Giovanni Hernández

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Hernández and the second or maternal family name is Soto.

Giovanni Hernández

File:GiovanniHernandez.png
Personal information
Full name	Giovanni Andrés Hernández Soto
Date of birth	(1976-06-17) 17 June 1976
Place of birth	Cali, Colombia
Height
Position(s)	Playmaker
Team information
Current team	Uniautónoma (manager)
Youth career
1986–1993	Boca Juniors de Cali
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1993–1995	Once Caldas	28	(11)
1995–1996	América de Cali	57	(2)
1996–1999	Independiente Medellín	111	(20)
2000–2003	Deportivo Cali	132	(30)
2003–2006	Colón de Santa Fe	124	(14)
2007-2008	Colo-Colo	39	(13)
2008–2012	Atlético Junior	153	(33)
2013–2014	Independiente Medellín	46	(5)
2014	Uniautónoma	11	(0)
International career‡
1995–2009	Colombia	46	(5)
Managerial career
2015	Uniautónoma
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 January 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 November 2010

Giovanni Andrés Hernández Soto (Spanish pronunciation: [xjoˈβannj herˈnandeθ soˈto], born 17 June 1976) is a retired Colombian footballer and currently manager of Uniautónoma. He is famous for his technical ability to create plays, and ability to create goals out of free kicks.

History

Early career

Giovanni Hernández made his professional debut at the age of 17 with Once Caldas. In 1995 he played for América de Cali and he scored 5 goals during this season. He continued playing for the club during the 1996 Copa Libertadores where he scored 2 goals. He played for Independiente Medellín during 1998. At the end of that year, he was brought by Deportivo Cali.

Deportivo Cali

He played for Deportivo Cali in the 1999 Copa Libertadores as a substitute, but after a few goals he became a starter for the 2001 season, where he scored 13 goals.

Colón

In the second half of 2003, Hernández was sold to Argentine club Colón de Santa Fe. There he scored a goal and made an assist in his debut game. He quickly became one of the favorites in the Argentine league reaching a total of 12 goals that season. He played in the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup with a lacklustre performance, not scoring a single goal.

Colo-Colo

Before the beginning of the 2007 Apertura in Chile, Giovanni joined Chilean club Colo-Colo. He was a vital part of the team that would eventually won the championship. Giovanni was the second leading scoring of the team with 7 goals. After a three-year absence from the Colombian national team, Giovanni was recalled for the match against Mexico in August 22.

Junior

Giovanni goes back to Colombia to play for Junior de Barranquilla, being the most expensive transfer made by the team at the time. Giovanni helped the team to reach the playoffs and to keep the team in the first division. He was of vital importance in obtaining the title in 2010.

International career

Hernández was called up along with his teammate Jairo Patiño to the Colombian national team for the 2001 Copa América, which they won. Colombia did not qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup but did qualify for the 2003 Confederations Cup where he was called up again. Giovanni scored 3 goals in 5 games and he was considered one of the best players of the tournament.

International goals

Giovanni Hernández: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	23 July 2001	Estadio Centenario, Armenia, Colombia	Peru	2–0	3–0	Copa América
2	20 June 2003	Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France	New Zealand	3–1	3–1	Confederations Cup
3	22 June 2003	Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne, France	Japan	0–1	0–1	Confederations Cup
4	28 June 2003	Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne, France	Turkey	1–1	1–2	Confederations Cup
5	30 April 2008	Estadio Alfonso López, Bucaramanga, Colombia	Venezuela	3–2	5–2	Exhibition game

Honours

Club

América de Cali

• Copa Libertadores (1): Runner–up 1996

Colo-Colo

• Torneo de Apertura (1): 2007
• Torneo de Clausura (1): 2007

Junior

• Torneo de Apertura (1): 2010
• Torneo Finalización (1): 2011

International

• Copa América (1): 2001

External links

• Giovanni Hernández at Football Lineups
• Giovanni Hernández at Soccerway
• Argentine Primera statistics