Edwin Hernandez questioned players like 'Pocho' Guzman and Erick Gutierrez for not taking on a leadership role in the Rebaño.
Edwin 'Aris' Hernandez, champion with Chivas during Matias Almeyda's tenure, stated in an interview with ESPN that the Rebaño still lacks a leader in its squad.
Chivas and its fans celebrated the arrival of Victor 'Pocho' Guzman and the recent signing of Erick Gutierrez, however Hernandez believes that these players have not been able to assume the leadership role in the team led by Veljko Paunovic. He uses Henry Martin's celebrations in the Clásicos as an example, as no Chivas player jumped in to defend the institution.
"They brought in Victor 'Pocho' Guzman, who supposedly could take on that role, they just brought in Erick Gutierrez, a player with experience in Europe, and I haven't seen it. They brought in Antonio Briseno at one point, I don't know, wearing the Guadalajara jersey is very difficult. It's on the field where you really have to stand out to show why they brought you, to make the difference for why you are there," commented Edwin Hernandez.
"Since 2017, when we left, or many of the players who were the captains of the team at that time, I've been seeing that a leader is missing. I do believe that there was a lack of people with the guts to say something to Henry Martin, right? It's really a new generation of players who arrived, not all came from Chivas and not all feel the colors like we did," Aris said.
The former left back insists that the current Chivas player is not committed to the institution's colors: "I experienced it when the team was on the verge of being relegated, the team wasn't going through good times. Wearing the Guadalajara jersey or the jersey of a big team is completely different. You know, you have to commit yourself when wearing these colors, especially Chivas, which is the most important and popular team in Mexico. You can't let them walk all over you like that (referring to Henry Martin's celebrations)."
Edwin Hernandez compares the role he had in the team, alongside standout players like Carlos Salcido and Jair Pereira: "I've always said it, leaders like Salcido, like Jair at the time, are needed. I don't want to pronounce names because they'll say: 'Oh, you! Why are you talking?' We had a different character, yes, we are players from the old school who learned to respect and take care of the hand that fed us. At that time, it was Chivas and we had to make it count on and off the field."
According to Hernandez, the player who should assume the leadership role is Victor Guzman, the current captain of the Rebaño. However, he doesn't see him as a starter in the current tournament: "'Pocho' Guzman has been jogging since the first match, and playing like that is no longer possible, it's impossible. I told them that 'Pocho' doesn't run the same anymore, for me, he's overweight, even if he says he's not. And I'm not only saying this about him, seven players are in a very bad moment and if the majority of players are in a bad state, the team will never work," he said.
"If you are a good player and you consistently do things well, no one will say anything to you, but if you suddenly have a drop, what do you expect, to be applauded? No, if you do things well, of course, you will be applauded, and if you do things poorly, you will be criticized. I went to see the match against Xolos, and the team walked the entire match, they should have taken him out," he commented on the boos received by Victor Guzman.