Abel Mathías Hernández Platero (born 8 August 1990) is a Uruguayan professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
Atlético San Luis
Club Atlético de San Luis, commonly known as Atlético San Luis, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Luis Potosí, replacing San Luis Potosí's Liga MX team San Luis FC after its relocation. San Luis was promoted to Liga MX in ...
.
Hernández began his career with
Central Español
Central Español Fútbol Club, usually known simply as Central Español is a Uruguayan football club based in Montevideo.
History The F.U.F era
Together with Peñarol, Central founded FUF (Uruguayan football federation) in 1923 after being expel ...
and
Peñarol
Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...
, and spent five-and-a-half seasons in Italy with Palermo before joining
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
for a club record £10 million in September 2014. Four years later, he joined
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...
, and upon his release signed for Al Ahli in 2019. After was released by the Qatari club a year later, he moved to Brazil, first joining
Internacional
Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonat ...
and later on
Fluminense
Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...
.
A full international since 2010, Hernández has competed at various international tournaments with Uruguay, including their victory at the 2011 Copa América.
Club career
Early career
Nicknamed ''La Joya'', he started his professional career with Uruguayan side
Central Español
Central Español Fútbol Club, usually known simply as Central Español is a Uruguayan football club based in Montevideo.
History The F.U.F era
Together with Peñarol, Central founded FUF (Uruguayan football federation) in 1923 after being expel ...
, immediately scoring five goals in his first four games. He was subsequently acquired by
Peñarol
Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...
, where he played a handful of games and also gained a spot into the Under-20
Uruguayan
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
side.
Palermo
On 2 February 2009, Italian
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
club Palermo completed the signing of Hernández, where he joined fellow Uruguayan
Edinson Cavani
Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Matador'' ('The Bullfighter'), being known for his i ...
. He was presented by Palermo only one month later, due to some health concerns regarding a
cardiac arrhythmia
Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...
that led to a small surgical intervention. He made his first team debut on 15 March, replacing
Edinson Cavani
Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Matador'' ('The Bullfighter'), being known for his i ...
in the final minutes of a 5–2 home win to Lecce. He then won the
Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti
Campionato Primavera 1, known also as Campionato Primavera 1 TIMvision – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti due to sponsorship and posthumous honour, is an Italian football youth competition. It was created in 2017–18 season by splitting Campionato N ...
with the ''Primavera'' under-19 team in June 2009.
After missing the initial weeks of the 2009–10 Serie A due to injury and his participation in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Hernández played his first game on 29 October 2009. Coming on as a half-time substitute for
Cristian Melinte
Cristian Costel Melinte (born 9 May 1988) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a full back.
Club career
He began his career at Fortuna Covaci, but just some months later he went to play for Auxerre Lugoj in Liga II. Then he joined ...
, he scored in the 5–3 loss to league leaders
Internazionale
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
.
In
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, Hernández scored only 1 goal in 14 league matches as Palermo suffered relegation. He equalised as a substitute against
Udinese
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...
in the 81st minute of a home match on 8 May, only for
Medhi Benatia
Medhi Amine El Mouttaqi BenatiaThough the traditional Arabic spelling is "Mehdi", he spells his name "Medhi". See, for examplehis Twitter accountfollowing campaign, he struck 14 times in 28
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
games as the
Sicilians
Sicilians or the Sicilian people are a Romance speaking people who are indigenous to the island of Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the largest and most populous of the autonomous regions of Italy.
Origin and i ...
returned to the top flight, netting braces in away victories over
Padova
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
and
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...
, both of which included a penalty kick.
Hull City
Hernández signed for English club
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
on 1 September 2014 for a club record £10 million on a three-year contract, with the club having an option for a fourth year. Two weeks later he made his debut at the
KC Stadium
The MKM Stadium (also known as the Hull City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations) is a multi-purpose facility in the city of Kingston upon Hull, England. The stadium was previously called the KC Stadium, but was renamed the KCOM Stadi ...
, and scored the first goal of a 2–2 draw with
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
. In his next home game against Manchester City on the 27th, he won a penalty after being fouled in the area by
Eliaquim Mangala
Eliaquim Hans Mangala (born 13 February 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back.
Born in France, he moved to Belgium as a child and began his career there at Standard Liège, going onto Porto in 2011 where he won c ...
, and scored it in an eventual 2–4 defeat. His next goal came when he put his team into the lead during a 2–2 away draw against Arsenal.
Hull were relegated on 24 May 2015 after a goalless draw with Manchester United on the final day of the season. During the match, Hérnandez punched United defender Phil Jones in an off-the-ball incident, not seen by match officials. Two days later, he was charged with violent conduct by
The Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
and subsequently given a three-match ban.
On 16 January 2016, in a Championship match against
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
, Hernández scored his first club career hat-trick in a game that finished 6–0, taking his league tally to 14 goals for the season. With six goals in four matches, he won January's Football League Championship Player of the Month, and his manager Steve Bruce won
the equivalent
The Equivalent was a sum negotiated at £398,085 10s. 0d. paid to Scotland by the English Government under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707. Proposals for it first emerged in the course of abortive Union negotiations in 1702 to 1703.
The Equiv ...
. At the club's annual awards, held on 3 May 2016, Hernández was named Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year.
In January 2017, Hernández missed two penalties in the space of two minutes in a
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
fourth round match verses Fulham. His first spot kick was saved by Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli before Bettinelli brought-down Hernández while he attempted to reach the rebound. Hernández stepped up once more and was again denied by Bettinelli.
During the 2017–18 season, Hernández ruptured his
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...
against
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
, the injury would keep Hernandez out for several months. He returned from injury on 6 March 2018 against
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
, scoring in a 2–1 defeat. He finished the season with eight goals in just ten appearances.
Hernández was offered a new contract by Hull at the end of the 2017–18 season. However, on 4 June, Hernández and Hull City announced he would be leaving the club upon his contract expiry after failing to reach an agreement on signing a new contract offer. He then held discussions with
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
over a potential move.
CSKA Moscow
On 1 August 2018,
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
club
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...
announced the signing of Hernández on a three-year contract. He scored his first goal in Russia on 11 August 2018 in his second match in the league, converting the penalty kick to secure an away 1–1 draw against Yenisey Krasnoyarsk. In his next match, on 18 August, he scored again and provided an assist in a 3–0 victory over Arsenal Tula. He played as a 2nd half substitute in CSKA's shock 3–0 win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League. The defeat was Real Madrid's heaviest defeat in Europe at home in their history.
After making only 15 appearances due to injuries, he was released from his contract by mutual consent on 27 May 2019.
Al Ahli
Hernández was linked with
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
after his release from the Russian capital, but instead signed for Al Ahli SC of the Qatar Stars League, believing that the move would help him back into the national team.
Internacional
Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Série A, the first division of the Brazilian league, as well as in Campeonat ...
on a free transfer, signing a one-year contract.
International career
On 27 July 2010, Hernández was called up for his debut with
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
in Lisbon. The game, which was played on 11 August, ended in a 2–0 win for Uruguay, with Hernández being fouled for the penalty, which was scored by
Edinson Cavani
Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Matador'' ('The Bullfighter'), being known for his i ...
. Hernández then scored the second goal for the ''Celeste'' during injury time. He was part of the Uruguayan team which won the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, making substitute appearances in their opening match and their semi-final victory, both against
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
. He was chosen by
Óscar Tabárez
Óscar Washington Tabárez Silva (; born 3 March 1947), known as ''El Maestro'' (The Teacher), is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player. He most recently coached the Uruguay national team.
After an unassuming career as a ...
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
squad, making a half-time substitute appearance in the 0–2 defeat to
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
, in an eventual group stage exit.
The following year, Hernández was selected for Uruguay's squad at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. In his only appearance, the final group stage match against
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...
, Hernández scored a first-half hat-trick and went on to become the fourth player in Confederations Cup history to score four goals in one match after converting a second-half penalty goal in Uruguay's 8–0 victory. He was named
man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
for this performance. Hernández was also included in the Uruguayan squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, making substitute appearances in their opener against Costa Rica and round of 16 match against Colombia, both defeats. At the
2015 Copa América
The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...
, he made one start and two substitute appearances as Uruguay reached the quarter-finals.
Hernández who was a regular in his national team squads, had just recovered from injury towards the end of the 2017–18 season, missed out on a
2018 World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
squad place on 16 May 2018, with
Edinson Cavani
Edinson Roberto Cavani Gómez (; born 14 February 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Valencia and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Matador'' ('The Bullfighter'), being known for his i ...
,
Luis Suárez
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...
Maxi Gómez
Maximiliano "Maxi" Gómez González (; born 14 August 1996) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor and the Uruguay national team.
Having begun his career with Defensor Sporting, he m ...
favoured ahead of him.
Career statistics
Club
International
International goals
:''As of match played 13 June 2016. Uruguay score listed first, score column indicates score after each Hernández goal.''
Honours
Club
Palermo
*
Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
South American U-20 Championship
The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American a ...