SOCCER
Guardado talks about why ‘Chicharito’ has not played for Mexico
The captain of the Mexico national team confirmed that he has no personal problems with Hernández, who hasn’t been called up since 2019.
The coach of the Mexico national team, Gerardo Martino, has been under pressure due to the poor results in World Cup qualifying in CONCACAF. The Argentine manager has also struggled to find a replacement for Raúl Jiménez when he has been out due to injuries and many wonder why Javier Hernández did not receive a call up.
‘Chicharito’ scored 17 goals last season with the LA Galaxy, the most by any Mexican striker in a single campaign, and he is Mexico’s all-time leading scorer. It has been rumored that there is a tense relationship between Hernández and Martino and for that reason the LA Galaxy striker has not played with Mexico since September 2019.
“No problems with Hernández”
During an interview with ESPN, the captain of the Mexico national team, Andrés Guardado, was asked about ‘Chicharito’s’ situation with the coach and players. The Real Betis midfielder said that he doesn’t have a problem with Hernández, but it is up to the coach to call him to the national team.
“I don’t have a problem with Chicharito, at all and when we sat down to negotiate with the Mexican federation regarding our image rights we shared the same point of view. The only time we didn’t agree is in how we communicate our point of view. I think Chicharito is more explosive and I am more prudent,” said Guardado.
Can ‘Chicharito’ receive a call up?
“Obviously his football is there and if he’s available to come back, if he really wants to and is up for the job, obviously he’s welcome. We cannot close the door on any Mexican player that can be useful to us and can lead us to our common goal”.