Bayer Leverkusen sriker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez is out for at least two weeks after breaking his hand falling down the stairs at his house.
Really.
Blow for #Leverkusen! @CH14_ out for 2 weeks and misses start of the season.
Diving in soccer certainly predates the 1974 FIFA World Cup final, but on no other occasion has the ramifications of a flop been so clearly encapsulated and amplified.
The 1974 World Cup in West Germany served as a pageant for the Netherlands technique of Total Football, the tactical theory envisioning a side in which any outfield player can quickly take over the role of any other player on the pitch.
It took 39 minutes of competitive soccer for Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez to get his first goal of the season. Hernandez scored to but Leverkusen up 1-0 against SC Hauenstein in the DFB Pokal Sunday. The game finished 2-1 to Leverkusen.
Chicharito's 1st goal of the new season. Nicely done to poke it over the keeper. pic.twitter.com/qZiUOR8cAf
Remember that time Germany beat Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup semifinals? Yeah, that's history now. Weverton came up with a save in penalties and Neymar scored his penalty (in addition to a monster free-kick earlier in the game) and Brazil became Olympic champions.
We're not sure if anyone out there knew this, but Neymar is really good.
Look at that celebration. Cristiano is clearly Neymar's idol pic.twitter.com/vsnGaLiZdl
Chicharito fanboys and fangirls flocked to a recent meet-and-greet event in Leverkusen to get up close and personal with the Mexican striker.
Chicharito flashed his famous smile and was extremely personable and charismatic with his supporters, signing autographs and posing for photographs.
The effort was clearly appreciated by fans who’d come as far as Puebla, Mexico to see their hero.
Chicharito scored 17 goals in 28 Bundesliga appearances for Bayer Leverkusen last season, and the El Tri international is targeting even more this campaign.
The gold medal game is set. Germany has defeated Nigeria, 2-0, to set up the game pretty much everybody wanted: Brazil vs. Germany. Remember that 7-1 thrashing in the 2014 World Cup semifinal? So do the Brazilians, and they want revenge.
They will have an opportunity for that thanks to goals from Lucas Klostermann and Nils Petersen. Both were products of good team movement and a cross that was just outside the keeper's reach, leading to two easy finishes.
Carlo Ancelotti has already accomplished something that Pep Guardiola was never able to do at Bayern Munich: win the German Super Cup. Guardiola was unsuccessful in three attempts, but Ancelotti has landed an early trophy in his Bayern reign by defeating their Der Klassiker rival Borussia Dortmund 2-0.
Second half goals from Arturo Vidal and Thomas Muller put an emphatic touch on a scoreline that was hardly representative of the game’s competitive nature.
Chicharito Hernandez had a monster season last year, and he's having a monster pre-season to follow that. The Little Pea has two goals so far, including one Wednesday in Bayer Leverkusen's 2-1 friendly win against German fourth-division side Kickers Offenbach.
It was just a dink, but dinks count just the same as golazos, something that, as a poacher, Chicharito has seemingly staked his career on.
Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez provided a fantastic assist for Bayer Leverkusen’s opening goal in their 3-1 friendly victory over Italian club Fiorentina. Chicharito has been the subject of intense transfer speculation over the last week, the Mexican striker adding fuel to the flames by admitting that he could still move on from Leverkusen this transfer window.
Mexico and Germany got the Olympics off to a hot start with a 2-2 draw that made for a game that was both well-played and exciting.
One of Mexico's over-23 players, Oribe Peralta, opened the scoring.
Oribe Peralta's goal https://t.co/XgpaPsgRrq
— The18 (@the18soccer) August 4, 2016