LA Galaxy: Chicharito has finally arrived and writers express relief

The Chicharito that everyone in MLS looked for has finally arrived at the LA Galaxy. He’s all over the pitch. Don’t miss him!

For years, soccer writers including me have crowed about the immediate impact Javier Chicharito Hernandez would have in MLS. Then LA Galaxy landed the forward last season. Finally!

He played in 12 games, getting off 21 shots with two goals. So we all wondered what we’d gotten wrong.

As it turns out, the sudden part of the impact is the only place we erred. Chicharito is now delivering everything we expected and more is one the way. He scored all the goals in the Galaxy’s 3-2 win over New York Red Bulls. He scored almost all the goals against Inter Miami in that season-opening win.

The scouting reports always called him unequaled in playing through balls. He’s back showing consistency in that category. But what’s most impressive is how lately he’s worked through his weakest points that remained after he came over from Bundesliga.

Those weaknesses included passing and finishing. In the game against the Red Bulls, he got off a key pass. He’s keeping his overall passing rating above 75%. His success in finishing shows in the score.

He’s gotten no offside calls. Somehow, he’s managed to get in one tackle and a clearance executed, even though that’s not exactly what he’s getting paid to do.

It’s also observed that Chicharito specializes in working off the ball, recognizing space, and staying focused on effective movement.

It just confused us all that it took him a year coming from the Bundesliga pitch to absorb the space on the MLS pitch.

He found himself quickly when arriving in Bundesliga in 2015. He scored 39 times in 76 outings – with a span of 54 games scoring 28 goals.

The pitch isn’t different in Bundesliga, or Europe for that matter, compared to the MLS. But the league structure is dramatically different, both in the time of year played and in competitions. Those differences are significant even without considering relegation.

Chicharito didn’t play badly right off the plane flight over. But he did take time to establish his role and getting clear on his surroundings.

Now that it’s happened, observers warn not to base a season’s worth of expectations off these first two games. I say to that, balderdash.

Absolutely do get ready to track the MLS career of the Chicharito you’ve been expecting.

I’m grateful that all of us telling you how exciting he’d be finally got proved right. Thanks, Chicharito!