| Luis Hernández | |
| Fullname: | Luis Arturo Hernández Carreón |
| Birth Date: | 22 December 1968 |
| Birth Place: | Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico |
| Height: | 1.75 m |
| Position: | Striker |
| Youthyears1: | –1990 |
| Youthclubs1: | Cruz Azul |
| Years1: | 1990–1991 |
| Clubs1: | Cruz Azul |
| Caps1: | 18 |
| Goals1: | 1 |
| Years2: | 1991–1992 |
| Clubs2: | Querétaro |
| Caps2: | 28 |
| Goals2: | 11 |
| Years3: | 1992–1994 |
| Clubs3: | Monterrey |
| Caps3: | 62 |
| Goals3: | 15 |
| Years4: | 1994–1998 |
| Clubs4: | Necaxa |
| Caps4: | 125 |
| Goals4: | 37 |
| Years5: | 1997 |
| Clubs5: | → Boca Juniors (loan) |
| Caps5: | 4 |
| Goals5: | 2 |
| Years6: | 1998–2000 |
| Clubs6: | Tigres UANL |
| Caps6: | 64 |
| Goals6: | 39 |
| Years7: | 2000–2003 |
| Clubs7: | LA Galaxy |
| Caps7: | 40 |
| Goals7: | 15 |
| Years8: | 2001–2003 |
| Clubs8: | → América (loan) |
| Caps8: | 43 |
| Goals8: | 9 |
| Years9: | 2003 |
| Clubs9: | Veracruz |
| Caps9: | 18 |
| Goals9: | 5 |
| Years10: | 2004 |
| Clubs10: | Chiapas |
| Caps10: | 5 |
| Goals10: | 1 |
| Years11: | 2004–2005 |
| Clubs11: | BUAP |
| Caps11: | 9 |
| Goals11: | 4 |
| Totalcaps: | 521 |
| Totalgoals: | 139 |
| Nationalyears1: | 1995–2002 |
| Nationalteam1: | Mexico |
| Nationalcaps1: | 85 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 35 |
Luis Arturo Hernández Carreón (born 22 December 1968), commonly known as El Matador, is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a striker and is the fourth all-time leading scorer of the Mexico national team with 35 goals, and the joint-highest goalscorer in World Cups.[1] He is widely regarded as one of Mexico's most talented strikers.[2]
In Mexico, Hernández played with a number of clubs, including Querétaro F.C., Cruz Azul, C.F. Monterrey, Club Necaxa, Club América, Tigres UANL, C.D. Veracruz, and Chiapas, and was twice named Mexico's Player of the Year in 1997 and 1998. He also played in Mérida Argentina, when he was signed by South American club Boca Juniors after his brilliant performance in the 1997 Copa América, but he failed to break into the starting line-up and spent the rest of his time on the bench. Returning to Mexico bitterly disappointed, he played with Necaxa and later on with Tigres UANL. It was with these two clubs, that he displayed his stupendous form, scoring 9 goals in 12 matches with Necaxa and 38 goals in 64 games with Tigres. He also became the only player to score goals in the Clásico Regiomontano with both teams from Monterrey.
After a few seasons with Tigres without qualifying to playoffs, Hernández ventured into the United States, in 2000 and signed with Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy. Hernández registered 15 goals in 40 games in the regular season and playoffs for the Galaxy. Hernández returned to Mexico in 2002 to play three more seasons with several clubs, including Club América, C.D. Veracruz, Chiapas F.C., and Lobos BUAP before retiring in 2005.
Known for his long blonde hair, number 15 jersey and nickname of El Matador, Hernández had his first international cap against Uruguay on February 1, 1995. Hernández scored his first international goal on November 16, 1995, against Yugoslavia. Hernández gained notability during the 1997 Copa América, where he scored six goals and became the tournament's leading goal scorer. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he finished among the competition's top scorers with four goals, and became the first Mexican player to score more than two goals in World Cup history. The 35 goals he scored for Mexico makes him trail Cuauhtémoc Blanco (38 goals), Jared Borgetti (46 goals) and Javier Hernandez (52 goals) as the nation's fourth highest all-time leading goalscorer.
Hernández also played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, albeit as a substitute in three games, and failed to score. He made his last international cap on June 17, 2002, against the United States.
| Club performance | League | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | |
| Mexico | League | ||||
| 1990–91 | Cruz Azul | Primera División | 18 | 1 | |
| 1991–92 | Querétaro | Primera División | 28 | 11 | |
| 1992–93 | Monterrey | Primera División | 26 | 6 | |
| 1993–94 | 32 | 8 | |||
| 1994–95 | Necaxa | Primera División | 30 | 8 | |
| 1995–96 | 31 | 10 | |||
| 1996–97 | 39 | 14 | |||
| Argentina | League | ||||
| 1997–98 | Boca Juniors | Primera División | 4 | 2 | |
| Mexico | League | ||||
| 1997–98 | Necaxa | Primera División | 12 | 9 | |
| 1998–99 | Tigres UANL | Primera División | 33 | 19 | |
| 1999–2000 | 31 | 19 | |||
| United States | League | ||||
| 2000 | LA Galaxy | Major League Soccer | 16 | 5 | |
| 2001 | 14 | 8 | |||
| Mexico | League | ||||
| 2001–02 | América | Primera División | 14 | 2 | |
| 2002–03 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2002–03 | Veracruz | Primera División | 18 | 5 | |
| 2003–04 | Chiapas | Primera División | 5 | 1 | |
| 2004–05 | BUAP | Primera División A | 9 | 4 | |
| Country | Mexico | 328 | 117 | ||
| Argentina | 4 | 2 | |||
| United States | 30 | 13 | |||
| Total | 362 | 132 | |||
| Mexico | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals | |
| 1995 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1996 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 21 | 10 | |
| 1998 | 16 | 14 | |
| 1999 | 18 | 6 | |
| 2000 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 85 | 35 | |
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | November 16, 1995 | Estadio Tecnológico, Monterrey, Mexico | 1–2 | 1–4 | Friendly | ||
| 2. | December 6, 1995 | Estadio Héroe de Nacozari, Hermosillo, Mexico | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly | ||
| 3. | January 17, 1997 | Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, United States | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1997 U.S. Cup | ||
| 4. | April 13, 1997 | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico | 6–0 | 6–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 5. | April 20, 1997 | Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, United States | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
| 6. | June 13, 1997 | Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia | 1–0 | align=center rowspan="2" | 2–1 | 1997 Copa América | |
| 7. | 2–0 | ||||||
| 8. | June 16, 1997 | Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia | 1–0 | align=center rowspan="2" | 2–3 | 1997 Copa América | |
| 9. | 2–0 | ||||||
| 10. | June 19, 1997 | Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1997 Copa América | ||
| 11. | June 28, 1997 | Estadio Jesús Bermúdez, Oruro, Bolivia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1997 Copa América | ||
| 12. | December 12, 1997 | King Fahd II Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup | ||
| 13. | February 8, 1998 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, United States | 2–1 | align=center rowspan="2" | 4–2 | 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup | |
| 14. | 4–2 | ||||||
| 15. | February 12, 1998 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup | ||
| 16. | February 15, 1998 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup | ||
| 17. | April 15, 1998 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly | ||
| 18. | May 9, 1998 | Stadio Enzo Mazotti, Montecatini, Italy | 2–0 | align=center rowspan="3" | 6–0 | Friendly | |
| 19. | 4–0 | ||||||
| 20. | 6–0 | ||||||
| 21. | June 13, 1998 | Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France | 2–1 | align=center rowspan="2" | 3–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup | |
| 22. | 3–1 | ||||||
| 23. | June 25, 1998 | Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne, France | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup | ||
| 24. | June 29, 1998 | Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup | ||
| 25. | November 17, 1998 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | ||
| 26. | November 18, 1998 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly | ||
| 27. | February 19, 1999 | Hong Kong Stadium, Wan Chai, Hong Kong | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1999 Carlsberg Cup | ||
| 28. | June 9, 1999 | Soldier Field, Chicago, United States | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly | ||
| 29. | June 16, 1999 | Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1999 Korea Cup | ||
| 30. | June 30, 1999 | Estadio Antonio Oddone Sarubbi, Ciudad del Este, Paraguay | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1999 Copa América | ||
| 31. | July 10, 1999 | Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay | 1–2 | 3–3 (p.s.o) | 1999 Copa América | ||
| 32. | 2–2 | ||||||
| 33. | January 9, 2000 | McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, United States | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly | ||
| 34. | February 13, 2000 | Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States | 2–0 | 4–0 | |||
| 35. | January 31, 2001 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States | 2–0 | 2–3 | Friendly |
Monterrey
Necaxa
1995
LA Galaxy
América
Mexico
Individual