The vitamin tycoon who boosted Javier Hernandez's career

The vitamin tycoon who boosted Javier Hernandez's career

By Will Grant
BBC Spanish service, Mexico City
"It was me who gave 'El Chicharito' his debut," says Jorge Vergara belligerently.
Clearly the multi-millionaire owner of Mexico's most popular football team, Club Deportivo Guadalajara - or Chivas to give them their nickname, is not a man who hides in the shadows of the boardroom.

We want this to become the best team in the world... El Chicharito is an example of what we want to create. We want 11 like him
”
Jorge Vergara
Club Deportivo Guadalajara owner

In an era when directors and owners of football clubs are becoming as well-known as their managers, Vergara has no qualms about meddling in on-pitch matters.

Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez's senior bow for Chivas, as a teenager in 2006, was a case in point. Now 23, Hernandez, who is widely known by his nickname Chicharito - which translated into Spanish means 'little pea', established himself quickly at Old Trafford, helping United to their 19th League title last May.

"The then-coach didn't want him to debut. It is amazing how some coaches think," Vergara recalls with a headshake of derision. "So I kind of threatened him and said 'If you don't want him, I'll take him to the United States'."

It was no hollow threat. Since Vergara took over Chivas in 2002, he has expanded the brand to launch teams in the United States and China.

The original club is based in Mexico's second city, Guadalajara, where Vergara is from. He made his fortune through vitamin supplements and moved into football by buying his local club when it was at its lowest ebb, on and off the pitch.

"It was financially broke. Sports-wise it was a complete failure and it was in really deep trouble," Vergara, who is also a film producer, adds.

"So we launched new marketing strategies, we cleaned up the shirt which had 30 different sponsors on it, to dignify the brand. We started to recruit youngsters to build for the medium to long-term rather than just from one season to the next."

See full article here http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17016478