Javier Chicharito Hernandez

Javier Hernández Balcázar  born 1 June 1988 is a Mexican footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United and the Mexican national team. Hernández plays with his nickname, Chicharito , on his shirt. He previously played for the Mexican club Guadalajara, before becoming the first Mexican player to join Manchester United.

Hernández made his debut for Mexico in September 2009 in a match against Colombia, he also represented them at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He was the Gold Cup's top scorer with 7 goals and was named the most valuable player of the tournament. He has made 33 appearances for Mexico and scored 23 goals.

Hernández was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco and first played in a recreation league when he was seven years old. His father, Javier Hernández Gutiérrez, himself a previous Mexican international striker, said he never thought his son would actually make it as a professional. Hernández joined C.D. Guadalajara at the age of nine and signed his first professional contract when he was 15. He was set to play in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, but an injury sidelined him from the team that ultimately won the championship.

Hernández began playing with Chivas' lower division team, Chivas Coras in Tepic, Nayarit in the 2005–06 season. He made his debut for Chivas in the 2006 Apertura in a win over Necaxa at Estadio Jalisco. With the score at 3–0, Hernández came on as a substitute for Omar Bravo in the 82nd minute, before scoring the fourth goal of the game five minutes later. It was his only goal in seven appearances in 2006–07. He made a further six appearances in 2007–08 without scoring.

Hernández made ten appearances in the 2008 Apertura without scoring, but he scored four goals in fifteen appearances in the 2009 Clausura. In the 2009 Apertura, Hernández finished as the joint-third top scorer, with eleven goals in seventeen appearances. He started the 2010 Torneo Bicentenario with eight goals in five games. He finished as a joint-leader in the goalscoring chart for the 2010 Torneo Bicentenario, with ten goals in eleven games and after spent 5 matches without playing because an injury he suffered.

Manchester United were first made aware of Hernández in October 2009; a scout went to Mexico that December and reported positively after watching a few games. Because of Hernández's age, the club originally planned to wait before making a move to sign him, but his potential involvement with the national team at the World Cup rushed the club into making a bid. United's chief scout, Jim Lawlor, was sent to Mexico for three weeks in February and March to watch Hernández and filed another positive report on him, before the club solicitor went over to Mexico to finalise the paperwork.

On 8 April 2010, Hernández agreed a deal to sign for Manchester United for an undisclosed fee, subject to a work permit application. The previous day, Hernández had been present at Manchester United's Champions League quarter-final win over Bayern Munich at Old Trafford. The deal was conducted in complete secrecy; Hernández's agent was kept in the dark, as was his grandfather Tomás Balcázar, who thought Hernández was going on a trip to Atlanta in the United States. As part of the deal, United played a friendly against Chivas to open their new stadium on 30 July. On 27 May, the work permit was granted, allowing the transfer to be made official on 1 July.

Hernández made his United debut on 28 July, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Nani in the 2010 MLS All-Star Game; he scored his first goal for the club 18 minutes later, lobbing the ball over Nick Rimando from just outside the area after a long through-ball from Darren Fletcher. Two days later, Hernández scored against Manchester United while playing in a friendly for his old club, Chivas; he started the game in a Chivas jersey and scored after just eight minutes. He switched sides at half-time, but he was unable to prevent a 3–2 defeat for Manchester United. He scored for the third pre-season game in a row as he netted in a 7–1 victory over a League of Ireland XI at the newly built Aviva Stadium on 4 August.

Hernández made his competitive debut on 8 August and scored his first goal in the process, netting United's second of a 3–1 victory over Chelsea in the 2010 FA Community Shield. He came on at the start of the second half and got on the end of a pass from Antonio Valencia before the Mexican's shot deflected off his own face and into the net. On 16 August, Hernández made his Premier League debut as he replaced Wayne Rooney in the 63rd minute of their 3–0 home victory over Newcastle United. He scored his first Champions League goal on 29 September, coming off the bench to score the only goal in an away win over Valencia.He scored his first league goal for United in a 2–2 home draw against West Bromwich Albion on 16 October. Eight days later he scored his first brace for the club, also his first away league goals, in a 2–1 away win over Stoke City.

Two days on from this display, he came off the bench to score a last-minute winner, his first ever League Cup goal, in a 3–2 win over Wolves which sent them through to the quarter-finals where they were then knocked out by West Ham United.On 1 January 2011, he came off the bench to head the winning goal in a 2–1 away win over West Bromwich Albion. Hernández became the top scoring Mexican in Premier League history after opening the scoring in a 2–1 home victory over Stoke City on 4 January. On 25 January, Hernández scored the equalising goal of a 3–2 comeback away win over Blackpool. Four days later he scored his first FA Cup goal as he netted the winner in a 2–1 away victory over Southampton. Hernández netted twice in a 4–0 away win over Wigan on 26 February. Eight days later, he netted a late consolation goal in a 3–1 derby defeat away to Liverpool. Hernández netted twice in a 2–1 home win over Marseille on 15 March, sending United through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. On 2 April, he scored the final goal against West Ham United as they came from two goals down to claim a 4–2 away win. On 8 April, Hernández was revealed as a contender for the PFA Young Player of the Year award alongside teammate Nani. He opened the scoring in the 2–1 quarter-final win over Chelsea in the Champions League, with the game ending 3–1 on aggregate, sending United through to the semi-finals. He continued his goal scoring form on 23 April scoring the winning goal with a header in the 1–0 home win over Everton. On 8 May, Hernández scored the opening goal in a 2–1 home win over Chelsea after just 36 seconds to leave United one point away from winning the title. The goal against Chelsea made him the first player since Ruud van Nistelrooy in the 2001–02 season to score 20 goals for the club in his debut season.Hernández capped his debut season with Manchester United by winning the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award on 18 May which was voted for by the fans. On 5 July 2011, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics named Hernández as the "World Goalgetter 2011", with 13 goals, ahead of other players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Giuseppe Rossi, and Lionel Messi.

After participating in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup with Mexico, Hernández returned to Manchester United to begin pre-season training in New York ahead of the 2011 MLS All-Star Game. On 26 July 2011, he was taken to the hospital after suffering a minor concussion after he was hit on the head with a ball during a training session; he was cleared the next day, but did not take part in the game. On 28 July 2011, it was reported that Rafael Ortega, the doctor at Chivas, informed Manchester United that Hernández was suffering from a pre-existing neurological condition. Ortega also explained that Hernández had suffered from "acute migraines and "headaches" as a teenager. He did not participate in any of United's pre-season matches, nor the 2011 FA Community Shield. He also missed United's opening game of the season against West Bromwich Albion.

Hernández made his first appearance in the 2011–12 season on 22 August in a 3–0 win against Tottenham Hotspur, coming off the bench for Danny Welbeck in the 79th minute. He returned to the starting lineup on 10 September against Bolton Wanderers, scoring twice in a 5–0 victory. On 15 October 2011, Hernández came off the substitutes bench to net a crucial equaliser against Liverpool at Anfield in a 1–1 draw. In the 81st minute Hernandez gambled on Danny Welbeck's flick on from a corner to steal in and head the equaliser. Hernández signed a new five year contract on 24 October to tie him to Manchester United until 2016.Hernández scored his fourth league goal of the season and the winner against Everton at Goodison Park, in a 1-0 victory on 29 October. Patrice Evra exchanged passes with Danny Welbeck down the left hand side before firing in a low cross to Hernández who had found space in the box to tap home unmarked.

Hernández was one of the 21 players called up to the Mexican under-20 national team for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada; he wore the number 11 shirt.

On 30 September 2009, Hernández made his debut for Mexico against Colombia, where he made an assist in a 2–1 loss. On 24 February 2010, Hernández scored two goals against Bolivia and had an assist for Braulio Luna's goal. On 3 March, Hernández scored a header against New Zealand, giving Mexico the lead in a 2–0 victory. On 17 March, Hernández scored his fourth international goal to give Mexico a 2–1 victory over North Korea. On 26 May, he scored a consolation header against the Netherlands in a 2–1 loss. On 30 May, Hernández scored yet again, netting twice in a 5–1 victory over Gambia.

On 11 June, Hernández made his FIFA World Cup debut during the opening game of the 2010 tournament against South Africa in a 1–1 draw, coming on in the 73rd minute to replace Guillermo Franco. On 17 June, Hernández again came off the bench and this time scored his first ever World Cup goal, netting the first in a 2–0 victory over France by springing the offside trap, latching onto a through ball from Rafael Marquez, sidestepping Hugo Lloris and sidefooting into the net. By scoring he emulated his grandfather, Tomás Balcázar, who scored against France in the 1954 World Cup. He was elected as man of the match. On 27 June, Hernández made his first start at a World Cup and netted his second goal of the World Cup, by turning Martín Demichelis on the edge of the box before sending a left-foot shot into the roof of the net, in Mexico's 3–1 loss against Argentina in the round of 16. FIFA's statistical analysis showed that Hernández was the quickest player in World Cup 2010, reaching a top speed of 32.15 km/h.

On 5 June 2011, he scored a hat-trick, the first in his career, in a 5–0 win against El Salvador. On 9 June 2011, he scored two goals, in the 36th and 76th minutes against Cuba. On 18 June 2011, Hernández scored the winner in a 2–1 win over Guatemala to send Mexico to the semi-finals. On 22 June 2011, he helped Mexico reach the Gold Cup Final after a 2–0 win over Honduras in extra-time, where he scored Mexico's second goal in the 99th minute. Hernández was the Gold Cup's top scorer with seven goals and was named the most valuable player of the tournament, in addition to helping his team to a 4–2 victory in the Final against the United States.

Hernández scored another goal in his first match for Mexico since the World Cup, in a friendly against world champions Spain on 11 August 2010. He scored after just 12 minutes of the match, but David Silva equalised for Spain in the last minute of play to claim a 1–1 draw. Hernández scored his and Mexico's first international goal of 2011 as he opened the scoring in a 2–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on 9 February. On 26 March, Hernández scored two goals in an international friendly against Paraguay. He first connected with a pass from Pablo Barrera in the sixth minute of the match, before scoring off a low cross in the 29th minute, three minutes after fellow teammate Andres Guardado had made the score 2–0. He exited to a standing ovation in the 65th minute.