Why Cucho Hernandez's signing with the Crew is a first of its kind for Major League Soccer
Crew president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko and coach Caleb Porter have had their fair share of big acquisitions.
Bezbatchenko helped Toronto FC acquire Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco – all of whom came from Europe. Porter helped identify and sign Argentines Diego Valeri and Sebastian Blanco while with the Portland Timbers. Both found Crew attacking midfielder Lucas Zelarayan and brought him from Mexican club Tigres UANL.
The Crew’s acquisition of forward Cucho Hernandez, a 23-year-old Colombian who spent the past half-decade in Europe, is just as big as any of those on paper. But when it comes to foreign players arriving in the MLS, Hernandez stands on his own.
“I put this (signing) right up there with them, maybe even higher, because he's a young player who's entering the prime of his career, he's played and seen what it's like to play in the top leagues in the world, and yet he's choosing MLS because he believes that's the best place for him and his career, and where he can shine and be the guy and score the goals,” Bezbatchenko said.
"It's really exciting because I'm not sure it's happened before in this way (in MLS). I think it's really emblematic of where this club is and where the league is.”
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MLS is accustomed to getting the players of Bradley's, Altidore's and Giovinco's variety: When they came to MLS from Europe, they were still arguably in their primes, but were also in their late 20s. Toronto had a similar signing this offseason in winger Lorenzo Insigne, who’s 31 and left Champions League club Napoli in his native Italy to join MLS.
LAFC signed two of those types of players in Italian national team center back Giorgio Chiellini, formerly a captain with Juventus; and Welsh national team striker Gareth Bale, who previously played for Tottenham. Both are at the end of their careers.
Then there are the players from South America who were hitting their peak years when they made a move to MLS, such as Zelarayan, Valeri and Blanco. Lately, there's been a trend of finding and buying the contracts of such players and then flipping them to European clubs for a profit. Take, for example, Atlanta United selling Miguel Almiron to Newcastle.
But Hernandez’s route of going to Europe, playing in La Liga in Spain and the English Premier League, then coming to MLS still at a young age is unprecedented. With the reputation of MLS improving around the world, given its influx of talent – and if roster spending rules continue to loosen – this acquisition could signal a shift in the type of players MLS can attract.
"It's a massive signing for our club. When you look at his profile, his age, his recent form, it's a massive signing for the league as well,” Porter said. “To get a young South American who's 23 years old, who's proven himself in two of the top leagues in the world – we feel like he's just beginning, as well, in terms of his career. He's in his prime, and we feel like he'll have his best years of his career here.”
Hernandez said he was familiar with the Crew, having watched MLS, which is widely available for viewing in England. MLS isn’t the Premier League or La Liga, but the notion that some across the Atlantic have about MLS being a retirement league isn’t true anymore, which Hernandez understood.
"I don't think it's a step back,” he said through a club interpreter. “I think MLS is growing a lot. Stadiums, training facilities, players coming here are all top. I think it's a very competitive league. I want to do the best job that I can and score a lot of goals, which is what people expect from me.”
Ultimately, the best players in the world want to play against the best players. Hernandez clearly saw more talent coming to MLS, which was a piece of his decision to sign with Columbus.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Cucho Hernandez paving a new pathway for young players coming to MLS
