Chicha Keen To Play His Part

This season there is stiff competition up front for United, but Javier Hernandez is the Reds' second top goalscorer so far in 2012/13 and thoroughly enjoying the challenge...

You’re getting lots of game time and playing alongside the likes of Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney – are you enjoying yourself this season?
I am very happy. I am enjoying playing a lot and I just want to be ready when the manager wants to put me on the pitch. It’s true, it’s great to play alongside Robin, Wazza, and Danny too. But when you train and play with world-class players you also must have the best possible attitude to gain everything you can from playing alongside them. It’s easier to improve when you’re surrounded by good players – and this club has many good players.

What in particular are you learning from those players?
Every striker and every player has something they bring to the team, but Robin and Wazza are complete players. They have certain attributes that are better than others, of course, but the reason they are so good is because they do everything so well – touch, movement, passing, finishing. It’s easy to learn from them because it’s so obvious how good they are. They are two of the best strikers in the world.

You’re not doing too badly. You’ve scored 12 goals this season, eight of which have come in the last 30 minutes of matches. What’s the secret?
I really don’t know. But if you look at Robin, he scores late goals too: Southampton, Liverpool, Manchester City, West Ham… they were all late goals. If you looked at the stats of strikers at this club, past and present, I imagine they will have scored a lot of late goals. It’s the mentality of this club that you never give up because you always have time to make a difference. If we are losing 2-0, or even 3-0, in your mind you think, ‘If we get one, we’ll get two. If we get two, we can get a third’. It’s about belief. Against Newcastle we kept going behind but we always believed we would come back, and at 3-3 we knew we could win. We got the goal and it was a great feeling. My goals late in games are more about the club than me. It’s in our history and the gaffer always tells us: never give up, always fight until the end. I love that about Manchester United. It’s a totally different feeling. A great feeling. You may prefer to win 2-0, but the atmosphere in late victories is incredible. It gives you great satisfaction, and the other team doesn’t have time to react. But the most important thing is that we win.

Four of your goals this season have been winners. You’ve got a reputation now…
A little bit… [smiles] No, I don’t like to talk about myself like that. If I score a goal then it is a consequence of the efforts of the team. We are strikers, we are the nearest players to the goal and you can say it’s our job to score. But strikers have to give more to the team – you can help dictate the rhythm and tempo of the team’s play, provide assists, help defensively. I am happy that I have 13 goals this season. I still count the one at Aston Villa – I have the match ball at home. Officially it’s 12 but, for me, it’s 13. Robin van Persie has 20 goals already and is playing really well and the whole team are happy that we are scoring, but there are other departments in which we need to improve.

Where specifically?
Well, we’d like to concede fewer goals but it’s not fair to say the forwards are doing well but the defence needs to improve. As a striker, I consider myself to be the first defender when I play. The first attackers are the defenders and goalkeeper. So we take credit and criticism for both areas together. And we will improve together. Every player at this club is clear about that. Are you pleased with the position the team is currently in? Yes, but it’s a long season. The most important thing is that we are seven points in front in the league and we are through to the Champions League knockout stages because last season we didn’t do that. We also have a chance to progress in the FA Cup. Like I said at the start of the season, my biggest dream here is to win the Treble. Some people might say it is impossible, but I think anything is possible here.

Fans’ questions

Are you the fastest player at United? - Christian Gore, via Facebook
I don’t know. It’s difficult to say yes. In training players like Nani, Antonio Valencia, Danny Welbeck and Wayne Rooney are all very fast. I don’t know if I am the fastest but I think I am one of the quickest – maybe I’m in the top five! We need to have a race.

How did it feel to be named Mexican Athlete of the Year? - Neema Nabavian, via Facebook
I didn’t know that! If that’s true then I am very happy. In my country in the last couple of years sport has really improved. In the Olympics we got more medals than we are used to winning and we won the Gold medal in the football. In Boxing we have many good athletes. I wouldn’t want to leave someone out by naming all the other Mexican athletes I admire, there are many. Individual honours and prizes are great but without my team-mates or the club I couldn’t do it.

This interview first appeared in the Liverpool edition of United Review.