Carlos Hernández (footballer)

Carlos Hernández

Hernández playing for Melbourne Victory in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Gerardo Hernández Valverde
Date of birth	(1982-04-09) 9 April 1982
Place of birth	San José, Costa Rica
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Wellington Phoenix
Number	21
Youth career
	LD Alajuelense
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001–2009	LD Alajuelense	82	(19)
2007–2009	→ Melbourne Victory (loan)	41	(8)
2009–2012	Melbourne Victory	80	(28)
2011	→ Limón F.C. (loan)	1	(0)
2012–2013	Prayag United	16	(4)
2013–	Wellington Phoenix	13	(4)
National team‡
2001	Costa Rica U-20	4	(2)
2004	Costa Rica U-23	11	(6)
2004–	Costa Rica	36	(7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 February 2014. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 July 2010

Carlos Hernández Valverde (born 9 April 1982), also known as Carlos Hernandez, is a Costa Rican football player who plays as a midfielder for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League.

Club career

LD Alajuelense

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.^{[citation needed]}

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 12 June 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 28 July 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 1 April 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 17 April 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 $450,000^[7] and his signing was officially announced by the club on 14 May.^[8]

On 26 September 2009, Hernandez scored a goal 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] On 16 May 2012 it was announced he had parted company with Melbourne Victory.^[12]

Prayag United

On 27 June it was announced that Hernandez has signed a one-year deal with I-League club Prayag United S.C. making it one of the biggest transfers in Indian football.At his official media presentation he said "I am really happy to be associated with Prayag United Sports Club. I am looking forward to this new opportunity and challenges. It has indeed been a big decision to move to India, but I feel that there is this huge zest and enthusiasm for football here. I am excited to be part of this excellent team, and hope to contribute to the success of the team in the coming season"^[13] On 12 October, in the 2nd match of the I-League, he had assisted Kiwi striker Kayne Vincent to take a decisive 2–1 lead against city rivals Mohun Bagan A.C. at the stroke of half-time, after defender Sukhen Dey had equalised on the 27th minute. Hernandez has stated that he wants to return to the A-League after his contract in India expires.^[14] On 4 January 2012 against Dempo S.C. at the Municipal stadium at Kalyani, he scored from an inswinging direct free kick on 87th minute to ensure a 1–0 win over the defending champions.

Wellington Phoenix

On February 2013, Hernandez was signed by New Zealand A-League club Wellington Phoenix on a 2-year contract. He will join the Phoenix in June, as soon as his contract with Prayag United expires.^[15][16]

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. The playmaker was then part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad in Germany but managed only two substitute appearances in the group games against Ecuador & Poland. 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 16 March 2012.

Honours

With L.D. Alajuelense:

• Costa Rican Championship: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05
• CONCACAF Champions' Cup: 2004
• Copa Interclubes UNCAF: 2002, 2005

With Melbourne Victory:

• A-League Championship: 2008–2009
• A-League Premiership: 2008–2009

Individual:

• Johnny Warren Medal: 2009–2010 with Melbourne Victory
• Melbourne Victory Player's Player of the Year: 2009–2010

References

External links

• Melbourne Victory profile
• Carlos Hernández profile at FIFA.com
• 2007/2008 season highlights on YouTube

Costa Rica Squads v t e Costa Rica men's football squad – 2004 Summer Olympics 1 Bolivar 2 Rodríguez 3 Salazar 4 Umaña 5 Myrie 6 Wilson 7 Scott 8 López 9 Brenes 10 Granados 11 Saborío 12 Araya 13 Vallejos 14 Villalobos 15 Díaz 16 Hernández 17 Arrieta 18 Drummond Coach: Kenton v t e Costa Rica squad – 2004 Copa América 1 Bolívar 2 Umaña 3 Marín 4 Castro 5 Wilson 6 Oviedo 7 Solís 8 Fonseca 9 Saborío 10 Centeno 11 Gómez 12 L. González 13 Hernández 14 Badilla 15 Díaz 16 Bennett 17 Bryce 18 Porras 19 Wright 20 Sequeira 21 Herron 22 R. González Coach: Pinto v t e Costa Rica squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Mesén 2 Drummond 3 Marín (c) 4 Umaña 5 Martínez 6 Fonseca 7 Bolaños 8 Solís 9 Wanchope 10 Centeno 11 Gómez 12 González 13 Bernard 14 Azofeifa 15 Wallace 16 Hernández 17 Badilla 18 Porras 19 Saborío 20 Sequeira 21 Núñez 22 Rodríguez 23 Alfaro Coach: Guimarães