Football
ESPN staff 8y

Javier Hernandez, Charles Aranguiz put aside rivalry for Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez said there are no hard feelings between him and teammate Charles Aranguiz despite the fact that Aranguiz and Chile handed Hernandez's Mexico squad a 7-0 defeat in Copa America Centenario quarterfinals earlier this summer.

The thrashing for El Tri also put Hernandez's dream of become his country's all-time leading goal scorer on hold for now. The Guadalajara native is one goal shy of tying Jared Borgetti's all-time record of 46 goals for Mexico.

La Roja, meanwhile, continued their winning ways in the tournament, eventually defeating Argentina, 4-2 on penalty kicks in the final to earn the trophy for the second straight year. 

"It was just one game," Hernandez told bundesliga.com. "[Charles and I] are now in Leverkusen [...] We're very good friends, we're professionals. No result needs to change that [relationship] you have outside those games."

The two put aside the rivalry between their home countries last season as they helped Leverkusen qualify for Champions League for a fourth consecutive campaign.

Hernandez, 28, impressed following his move from Manchester United last summer, scoring 26 goals in 38 games in all competitions for the Bundesliga side.

Aranguiz spent most of the season sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury, but contributed with two goals and two assists.

Hernandez told Leverkusen fans that the club have set a goal on winning silverware.

"If I score 100 goals it'll be fine, if I score 10 goals it'll be fine -- if the team achieve what we want," Hernandez said. "The most important thing here is each Bundesliga game, each Champions League game and each Pokal game to try and win it."

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