Cucho Hernandez: Columbus Crew can do something beautiful this season
Crew president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko sat down at a table in front of a room full of reporters and picked up the mug in front of him.
“In case you were wondering, this is just water,” he said. “It’s not coffee from Colombia.”
The Crew formally introduced their season’s pick-me-up in the form of Colombian striker Cucho Hernandez, acquired from English Championship club Watford for a club record $10-10.5 million transfer fee.
He received a warm welcome from select members of the Columbus Hispanic community and the Nordecke supporters’ group on Wednesday at Lower.com Field. Hernandez can’t make his Crew debut until July 9 at Chicago after the transfer window opens on July 7.
He arrived in Columbus with high expectations as well as plenty of charisma that came through in his introductory press conference.
Coming from Watford — which wears black and yellow — and joining the black and gold of the Crew, as well as being a player for the yellow-clad Colombian national team, Hernandez was asked if he plays only for teams with that color scheme.
“Yes," he said in English before turning to club interpreter Carlos Mojica to finish his answer in Spanish. “Yellow looks good on me.”
MORE: How the Crew signed Cucho Hernandez and convinced him to leave Europe for MLS
Hernandez echoed what he had said in past interviews when asked about why he decided to sign with the Crew. He mentioned the club’s desire to win championships and being impressed with the new stadium and training facility, both of which opened last year. There were relationships he formed as well, specifically with Crew director of player personnel Issa Tall, that made him feel comfortable moving to Columbus.
The fact that he’s the most expensive signing in club history enticed him.
"Knowing what the project was and knowing that I was the most expensive signing made me want to come here,” Hernandez said. “I'm very happy because I feel very valued, and I hope to be able to repay everything (the club’s) done for me within the field.”
Hernandez proved he was already pretty comfortable in a new city and a new club.
"I love the city. It's not very big, it's very peaceful,” he said. “It's just like the city that I grew up in. Not much traffic. So, I'm very happy and I hope to get to know more about this beautiful city."
He is used to having to adapt. He has moved clubs almost every season since he was 18. He was loaned to a club in Colombia, then two clubs in Spain before playing this past season for Watford.
Hernandez said he knew the Crew from watching a lot of MLS before the Crew reached out to him. He was keenly aware of which player everyone wanted to hear his opinion.
"I think there's an answer everyone wants. That's Lucas (Zelarayan),” he said. “I love the way that he plays. He has a lot of quality, and I think we can understand each other well."
Despite his almost immediate stardom on the team and in MLS, Hernandez exemplified humility when asked how he goes about integrating into a new team. He's well aware of the expectations, but he stressed it’s about the team, not the number of goals he will score.
"I need to adjust the team. The team does not need to adjust to me, of course,” he said. “I think there are a lot of players that we can do something beautiful this season. I have high hopes of winning.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew introduce Columbian striker Cucho Hernandez
