A good striker becomes the best version of himself after missing around 1,000 goals. This kind of popular wisdom applies to Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, who improves with every mistake he makes. He is brave and daring enough to just take the ball and go for the goal. “Chicharear” is sometimes used to describe a faux pas in soccer, but there’s no doubt Chicharito is also one of the smartest players in Mexican fútbol.
Yesterday in Bruges, Chicharito had a nightmare of a game, but we believe he can wake up and reach his dream of becoming one of the best forwards in the world.
Here are five of Chicharito’s greatest mistakes on the field:
Against Panama
CH14 missed a penalty against Panama that would have put Mexico at 2-0. Instead, Mexico barely won, thanks to an almost miracle – an amazing Chilean goal by Raúl Jiménez. If not for Jiménez, Chicharito’s miss could have left Mexico out of the 2014 World Cup.
Against Costa Rica
In the last and defining game of the CONCACAF 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Chicharito missed a chance to score with an open goal. The goal would have put Mexico ahead 1-0; instead, they lost 1-2 and only made it to the World Cup because the United States scored against Panama in the last couple minutes of the game.
Against Cameroon
In the game against Cameroon in the 2014 World Cup, Hernández missed a chance when he headed the ball too high up the post after a great cross by Miguel Layún.
This fall when he was a Madridista.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj-UytnMkDU
Hernández slipped in front of the goal just when he was in a very good position to score. It was one of Chicharito’s most-remembered mistakes on Real Madrid.
And last but not least, the most recent nightmare.
Chicharito slipped as he attempted a penalty kick against Club Brugge K.V. in the Champions League qualifying round. The incident had manager Van Gaal making faces at assistant coach Ryan Giggs.