Javi Hernández, the Spaniard who makes India fall in love with his goals

Call Hernández (Salamanca, 1989) is on everyone’s lips. The Spanish midfielder with a past in the Real Madrid quarry is starring in an extraordinary start to the season in the Indian Super League, where he wears the colors of Odisha FC. “I hope they haven’t gotten used to it, because I don’t usually score so many goals,” Hernández discovered after scoring three goals and giving away two assists in the first two days of top flight in India. “If I continue with these numbers I will have to nominate for the Ballon d’Or,” jokes the left-handed midfielder from Odisha, who points out that “the most important thing is that we have won both games.”

But if everyone talks about Javi Hernández, it is not only because of his goals, but because of their quality. The first one scored it from almost 40 meters – “the ball was complicated because it came fast and bouncing, but I hooked it well and, luckily, it entered” -, the second did it from a direct free kick – “I had to put it in the squad because if the goalkeeper was lower, he arrived “- and the third was from the corner -” I try to shoot at the door, but the normal thing is that someone touches it. It came out higher than normal and went inside “-. “It is the first Olympic goal of my career”, discover the ’10’ of Odisha, a young club that has put together “a serious project” and will have no difficulties improving the results of last season, when they finished bottom in the Indian Super League.

“We have started well, but it is a very close competition. Here the latter can beat the former. We have won the first two games, but there is still a long way to go“, analyzes a Javi Hernández who lives his second season in bubble mode in Goa, where the humidity means that” when you finish the warm-up it already seems that you have gotten dressed in the shower “.” It is a bit boring and monotonous, but it passes Quick. We are in a bungalow-type hotel and we have a very large area for ourselves, “adds the man from Salamanca, who is accompanied in Odisha by coach Kiko Ramírez, assistant Kino García, physical trainer José Mascarós, goalkeeping coach Joaquín Valerio and the footballers Víctor Mongil, Aridai Cabrera and Héctor Rodas.