Heroism Needed, Not Heroes

Javier Hernandez put in a heroic performance scoring both goals in Manchester United’s 2-1 over Stoke City, but even he admitted that he was not a hero.

Chicharito’s statement, “It was a good goal, but the most important thing is that there are no heroes – it’s all about the effort of the team,” and United needs every one of their players to believe in it as well.

It was very modest claim by the young striker, but it goes to show that Hernandez is all about the success and is very ambitious to win honors at United, and as we have seen lately, this is not too prevalent in today’s game.

Despite all of the players being asked to have their say in the Wayne Rooney saga, this was an off-the-cuff comment, but it perfectly described the situation and what is needed at Old Trafford for United to move forward.

A football club needs all of its players to put in courageous performances rather than having to have one player that they incessantly rely on to dig them out of hole.

For the last couple of years now, United have been labeled as a one-man team by the ABU (Anybody But United) mentality media with Rooney seen as that go-to guy last season, and that is an image that they desperately are trying to shed.

Before Rooney, it was Cristiano Ronaldo, who actually had his name sung for the first time since the 2009 UEFA Champions League final in Rome, so the lesson is for the United players to not let outsiders influence any of their decisions.

“The sum of the parts is greater than the whole” mindset is what is needed, because if there is one weak link the chain, then chain will break no matter how tough the other pieces are.

Sir Alex Ferguson is said to have £100 million to spend on replacements for Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, but it is crucial that these players have the same grounded-mentality that Chicharito has.

But the same thing was said about a young Rooney as well, and no one would have second guessed his allegiance to United before everything unfolded.

It goes to show that a players core values cannot be measured until the prospect of ungodly amounts of money is thrown in their face.

People in Mexico could have very easily said the same thing about Chicharito for leaving Chivas Guadalajara, but his respectful and honest demeanor has always been present.

The United manager has stated on at least five different times that the right player was not available in the summer, because as we have noticed the players that come in have to want to be here for the right reasons.

A lot was made about the ambitions of club where still there during the week or not, but the reverse is true as well, because a player needs to have ambitious – not driven by money, either.

Being successful should not be measured by how much money that one can earn, but by how jovial it makes that certain player, and in football, success is measured by the amount of trophies you collect.

Since the introduction of Sir Alex Ferguson just 24 short years ago, Manchester United has thrived and flourished with ambition and drive, and they need to continue unearth gems like Javier Hernandez that value the aspect of the club and team.

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