He was nicknamed El Mago for his performances in a Leeds United shirt, among other clubs, but Pablo Hernandez is now performing miracles in the dugout with hometown club Castellon.
Having clocked up 175 appearances for Leeds over five years, Hernandez would leave Leeds in 2021 and return to Castellon, where he continued playing for another two seasons, playing more than 50 games.
He remains a part-owner of Castellon and, after a dismal start to the season, was made interim manager in September. Castellon, currently in Spain’s second tier, were sitting in 19th and in the relegation zone.
Initially becoming manager temporarily, Castellon confirmed that Hernandez would take the job until the end of the season after four wins and only two defeats in his first eight league games as Castellon boss.
Sunday win pushes Pablo Hernandez’s Castellon into sixth place
Since confirmation that Hernandez would remain in the job until the end of the season, Castellon have picked up three straight wins. A total of seven wins, two draws and two losses in his 11 league matches.
The last of which came on Sunday. A 1-0 win over one of the best sides in the league, in Las Palmas. The win has pushed Castellon into the top six, an incredible feat given relegation looked likely in September.
Hernandez is thriving in his new role as manager, keeping four clean sheets in those 11 matches but also scoring 18 goals, five of which recently came in a nine-goal thriller against Real Sociedad’s B-team.
Pablo Hernandez addresses a potential ‘dream’ Leeds United return
“Obviously, the clubs [Valencia and Leeds] that are so important to me would be a dream, but it is not something I am considering at the moment.
“First, I want to learn a lot, I have a lot to learn, see if this is what really fulfils me and what I like, and in the future, we will see that it holds.”
Pablo Hernandez
Is Pablo Hernandez a contender to replace Daniel Farke?
There have been plenty of Leeds fans calling for Hernandez as a replacement for under-fire Leeds boss Daniel Farke, with the German watching his Leeds side lose six of their last seven Premier League games.
As things stand, a move for Hernandez to replace Farke having managed just 11 games in the Spanish second division is likely to be considered too soon. But it would be a romantic move for the Spaniard.
Hernandez has spoken about managing Leeds in the past: “Obviously, the clubs that are so important to me would be a dream, but it is something I am not considering at the moment.”
If Leeds decide to sack Farke, then Hernandez’s name will certainly be one mentioned as a possible candidate. But Farke has managed to secure a bit of good will for the time being, after Man City.
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