Carlos Hernández Valverde

Football player infobox
playername= Carlos Hernández
fullname = Carlos Hernández Valverde
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|4|9
cityofbirth = La Pastora
countryofbirth = Costa Rica
height = height|m=1.73
currentclub = Melbourne Victory
clubnumber = 16
position = Attacking Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs = LD Alajuelense
years = 2001–2007
2007–"present"
clubs = LD Alajuelense
→ Melbourne Victory (loan)
caps(goals) = 82 (19)
25 0(5)
nationalyears = 2001
2004
2004–"present"
nationalteam = Costa Rica U-20
Costa Rica U-23
Costa Rica
nationalcaps(goals) =
20 0(6)
pcupdate = 28 September 2008
ntupdate = 20 June 2006

Carlos Hernández Valverde (born April 9, 1982) is a Costa Rican football player who currently plays as midfielder for Melbourne Victory in the Australian A-League.

Club career

He has become one of the most important players for the Costa Rican soccer league, being the top assister in the last 2 seasons and due his great ability as a good striker of the ball that made him as well one of the most dangerous midfielders in the region, and he has already built a reputation as a great scorer from long and middle distances in his former team and picking up already six international goals with his national team.

Melbourne Victory

On June 12, 2007, it was confirmed by Melbourne Victory that Hernandez had signed for the Australian Club on a two year loan from LD Alajuelense. He made his first appearance for the club in their 1-0 Pre-Season Cup loss to the Newcastle Jets, coming on as a substitute in the 70th minute. In the next game on July 28th 2007 he got his first start against Perth Glory scoring his first goal for this team.

Early on during his first season with Melbourne, he was criticised by a portion of the Melbourne supporters and was said to be 'overweight'.

Hernandez scored his first season goal for Melbourne Victory against Perth Glory at the Telstra Dome on the 21st October 2007, helping Melbourne to a 2-1 win at home, though fans continue to lament his lack of drive and mobility in central midfield. [cite news|url=http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=hal_newsdisplay&id=19821|title=Victory bounce back|date=2007-10-21]

Towards the end of the season, Hernandez' fitness improved and he struck form, becoming a regular goal scorer and assister. He's now considered a key player. One of Hernández most famous games for the Victory was when he scored Melbourne's only goal against Juventus in a friendly at the Telstra Dome in May 2008. The goal was a cracking curling effort from just outside the box leaving Juventus goalkeeper Jess Vanstrattan with no chance. He scored the opening goal in Melbourne's 5-0 thrashing of Champions Newcastle Jets during the 08/09 3rd round at Docklands Stadium.

International career

He has been an important player for the Costa Rican national team at numerous levels, playing in the under 20 Football World Youth Championship held in Argentina, as well as representing the country with the U-23 team at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He has also been capped for the full national team on 20 occasions, playing for the team during 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and scoring some important goals.

References

External links

* [http://www.melbournevictory.com.au/default.aspx?s=mvfc_playerprofile_item&pid=1333 Melbourne Victory profile]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt8bxwrcA3U 2007/2008 season highlights] on YouTube