ALABAMA - They say you always come back to the places where you were happy. In Javier 'Chicharito' Hernández' case, Chivas de Guadalajara is where his heart is. After lots of speculation on his future, Guadalajara announced on Wednesday that 'Chicharito' will be returning to Chivas after 14 years with an emotional video in their social media handles.
'Chicharito' developed as a young and slippery striker with Guadalajara between 2006 and 2010, playing 78 games in all competitions and being part of 'El Rebaño's' squad during their title-winning campaign in the Apertura 2006.
A goalscoring title during the Bicentenario 2010 caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson, agreeing a deal with then Chivas owner Jorge Vergara to make "Chicharito" the first Mexican to ever play for Manchester United.
'Chicharito' won two Premier League titles with the English giants and started in the 2011 UEFA Champions League final. He also spent some time with Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, West Ham and Sevilla before returning to North America, although to the U.S. rather than Mexico.
After four seasons in MLS, "Chicharito" saw his LA Galaxy career halted when he suffered an ACL injury in June of last year. He closed his MLS chapter with 82 games for the Galaxy, scoring 39 goals and becoming the team's seventh all-time leading scorer. In his four seasons there, "Chicharito" made the All-Star game twice, claiming back-to-back LA Galaxy Player of the Year awards between 2021 and 2022.
Even though it wasn't a Hollywood ending for Hernández, he still had some bright moments during his stint. His 39 goals for the Galaxy rank second in his career for a club, only behind the 59 goals he scored as a Manchester United player.
Since leaving Mexico, 'Chicharito' had been an important member of all the teams he has played in. Only in his short stint at Sevilla he failed to play more than 20 games.
Perhaps a return to Mexico can bring out 'Chicharito's' best version, as Chivas are currently struggling for goals. During their Apertura 2023 campaign, Chivas was the sixth-worst offense in Liga MX scoring 22 goals, the lowest by any team that qualified to the playoffs.
If 'Chicharito' can in fact get back to his best, Chivas can help him make a comeback to the Mexican national team. The all-time goal scorer in the history of "El Tri" has not played a single game for the national team since 2019.
According to 'Chicharito', him and then-Mexico coach Diego Cocca had a conversation where he welcomed Hernández into the team. "I received a call weeks ago from Diego Cocca to inform me that, like myself and all the other Mexican players, our doors are open and everything would depend on our football level and the decisions that he makes," Hernandez said during a presentation for a real estate company he's an investor for.
He scored the last of his 52 international goals for Mexico almost five years ago, in a 3-0 win over the USMNT. "Chicharito" is not only Mexico's all-time leading scorer, he is also the Mexican with the most World Cup goals (4).
Chivas currently sits in 10th place in Liga MX after just two games played. Their next league game is against Xolos de Tijuana on Friday, Jan. 26 but Hernández' debut might need to wait longer, as he has not fully recovered from a knee injury he suffered in 2023.
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