Carlos Hernández (footballer)

Carlos Hernández
Personal information
Full name Carlos Gerardo Hernández Valverde
Date of birth 9 April 1982 (1982-04-09) (age 29)
Place of birth Guancaste, Costa Rica
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current club Melbourne Victory
Number 16
Youth career
LD Alajuelense
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2009 LD Alajuelense 82 (19)
2007–2009 Melbourne Victory (loan) 41 (8)
2009– Melbourne Victory 69 (25)
National team
2001 Costa Rica U-20 4 (2)
2004 Costa Rica U-23 11 (6)
2004– Costa Rica 35 (7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:30, 25 December 2011 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:30, 10 July 2010 (UTC)

Carlos Hernández Valverde (born April 9, 1982), better known in Australia as Carlos Hernandez, is a Costa Rican football (soccer) player who currently plays as a midfielder for Melbourne Victory in the Australian A-League.

Contents

Club career

Playing in Costa Rica

Hernandez had become one of the most important players in the Primera División de Costa Rica, the Costa Rican national league, where he was the top assister in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. He had built a reputation as a great scorer from long and middle distances combined with high level vision and technique that made him one of the most dangerous midfielders in the region.

However, Hernandez struggled with injury in the 2006-07 season which also resulted in weight gain. In a bid to regain his former self, he was loaned out to A-League club Melbourne Victory.

Melbourne Victory

On June 12, 2007, it was confirmed by Melbourne Victory that Hernandez had signed for the Australian Club on a two year loan from LD Alajuelense. He made his first appearance for the club in their 1-0 A-League Pre-Season Cup loss to the Newcastle Jets, coming on as a substitute in the 70th minute. In the next game on July 28, 2007 he got his first start against Perth Glory scoring his first goal for the Victory.

Early on during his first season with Melbourne, he was criticised by a portion of the Melbourne supporters and was said to be 'overweight'

Hernandez scored his first league goal for Melbourne Victory against Perth Glory at Docklands Stadium on 21 October 2007, helping Melbourne to a 2-1 win at home.[1]

Towards the end of the season, Hernandez' fitness improved and he struck form, becoming a regular goal scorer and assister. One of Hernández most famous games for the Victory was when he scored Melbourne's only goal against Juventus in a friendly at the Docklands Stadium in May 2008. The goal was a cracking curling effort from just outside the box leaving Juventus goalkeeper Jess Vanstrattan with no chance. He scored the opening goal in Melbourne's 5-0 thrashing of reigning A-League champions Newcastle Jets in Round 3 of the 2008-09 season at the Docklands Stadium.[2] His 6th goal for the club came against the Central Coast Mariners in Round 20,[3] a cracking free kick that went through the wall and through the legs of helpless keeper Danny Vukovic. He won widespread acclaim for his performance in Melbourne's 4-0 A-League semi-final second leg win over Adelaide United, in which he scored one goal and assisted for the other three.[4]

On April 1, 2009, Hernandez claimed on Costa Rican television that the Victory had bought him from LD Alajuelense and he had signed a three year deal. It was reported that he would go on loan to MLS club Los Angeles Galaxy until the start of the A-League season in August.[5] The Galaxy has since denied any interest in Hernandez.[6]

On April 17, 2009, the Costa Rican newspaper La Nación reported that Melbourne Victory and LD Alajuelense had finally come to an agreement regarding the sale of the player for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of $850,000[7] and his signing was officially announced by the club on May 14.[8]

On September 26, 2009, Hernandez scored a goal that many feel is the A-League finest in its history thus far helping his side win against Gold Coast United 3-2. The 35 yard hit again left Jess Vanstrattan with little chance as it tore into the top left corner.[9]

On 15 February 2010, Hernandez won the Johnny Warren Medal for best player in the A-League for season 2009-10, awarded at The Ivy in Sydney.[10][11]

In November 2011, rumors of a potential move to Los Angeles Galaxy began to resurface with the club attempting to strengthen the squad while bracing for the potential departure of David Beckham..

International career

He has been an important player for the Costa Rican national team at numerous levels, playing in the under-20 Football World Youth Championship held in Argentina, as well as representing the country with the U-23 team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He has also been capped for the senior national team on 30 occasions, playing for the team during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and scoring some important goals. He scored a cracker in his last international against France national football team, drilling a shot from 25 metres out into the left hand side of the net.

International goals

Scores and results list. Costa Rica's goal tally first.
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 September 2004 FIU Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, USA  Guatemala 1 - 0 2 - 0 Friendly
2 19 November 2004 Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela, Costa Rica  Canada 2 - 1 2 - 1 Friendly
3 12 June 2005 Estadio Pedro Marrero, Havana, Cuba  Guatemala 1 - 2 2 - 2 World Cup qualifier
4 4 September 2005 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City  United States 0 - 1 1 - 3 World Cup qualifier
5 7 September 2005 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, San José, Costa Rica  United States 1 - 0 2 - 0 World Cup qualifier
6 9 November 2006 Stade d'Honneur de Dillon, Fort-de-France, Martinique  Iran 0 - 1 3 - 2 Friendly
7 11 February 2010 Rose Bowl, Pasadena, USA  France 1 - 0 1 - 0 Friendly

Club statistics

Correct as of November 27, 2010.

Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
L.D. Alajuelense 2001-02 0 0 0 - - - 8 1 0 8 1 0
2002-03 10 2 1 - - - 2 1 0 12 3 1
2003-04 16 4 5 - - - 6 0 3 21 4 8
2004-05 24 3 12 - - - 8 4 2 31 7 14
2005-06 20 6 11 - - - 7 1 2 26 7 13
2006-07 12 4 2 - - - 4 0 0 16 4 2
L.D. Alajuelense total 82 19 31 0 0 0 35 7 7 117 26 38
Melbourne Victory 2007-08 20 4 3 3 2 0 1 1 0 24 7 3
2008-09 21 4 6 4 1 1 - - - 25 5 7
2009-10 28 13 9 - - - 6 0 2 34 13 11
2010-11 30 5 7 - - - 4 1 2 34 6 9
2011-12 11 6 2 - - - - - - 11 6 2
Melbourne Victory total 110 32 27 7 3 1 11 2 4 129 37 32
Career total 192 51 58 7 3 1 46 9 11 245 63 70

Honours

With L.D. Alajuelense:

With Melbourne Victory:

Individual:

References

  1. ^ "Hernandez leads Victory to huge win". a-league.com.au (A-League). 21 October 2007. http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_newsdisplay&id=19821. 
  2. ^ "Victory run riot". a-league.com.au (A-League). 29 August 2008. http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_newsdisplay&id=23411&pageid=2466. 
  3. ^ "Victory too good for Mariners". a-league.com.au (A-League). 16 January 2009. http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_newsdisplay&id=26152&pageid=2463. 
  4. ^ "Hernandez leads Victory to huge win". a-league.com.au (A-League). 14 February 2009. http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=26632. 
  5. ^ "Hernandez on Costa Rican television" (in Spanish). 1 April 2009. http://cdn.cloudfiles.mosso.com/c45172/sele-tica01-04.wmv. 
  6. ^ Davis, Steve (April 3, 2009). "Five-a-side: What's hot around the league". Major League Soccer. http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090403&content_id=235176&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp. Retrieved 2009-04-11. 
  7. ^ "Victory Liga confirma venta de Hernández al Victory" (in Spanish). 17 April 2009. http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2009/abril/17/deportes1936603.html. 
  8. ^ "Carlos signs for three". 14 May 2009. http://www.melbournevictory.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=27409. 
  9. ^ "Goal vs. Gold Coast, round 8, 2009/10". 2009-09-27. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM8MT9QMyg4. 
  10. ^ "Hernandez wins Johnny Warren Medal". ABC News. 15 February 2009. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/15/2820469.htm. 
  11. ^ "Johnny Warren Medal To Carlos". FourFourTwo. 15 February 2009. http://au.fourfourtwo.com/News/122668,johnny-warren-medal-to-carlos.aspx. 

External links