By Ridge Mahoney
The good start for Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez at Bayer Leverkusen is bad news for U.S. soccer fans.
What’s bad aboutit? In a U.S.-centric sense, everything. No longer is Hernandez an erratic player whose pedigree (his father played professionally) and high-profile persona exceeds his laudable accomplishments. Lessthan three months into his first season in the German Bundesliga, he’s scored 10 goals in all competitions and drew praise from club CEO Michael Schade, whosaid at the SPONSORs Club Manager Summit 2015, “He is a complete merchandise package.
“He is a legend in Mexico. The media hype he has created is unbelievable. He has exceeded allour expectations, for the Bayer company, too.”
Leverkusen has long sought out international players who could promote its brand as well as generate results. Some panned out as players,some were mainly marketing tools. It knew well the limitations of former USA international Frankie Hejduk when it signed him in 1998, but used him in promotional programs while it sorted outhis soccer attributes.
One newspaper showed a cartoon of Hejduk on a surfboard, riding a wave as it crashed over the lip of the BayArena. The team’s scoring star at the time,international Ulf Kirsten, several times expressed admiration for Hejduk’s workrate and once saluted him in a goal celebration by spreading his arms wide and leaning back and forth as ifon a surfboard. Several teammates, and Hejduk, of course, joined in.
Hejduk left Leverkusen in 2003 after playing just 19 first-team games and returned to MLS to play in Columbus, which hehelped win its only MLS Cup in 2008 and now works as a goodwill ambassador. Hernandez — who wears the No. 7 jersey adorned by “Chicharito” on the back — may not stay in Germany as long butit’s looking like a shrewd move for production as well as publicity. From the American perspective, that’s not good.
In the early part of the last decade, it didn’t seem tomatter how many Mexicans and Americans were playing in Europe or in their domestic leagues; the U.S. won more than its share of head-to-head encounters. That is no longer the case. The psychologicaledge has worn away. Mexican players returning to North America to play in the Gold Cup or qualifying matches seldom struggle with jet lag and climate changes as did their many of their predecessors,and those who stay at home to play in Liga MX compete in a competitive league stocked with several dozen players good enough to play for El Tri.
Mexico needed a spectacular goal in overtime byPaul Aguilar to down the USA, 3-2, last month in the Concacaf Cup at the Rose Bowl, but seldom did the American attackers match their Mexican counterparts. Hernandez opened the scoring in the10th minute and Oribe Peralta of Club America tallied in the first period of overtime. The injury absence of Giovani Dos Santos didn’t impair Mexico’s ability topenetrate the final third and get chances. It outshot the USA. 23-14 and controlled more than 63 percent of the possession.
(For the record, 10 of the 23 Mexican players chosen by former headcoach Ricardo Ferretti for the Concacaf Cup play for European clubs. Jurgen Klinsmann selected nine Euro-based players and two who are employed by Mexican teams. None of them wereforwards.)
The ascendancy of Hernandez contrasts with the fortunes of several U.S. goalscorers: Clint Dempsey slipped this year from very solid performances in 2014, JozyAltidore remains a hit-or-miss proposition, and the heart and hard work of Chris Wondolowski are only moderately productive at the international level.
So dire is the U.S. situationup front that Galaxy striker Alan Gordon has been recalled, again, for qualifiers against St. Vincent & The Grenadines (on Friday) and Trinidad & Tobago (Tuesday). Gordon is a tough,honest player who can battle with anyone, but he started only seven of 29 league games for the Galaxy in 2015.
Youth is being served for the qualifiers in forwards Bobby Wood (he turns23 next week) and Jordan Morris (21). Wood has already scored three international goals – including an overtime goal at the Rose Bowl last month — and Morris netted his first goalat the senior level last April against Mexico in a friendly. They have yet to play in a Concacaf World Cup qualifier. As for Euro club experience, Wood plays for Union Berlin in Bundesliga 2.
Hernandez still has much to prove at Leverkusen, yet already rumors have surfaced he could be on his way to Chelsea, a move he might be ready for. Jumping from Chivas to Manchester United at age 21heaped too much attention and expectation on a player still honing his abilities, and a loan to Real Madrid hardly lessened the burden to produce. Still he scored 44 goals for two of the world’sbiggest clubs, and despite his up-and-down performances at the club level he’s managed to tuck away 42 goals for Mexico. On the all-time list he is second behind Jared Borgetti (46). At26, he seems certain to not only overtake Borgetti but top his mark by a considerable margin.
Jesus Corona is a 22-year-old attacker who’s been showing great potential. Like Mexicoteammates Hector Herrera and Miguel Layun, Corona plays for Porto, and along with Hernandez illustrates how the border nations compare on their front lines. Corona ison the roster named by new Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio for Mexico’s qualifiers this month against Honduras and El Salvador. Named to that squad along withHernandez and Peralta were Raul Jimenez of Benfica and Carlos Vela of Real Sociedad.
What? You mean Julian G is not ready for prime-time yet.Fire JK. Relieve GS of his meal ticket. Put an American back in charge. At least half a dozen off the top of my head would be a much better choice than what we have now.Time for wakey wakey………..
Firing JK would make all those excellent Mexican players suddenly play worse. Magic! And it must be JK’s fault that Mexican players are finding increased success in Europe while U.S. players are going in the opposite direction. I sure hope JK doesn’t point this problem out…oh, wait a minute….
Corona is part of the squad called up for the qualifiers, he was not passed over as the note indicates
I disagree that Chicharito’s success in Germany is bad for the US. Sure, a stronger Mexican team makes head to head games more difficult for the US, but it’s not like only one team from the region can make it to the World Cup. And Mexican success in Europe should help build respect for CONCACAF (and therefore provide more opportunities for American players as well; at least as long as the US-Mexican rivalry is competitive). So I applaud Chicharito’s success rather than fear it.
Bottom line, we have some good players and we have some better players; and we don’t know yet about the untested players. But one thing for sure is that we don’t have top quality consistent players that show up and make things happen. In that case, the team tactics and concept needs to be altered to fit what is.
The U.S. has a dismal record compared with Mexico with our youth programs. The record speaks for itself. Furthermore, JK has said many times that the reverse migration of U.S. players then in Europe back to MLS was not a good idea. All of those players are playing at a lower level than before, regardless of the age issue (i.e. Altidore). We need such a huge housecleaning it’s difficult to know where to start. But giving these youngsters like Wood, Morris, and others more chances will determine if they’re ready. If they’re not, then … what’s next?
Jozy Altidore should not even be on the roster! Worthless striker. Yet dumbass JK keeps calling him in every time. Time for Klinsmann to be fired too! And Alan Gordon on roster too??? good god!!
Hey Dan Phillips, question for y’all: Did Jazzy diss you? Yes I agree with you but ranting about getting him off the team on this site ain’t going to happen. As for the Chicharito article, it is ABOUT him, not Altidore, and as someone above points out, why should we fear his ascendancy with Bayer Leverkusen? And getting rid of Klinsi ain’t gonna make us better!
This is one area where Klinsmann is not to blame.
I think we are beyond the point where Concacaf is viewed as one entity abroad. when players from Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, etc succeed overseas it helps players in those countries, just as McBride, Dempsey, Reyna, Harkes, Keller, freidel, et al did by emerging from domestic soccer to excel overseas.Chicharito is a Mexican player not a Concacaf envoy. unlike some of the USA dual nationals raised in Europe, he learned his game in Mexico and his success does nothing to boost the stock of American players.