Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez has played at a multitude of clubs in his footballing career. He spent time with the likes of Chivas, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, West Ham, and Sevilla. On January 21st, 2020, Chicharito joined the LA Galaxy as a Designated Player. He signed on a three-year deal, becoming the highest paid player in MLS at the time. The Mexican striker was immediately named the captain of the squad. He debuted at the start of the season, which of course lasted just two matches in 2020. When MLS resumed during the pandemic in July, Chicharito opened his MLS account. It seemed like his first goal would come on a penalty kick against Steve Clark, but it was saved. Chicha actually has missed more penalties than he's scored for the Galaxy, with a 4/9 record in matches. Later in the match against Portland, he scored again, only for VAR to rule it out. Third time's the charm. At long last, Gordon Wild centered a low cross into Chicharito, who finished it off for his first goal.
Chicharito did not play a whole lot of minutes in his first season in Los Angeles. He scored one more goal during the season, hitting The Silencer celebration against Seattle. In 2021, Chicharito came out absolutely firing, showing MLS the goal-scoring ability everyone was expecting upon his arrival. On Matchday one, he equalized Miami in the 62nd minute. In the 73rd minute, he equalized the match once again. The Galaxy went on to win 3-2 in the opener. One week later versus New York Red Bulls, Chicha one-upped his previous performance. Within the first ten minutes, he crashed the net as he always does, and slid one home at the back post. He followed it up with a finish through the wickets of Carlos Coronel. Chicharito completed a hat trick with an airborne finish at the back post, marking the Galaxy's second straight 3-2 to win the start the season. He had already beaten 2020's goal total by three goals in just the first two matches.
The scoring did not stop there, as Chicha scored a crucial goal in El Trafico on May 8th. In the next match against Austin, he scored again, though he had yet another penalty saved. He recovered from his miss through a darting run into the box to clinch the victory. That made for 7 goals in the opening 5 games. He was named the MLS Player of the Month for the month of April/May. In June, he noticed a brace against San Jose. Chicharito is always making the perfect runs and moving off the ball in order to put himself in scoring position. That is exactly what he did against the Quakes, not just once, but twice. It is truly a mistake to not know his exact location when he's in the box.
With just three matches left in the season, the Galaxy were right on the cusp of the playoffs. Chicharito scored in all three of these matches, but his team did not help him out and win a single one. LA faced off with Minnesota United on Decision Day, needing a win, or a draw if Real Salt Lake lost or drew with Sporting Kansas City. What ensued was one of the great Decision Day moments. Chicharito scored at 51' and dramatically tied it up, 3-3, at 75'. With just 20 seconds left until the Galaxy clinched the playoffs, RSL scored against SKC through Damir Kreilach at 95'. This meant that the Galaxy's draw was not good enough to make it, they were eliminated due to the total wins tiebreaker. The Galaxy were one points out of 5th place, but instead finished 8th. Chicharito finished the season with 17 goals.
In 2022, it was another blazing start for the Galaxy's skipper as his team searched for revenge. In a 0-0 match against NYCFC to open the campaign, Chicharito cut inside and roofed his shot to grab a win in match one. In an early April match against Portland, Samuel Grandsir's cross found the stretching foot of Chicharito. Later on, it became a brace after a first-time shot on a Raheem Edwards pass. In El Trafico, the next match, Grandsir and Chicharito connected once again early on. While not quite at the scoring pace he started with in 2021, Chicharito had amassed an impressive 5 goals in the first 6 matches. Chicharito was named a 2022 MLS All-Star. In the match just before the All-Star break, he added another double to his tally. He scored twice against SKC after already being down 3-0, the Galaxy lost the match 4-2.
After the All-Star match against Liga MX, Chicha caught another stretch of fire. He scored a goal in three straight games, while adding both assists he registered on the season during that span. In the month of September, he scored two more separate braces, one against SJ and one against SKC. Decision Day went a lot better this time around, as the Galaxy beat Houston 3-1 with a Chicharito goal. LA entered the playoffs as the fourth seed in the West. The Galaxy won the first playoff match against Nashville, but LAFC ultimately got the best of them in the second round. Chicharito finished with 18 goals, one more than 2021.
In 2023, Chicharito has been tragically missing in action. On April 22nd versus Austin FC, he smashed home what will be the lone goal of the season. On June 23rd, Chicharito underwent season-ending injury on a torn ACL he suffered against Real Salt Lake in the US Open Cup Quarters. Chicha has been a massive loss for the Galaxy, as they struggle for position in the playoff picture. Billy Sharp has come in and been a goal scorer, and Dejan Joveljic finally got on the board last match. Regardless, the Galaxy have quite a bit of work to do if they want to qualify for the playoffs without their captain. Chicharito absolutely lit up Major League Soccer in both 2022 and 2023, giving him the #75 ranking on the list.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2023 | LA | 687 | 1 | 1 |
2022 | LA | 2,598 | 18 | 2 |
2021 | LA | 1,736 | 17 | 3 |
2020 | LA | 758 | 2 | 0 |
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