sexist.”

As reported by the BBC, the Mexican forward posted on social media saying women are “failing” and “eradicating masculinity”. “Don’t be afraid to be women, to allow yourselves to be led by a man,” the former Mexico captain went on to say.

Mexico’s first female President, Claudia Sheinbaum, was direct with her comments saying: “Chicharito is a very good soccer [player] but when it comes to his opinion on women… he still has a lot to learn.”

Following Hernández’s club Chivas’ dramatic 4-3 win over Atlético de San Luis, head coach Gabriel Milito spoke publicly for the first time on the matter and made it clear: the issue is closed.

“I found out, but honestly, I read very little press, very little,” said Milito. “I focus heavily on the week, on preparing my matches. But I believe it’s a matter that is very clear and already closed by the club, through an official statement, and by Javier as well, in his own statement where he expressed his thoughts. I don’t have much more to add. It’s not that I want to dodge the question, but the issue is resolved. I want to focus purely on the game, on football. In this case, both Javier and the club have made things very clear in their communications. I have nothing more to say.”

Injuries keep Chicharito and Tapias out of the Leagues Cup

Milito also confirmed that neither Hernández nor Miguel Tapias will be traveling to the United States for the upcoming Leagues Cup due to injury. “They won’t be traveling because they won’t be in condition to play. They’ll stay behind to continue their recovery. With the range of options we have in the squad, I want to highlight the transfer window and how well we’ve built the team. Excellent players have arrived. The ones who were already here are quality, and I studied them before deciding to come here.”

The Argentine boss emphasized the club’s youth system, pointing out the depth on display. “Today five youngsters came on. We had Teun, Sandoval. Padilla, Miguel Gómez and Raúl Martínez went to play with the U21s. Last week, Conejo Brizuela was involved. With clear ideas and everyone understanding the message, the most important thing is the team. The team comes first. That’s how we’re selecting the players to finish games. The good energy and dynamics will help us grow stronger as a group.”

A wild win over San Luis shows room for improvement

Milito praised his side’s spirit after coming from behind to claim a 4-3 victory at home against Atlético de San Luis, but admitted there were areas in need of improvement. “The final result feels good because we won. That’s always important, especially in front of our supporters. But when you’re up 2-0 and allow a comeback, no coach likes that. We must improve. After going down 2-3, the team reacted well to level and eventually win it. We got the result, but we would have liked more control of the match, particularly while leading 2-0. There’s still plenty of room for growth.”

He added, “The game could have ended much worse for us. So in the end, the win is satisfying. This match will help us improve and grow stronger. I liked the way we started the game, but we couldn’t sustain that level.”

Armando González shines from the bench

One of the standout performers on the night was Armando González, who came off the bench to net a vital brace. Milito singled him out for praise. “Armando is a young player we believe in. As a coach, you have to decide who starts and who finishes matches. I consider all players who have a chance to play. It’s hard to manage minutes for everyone, but we’ll need them all during the season.”

Milito stressed the importance of impact substitutes. “We need players who may not start but come in to change games positively, just like Armando did. That’s the mentality we want in this squad.”

Chivas looking to build consistency

While happy with the win, Milito pointed to consistency as the next target. “There were strong stretches during the match, but also moments when they controlled us. San Luis are a very good team and showed that today. What we lacked was consistency, especially after going 2-0 up. We’ll work on that this week.”

The coach finished by applauding the newly inaugurated pitch at the Estadio Akron. “For how new it is, the field is not in perfect condition, but it’s still very good. There are no excuses regarding the pitch or officiating. The atmosphere was electric. Turning a chaotic match around and winning it like that created an explosion of emotions. I want that bond between the team and fans to grow stronger every day. That connection comes from playing brave, passionate, winning football. I dream of this team evolving and bringing joy to our people,” said Milito.

Hernández’s career summary

Chicharito spent 4 very productive years at Old Trafford where he scored 37 goals in 103 games, winning the Premier League twice with Manchester United before being sold by Dutch boss Louis van Gaal who didn’t see what SAF saw in the Mexican. United have had a history of selling players while they still have much to offer.

After spells playing for both Spanish giants Real Madrid and German giants Bayer Leverkusen, Hernandez returned to the Premier League for a rather underwhelming stint in East London with West Ham where he played 55 games between 2017 and 2019, scoring just 16 goals.

Chicharito then returned to La Liga signing for Sevilla after handing in a transfer request to the Hammers before the close of the transfer window in August 2019. In Sevilla he played just 9 games scoring a solitary goal during the 2019–20 campaign, before making the move to MLS where he played 4 seasons for the Los Angeles Galaxy, appearing in 74 games and adding a pretty impressive 38 goals..

Javier Hernández then went back home to Mexico signing a 2 year contract again for former club Chivas in 2023 where he remains today.