New head coach for 'El Tri', Miguel Herrera, announced he would not have Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez for Mexico's match against New Zealand on November 13 and 20. Herrera mostly called players from his former club, CF America. Although this decision may be surprising, to some it makes sense.
Hernandez hasn't been at his peak lately with both his club, Manchester United, and his national team, Mexico. The striker has thought about leaving United the past year or so because he hasn't gotten as much playing time as he is used to. Manchester United coach David Moyes has also commented on Hernandez's performance noting the fact the player has been tired because of Mexico's call for duty.
Hernandez isn't the only European player left out of 'El Tri's' list. Most of the European
players, like Hector Moreno, have been excluded from the list because Herrera expressed the travel time would leave the players too exhausted for a top-level performance in New Zealand.
However, Hernandez's exclusion from Mexico's squad makes sense, not just because of the travel time. His performance at Mexico doesn't seem like what many Mexico fans (like myself) are used to. If I may say so myself, every time Chicharito gets the ball I'm not as excited as I was when he first started for the national team. I used to have more confidence in his performance, but lately it seems to be slipping.
A perfect example of Chicharito's lack of confidence in his own ability could go back to the annulled goal versus Costa Rica where instead of putting the ball in the back of the net himself, he decided to give it to Mexico's striker Oribe Peralta. The offsides annulled the goal and fans were not happy with Hernandez's last second decision to give the ball up.
Another example? The missed penalty against Panama. Hernandez doesn't do a good job at hitting the ball where it needs to be. A perfect penalty, by the book, is a low, strong shot, to the right, and away from the keeper (of course). Hernandez's penalty, however, becomes an easy save for Panama's goal keeper.
Missed penalties and missed opportunities aren't all that should define a player, especially not Hernandez. Don't get me wrong, he's done more for Mexico than anyone could've ever imagined. He's beat Hugo Sanchez's record of most goals for Mexico as he rounds up 35 goals to his name and is not far off from Jared Borgetti's record. The kid has done a lot with his career, but needs a break from the pressure.
It's no doubt the pressure of 'El Tri' has gotten to a lot of the players. From a sports psychology stand point one could say the confidence of the team has plummeted for numerous amounts of reasons: not doing well in World Cup Qualifiers, Gold Cup, Confederations Cup, but most of all for feeling the pressure of an entire nation and having your #1 rivals keep your World Cup dreams alive. It's been a tough couple of months for Mexico.
Maybe this break for Hernandez and a lot of the European-Mexican players will do themgood. Stepping back from the never-ending pressure can do everyone a little good,especially under these dead-or-alive situations. For now, Chicharito should focus on hisEnglish career and think about where he wants to move to next. I for one would love tosee him on a Spanish team, but maybe I'm thinking too far ahead.
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