The Life of Pablo

Most readers will know of the Pablo Hernández of today. El Mago Español (The Spanish Wizard), or simply El Mago, as he is commonly known by folk in the West of Yorkshire. With feather-weight feet that can cushion a pass pinged from 50 yards away, tricky turns that leave defenders disorientated and precision finishing that bemuse once bullish keepers. From tiros libres (free kicks), to tidy lofted finishes from outside the box, Pablito (little Pablo) is known for all sorts of golazos (wonder goals). It is no wonder that Leeds manager, Marcelo Bielsa, described him as "a complete player from every point of view"- high praise indeed. What I would add to what El Loco (the crazy one), Marcelo, says here is that Pablo is also a complete person. The job of a footballer is usually seen in the context of what they can conjure up every time they cross that white line and the impact they have in the game. Yet, I think what Marcelo was getting at goes beyond this. A complete player infers professionalism, responsibility and a desire to always do more. That is what Pablo does best. We see this with his work in the community and importance to clubs, team mates and, most importantly, the fans. This side before self attitude is what will make him remembered for years to come. Of course, before reaping the rewards as a club legend, one must stake a claim for themselves and suffer before getting there. This is 'The Life of Pablo', a story of humble beginnings, heartache and heroics. We've only just begun.

Source: teamtalk.com

The Chico from Castellón de la Plana

Pablo Hernández Domínguez was born in the province of Castellón, part of the Autonomous Community of Valencia, which spans most of the east coast of Spain. In this sleepy part of the country (having seen first hand when travelling through last year) a passion awoke in young Pablo- a passion for football. He would begin plying his trade at the youth setup of local side, Club Deportivo Castellón, CD Castellón for short. Here, at this historic club, Pablo started out as delantero (striker) and his talents did not go unrecognised. He was soon picked up by Valencia CF to further his development. Although it was goodbye to CD Castellón, his story at his local team was far from over- but more on that later. Now, it was the first of many tests for Pablo. Bigger names and better opposition, a bold plan from Pablo was needed.

Source: marca.com

It is common in the larger Spanish league clubs to have a 'B' team that is used for fostering talented youngsters in La segunda o tercera before letting them loose in the A-team. Like many before him, Pablo spent time getting exposure in the sheltered environment before moving on loan to another Valencian team, CD Onda (which genuinely translates as wave and vibe- very apt for Pablo in terms of story and personality). A location where Remontada's favourite Geordie, Jack, would teach for the duration of last year on Erasmus. Judging by his description of the area as "a true, traditional Valenciano town where everyone knows one another and friendliness is common", meaning this a low-pressure move close to home for Pablito. From here, he would return to Valencia, make one appearance for the first team before another cesión (loan move) to Cádiz. This is where he started to become synonymous for his consistency and, above all, his talent. This loan earned Pablo a traspaso (transfer) to Getafe as a bargaining chip for Valencia to get Alexis Delgado (Alex Slim for all you in favour of anglicising his name) in return. As a testament to yet another strong season, Valencia resigned El Mago Español for €1 million the summer after. This time he would be more mature and was ready to stake a claim pulling the strings for his boyhood team.

Source: todocoleccion.net

Euro Heartache and bad timing

Before he had the chance to prove the doubters wrong at Valencia, Pablo found himself in an outsider chance of getting to the 2008 Euros with La Selección (The Spanish national team). This came on the back of the Spanish national manager, Luis Aragonés, keeping a close eye on his development at Getafe. Having liked what he saw, Luis invited Pablo to the 32-man provisional squad. Unfortunately, when up against the likes of Fernando Torres, Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fàbregas; places in the squad were filling up and there was no room for Pablo in the final squad of 23. When looking at fringe players that came ahead of him in his position, like Sergio García of Zaragoza and Daniel Güiza of Mallorca, Pablo would have been gutted. One can only imagine the number of 'what-ifs' that went through his head on the night of 29th June 2008 when his country beat Germany 1-0. A title that would be the birth of a giant in international football. Sadly for Hernández, this was a precursor in what would come to overshadow Pablo- a generational player who found himself in the midst of the greatest ever Spanish and Valencia sides. Timing really can be a bitch.

Source: surinenglish.com

Familiar Faces and a Rekindled Spirit

Upon his return to Valencia, Pablo would be tasked with impressing new manager, Unai Emery, in the golden age of arguably one of the strongest Valencian sides seen in recent decades. The 2008/09 season being a standout for a prime David Villa bagging 28 league goals, alongside a quality winger in Joaquín (who is still playing in La Liga for Real Betis, aged 39!) and another young prospect in Juan Mata, Pablo cut a frustrated figure. Aged 23 now, he would feature 21 times in the league and score 3 goals, having a similar season to David Silva who would accumulate more minutes than Pablo's 1040. Competing with Silva on the bench was hard enough, let alone dislodging the talent in the starting lineup.

One of the few positives for Pablo in his early days at Valencia were born from his inclusion in the UEFA Cup (a welcome blast from the past for some readers). Unai would entrust his fringe players in this cup for experience and fitness. Two things that Pablito would relish. After a successful season playing second fiddle to Joaquín, his performances would give him the chance to force himself into the first team picture for the next season. More importantly, it was this competition in which he would get his all important first goal for Valencia. It came on the 27th November 2008 against Rosenburg in a socks-over-the-knee kind of evening in Norway. It had all the hallmarks of what was to come. Hugging the touchline he brings a defence-splitting pass under his control. His first thought- cut in and run at the defenders. He skips past one mug, megs another and, just as it looks he's about to lose control, he sends a wonderful curling effort into the top right corner. He's made the keeper look silly. The centre half has hands on his hip. Pablo points to the heavens and Unai is throwing limbs on the touchline- this means more, this is the stuff of dreams.

From a frustrating first season back at La Mestalla, he would progress into Unai Emery's plans more each season that followed. Don't get me wrong, from a creating aspect, Juan Mata was still the one with the keys to unlock space for David Villa in behind. Yet, Pablo was able to be a part of some of the best attacking football the area of Valencia had seen during the 2009/10 season as they finished 3rd in La Liga. Spending the season linking with Villa, Mata, Silva and Joaquín weekly in front of your friends and family- now that is what football is all about. Also, Pablo would be playing often with his good friend, Ángel Dealbert, with whom he started his footballing journey at Castellón. A team mate who would become business partner in 2017 as they would buyout CD Castellón, owning the team where it all began. They would be owners for just a couple of years before parting ways in 2019. What could have been.

Anyway, the start of the 2010/11 season saw a new look Valencia side without Villa and Silva, who had left for Barcelona and Manchester City respectively. Now Pablo became the key man, alongside Mata, Joaquín and Éver Benega, they would quickly ensure new signings Roberto Soldado (From Getafe) and Aritz Adruiz (From Mallorca) would get hatfuls of goals for their new equipo (club). Pablo would continue to be influential for Valencia in the season that followed, which would be his last before testing himself in the Premier League with new boys Swansea City. One of his most memorable performances came against Barcelona in the 2009/10 season where he set La Mestalla alight. He chased lost causes, he was dogged in challenges and played the most beautiful disguised passes. It was, and remained throughout his career, mind-boggling to see a wide player exert such influence in a game. He was everywhere. At one point, he picked up a loose ball (you could easily mistake him for a CDM) before unleashing a shot from his own half that was too close to comfort for Victor Valdes. It may have ended in a draw but the dead serious look in his eyes throughout would suggest he had channeled his Euros frustration into the best team at that time, the champions of Europe no less.

Pablo to Swansea- Nice to Michu!

Once legend of Spanish football, Michael Laudrup, got in touch with Hernández to bolster his attacking options and shock the Premier League with his Swansea side. It did not take much to persuade him as Pablo saw one thing- a new challenge, but this time on the biggest stage of them all. In his first season, he formed a rather iconic Swansea team that was firing on all cylinders with Michu leading the line having been brought in from Rayo Vallecano. Pablo managed 30 games in his debut season and played his part in Michu achieving an incredible 18 league goals. Having a connection with Michu on the pitch, humble Pablo often shouted out fellow Spaniard, Ángel Rangel for helping him off the pitch with language barriers. For whatever communication problems Pablo may have faced at Swansea, he was able to star in the sides League Cup run- a run that would see the Swans win 5-0 in the final at Wembley against Bradford City. He had unknowingly opened the book for his own Leeds United folklore story, one that wouldn't be revisited for a couple of years. Despite describing his time in Wales as a lonely period in his life, he was able to get the all important silverware in his first season. He would last one season more season with the Swans before moving to Qatari club, Al-Arabi. From here he would have loan spells to Al-Nasr Dubai in the UAE and Rayo Vallecano in Spain before Elland Road came calling.

Falling in love with Loiners

Having lived in Leeds for some three years, I can fully appreciate how big Leeds United are in and around the city. When I moved here in September 2017 to start my studies at the University of Leeds, Pablo had been here for a year on a loan move that would become permanent in January 2017. His good pal Garry Monk was sufficiently impressed during their time together in Wales to take a punt on Pablo. This time, his arena would be Elland Road and his battles would be in the testing Championship; one that has worn down even the bravest of heart. With the offer of short-term contracts, based on performances alone, Hernández would have a real test. Succeed, and he could capture the hearts of the Leeds faithful. Fail, and he would be added to the pile of flops to have joined Leeds and left without reaching that all important return to the promised land- the likes of Adryan, Steve Morrison and Alfonso Pedraza lurking in the shadows of a once cursed club. The hopes of the fans would now lie in the hands of a new claimant to the throne, a Spanish saviour aged 30 and tasked with driving the club back to where they belonged. In his first season he played 32 games and managed 6 goals and 8 assists in a less than impressive campaign, with the side finishing 7th in the Championship- he did, however, pull off some outrageous skills and golazos.

In the following season, he would maintain his impressive debut season and be a consistent performer for the side. Unfortunately, they could only muster a 13th place finish predominately thanks to Kemar Roofe's 11 league goals, otherwise they would have fared even worse. With some changes on the pitch, all eyes were fixated on the dugout as a former Argentine national team manager would replace a former... Barnsley manager. Change had arrived and its name was Marcelo Bielsa. El Loco transformed the side from the get go. Triple sessions all summer at the Thorpe Arch training ground. Talent was recognised and appreciated, something to strive for, and Pablo was one of the examples. There was a real buzz around the city and they were right to be excited.

In a season where they reached the heights of 3rd place, Hernández was playing like a man possessed. 39 games, 12 goals and 12 assists. Marcelo found his man and had the heartache of play-off defeat not ended their promotion charge, it would have been the perfect season. But our Pablo was used to heartbreak by now, he knew more than most that the best thing was for the club to dust off and go again for the new season. My word, how they did too. Preseason was of typical intensity, players fitter and hungrier than ever- never put down the Loiners of Leeds. The team flew off with a great start to a promotion charge, as they had the season before. The key change was that when the sticky games came, this time they would find that all important goal. Mejor dicho (better said), Pablo found the goal. That goal in question came in July 2020 at familiar territory, it had to be Swansea. After a long and tense 89 minutes, with the score at 0-0 and the Leeds fans at home watching tentatively. Up steps Pablo to snatch a late winner with an effort that his wife, Mar, tweeted as being indescriptible (indescribable), which is more than fair to say. As Hernández's heroics would rekindle the spirit of Leeds to march onto the Promised Land as champions. Just look at the team's reaction.

That place in Leeds United folklore was all but established now. With his club being back in the Premier League after a 16-year absence, he was one of the key reasons why they made it back. His fight, skill and ambition were everything that was needed to lead them back. In return, the city now holds El Mago in the highest regard. He may feature in the background of the Leeds side but his role at the club is very much at centre stage. After a frustrating start to his career, he has always had to dig deep and graft to get to where he wanted. This is something that not every club in the world appreciates, however, Leeds United and their fan base are unlike any other in the world. Pablo has found a place to call home in West Yorkshire. You'll do me right, kid.