Before Mexican striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez set the world on fire at Bayer Leverkusen, he was a backup Manchester United striker who just wanted some playing time. He almost went to MLS to get it.
Bayer Leverkusen ended up with Hernandez, but also in the mix were Juventus, Lazio and Orlando City, among others.
From ESPNFC:
Flavio Augusto da Silva said he is negotiating to take Mexico international Hernandez to Florida, but believes he faces competition from several other MLS clubs.
Flavio Augusto da Silva is the owner of Orlando City. Chicharito confirmed there were talks with Orlando City earlier this year.
From the Orlando Sentinel:
"That's a question for my agent, because for me I just, I knew that some of the people who [work] for MLS, yeah of course there were rumors, there were things, there were talks, but I was very focused to be there in Manchester United to try to make the best decision," Chicharito said.
This situation raises an interesting what-if: what if Chicharito had signed for Orlando instead of Bayer Leverkusen? We'll likely never know how close this move was to happening, but it's fun to think about.
One thing we can conclude: Orlando's offense would be terrifying, with City likely playing some kind of diamond midfield with Kaka at the top just behind Chicharito and Canadian phenom Cyle Larin.
Less certain is how exactly Chicharito would fare in MLS. He would be good, sure, but just how good? Most elite MLS strikers tend to be big and physical (Jozy Altidore, Robby Keane, Didier Drogba, Larin, etc.), although there are exceptions (Sebastian Giovinco, Bradley Wright-Phillips).
Hernandez's two main strengths on the pitch are his attacking movement and finishing quality, so he needs creative midfielders to get him the ball. Kaka, we think, would be perfect for this. You can just look at Larin's scoring record for evidence.
Chicharito isn't ready for MLS quite yet — Bayer Leverkusen would be silly to let him leave — but, should he ever choose to play stateside, the current incarnation of Orlando City would be a good fit.
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
