Brakeman Luis Hernandez promises a lot, but does not yet exist • Maccabi Tel Aviv hopes that tonight, against Villarreal, the leap will come
Luis Hernandez.
Will become the landlord in defense?
Photography:
Ami fat
In recent years, several foreign brakes have played for Maccabi Tel Aviv. From Carlos Garcia, through Yagur Filipanka, Jean Sylvan Babin, Jair Amador and until the season with Luis Hernandez. Some were more successful and some much less, but the common denominator for all the brakes was that they all played at once Of the first two leagues in Spain.
Of all those foreign brakes, the two who played the most in La Liga are Garcia and Hernandez. Both came to Kiryat Shalom because they wanted to compete for titles and play in Europe. The first landed here at 28 and the second at 31. By the way, Hernandez 'case should also be noted. Had it not been for the economic crisis in Malaga, it is doubtful that he would have come to Israel,
but could Hernandez, who will start today in the Yellows' thickened defensive center (Giorgos Donis is expected to return to a five-man defense) against Villarreal in the fourth round of the Europa League, become one of the best brakemen Who came to a group like Garcia? Let's try to analyze.
Hernandez is good in almost every parameter a defensive player needs, but he does not have exceptional speed, physicality or head play.
His long and accurate foreign spending is supposed to be one of his most powerful tools, but in the meantime Maccabi has not benefited from it too much.
Moreover, in the previous game against Villarreal, a team from a league he knows best, he made two mistakes on the way to a 0: 4 defeat.
"Everyone who understands football has seen from the first game that Hernandez has a quality brake," say Maccabi, "he is not one who breaks down mistakes and his game is very calculated and calm."
But on the other hand, there are those who claim that Maccabi needs a defensive home, or a player who makes those next to him better, as he was at the time with Garcia and Eitan Tibi, so Hernandez is indeed a good brake, but has not yet entered the big shoes left by Amador.
True, it is too early to compare Hernandez to Amador based on six games in the squad, easy and material for Garcia, who played here for several seasons and in the eyes of many was a "Macbeth and Israeli for everything" in terms of his behavior and adaptation.
What's more, in the matter of leadership, Maccabi believes that as time goes on, the brake will become a leader.
But the burden of proof is on Hernandez, given his impressive resume and certainly in critical games like this one against Villarreal, a draw in which will significantly advance the Yellows towards the next stage.
Therefore, Maccabi will hope that the big game of the brake will come tonight.
Meanwhile, apart from the fact that Maccabi will return to a thickened defensive lineup, which means that Tibi in the lineup, it seems that Eyal Golsa will also return to 11 at the expense of one of the attacking players.