Jean-François Hernandez

Jean-François Hernandez
Personal information
Full name Jean-François Hernandez[1]
Date of birth (1969-04-23) 23 April 1969 (age 55)[1]
Place of birth Tours, France[1]
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
Toulouse
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1994 Toulouse 148 (3)
1994–1995 Sochaux 29 (0)
1995–1997 Marseille 31 (1)
1998 Compostela 14 (1)
1998–2000 Rayo Vallecano 66 (7)
2000–2001 Atlético Madrid 14 (0)
2001–2002 Rayo Vallecano 15 (2)
Total 317 (14)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jean-François Hernandez (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ fʁɑ̃swa ɛʁnɑ̃dɛz, - ɛʁnandɛs]; born 23 April 1969) is a French former professional footballer who played as a central defender.

Club career

Born in Tours of Spanish descent,[2] Hernandez played for Toulouse FC, FC Sochaux-Montbéliard and Olympique de Marseille in his own country, amassing Ligue 1 totals of 177 games and three goals in representation of the first two clubs.[3][4] In the 1995–96 season, he helped the third to promote from Ligue 2 as runners-up.[5]

Hernandez moved to Spain in January 1998, where he spent the remainder of his career. He started out at SD Compostela, making his La Liga debut on the 4th by coming on as a 14th-minute substitute in a 1–1 away draw against Real Oviedo;[6] the Galicians went on to suffer relegation.[7]

The following four years, Hernandez alternated between the top flight and the Segunda División, with Rayo Vallecano[8] and Atlético Madrid. He retired in 2002, at the age of 33.[9]

Personal life

Hernandez's sons, Lucas and Théo, are also footballers.[10] The former stated in October 2018 that they had not had contact with Jean-François in 12 years.[11]

In 2022, French newspaper L'Équipe found that Hernandez – who had not been seen in 18 years – was living in Thailand. Close contacts said that he had attempted to restore contact with his sons, but had been blocked legally by their mother.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Jean-François Hernandez at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ Barrère, Sébastien (21 March 2018). "Lucas Hernandez, l'Espagnol à l'accent français" [Lucas Hernandez, the Spaniard with the French accent]. La Dépêche du Midi (in French). Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  3. ^ Breton, Sylvie (10 July 2018). "France-Belgique: le défenseur des Bleus Lucas Hernandez abandonné par son père quand il était enfant" [France-Belgium: Blues defender Lucas Hernandez abandoned by his father when he was a baby] (in French). Télé-Loisirs. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Foot: 18 ans après, la disparition de l'ex-Toulousain Jean-François Hernandez, père de Lucas et Théo, reste un mystère" [Foot: 18 years later, disappearance of former Toulousain Jean-François Hernandez, father of Lucas and Théo, remains a mystery]. La Dépêche du Midi (in French). 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Gili: "Même à Bordeaux, Tapie m'appelait dans la nuit"" [Gili: "Even in Bordeaux, Tapie called me in the night"]. Le Phocéen (in French). 3 October 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  6. ^ Márquez, M. (5 January 1998). "Punto agridulce del Compos" [Bittersweet point for Compos]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Hemeroteca | 1998 | El Compos baja a Segunda tras empatar con el Villarreal" [Archives | 1998 | Compos relegated to Segunda after drawing with Villarreal]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 24 May 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  8. ^ Sanz, Óscar (6 November 1999). "Los poderes del líder" [The leader's strengths]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  9. ^ Barquilla, Gonzalo (25 March 2016). "El aprendiz supera al maestro" [Pupil outdoes master] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Lucas, el futuro jefe de la defensa" [Lucas, defense's future boss]. ABC (in Spanish). 5 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  11. ^ "Lucas Hernandez speaks about his father: We've not heard from him for 12 years". Marca. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Father of Lucas and Theo Hernandez 'turns up' 18 years later: He's waiting for his children to call him". Marca. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.