Amidst the bedlam, chaos, excitement and euphoria that
surrounded our two marquee summer signings, Robin Van Persie and Shinji Kagawa,
a bold statement was made by the manager. No, not just those two coups that
have strengthened our attacking artillery, but this statement:
“Manchester United will see a better Javier Hernandez this
season”.
As always, Fergie knows best.
Hernandez exploded onto the English football scene by
scoring one of the stranger and more memorable debut goals in the Community
Shield against Chelsea
(with his head! They all count.) Aided by the fact that there was no language
barrier, Hernandez could speak very good English, his whirlwind opening twelve
months in Manchester
saw him plunder 20 goals in 45 appearances. Not a bad record at all considering
how long it takes some foreign imports to settle and acclimatise to new
surroundings. His form in his first season was the start of the long goodbye
for Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov, despite being our top scorer that season,
Hernandez started ahead of Berba in the Champions League final, much to the
Bulgarian’s annoyance.
However there is a rather cruel footballing stereotype, the
three S’s “Second Season Syndrome”. Not only does this apply to teams who had
survived their first season in England ’s
top division, but it can also be apt for foreign players. There can be little
doubting that Hernandez was an unknown quantity, he almost gave up on football
in his homeland due to a lack of playing time, astonishing really. The fact
that many knew little about our ‘little pea’ meant he was a fresh challenge for
defenders and a fearsome one at that. Much of his success can be put down to
his relative obscurity and humble footballing background.
Continue reading about the what a difference Chicharito has made this year at Mufclatest.com!
0 comments:
Post a Comment