Onel Hernández


Onel Lázaro Hernández Mayea is a Cuban professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Norwich City.
He emigrated to Germany as a child, and played in the 2. Bundesliga for Arminia Bielefeld and Eintracht Braunschweig. In January 2018, he signed for Norwich City, going on to become the first Cuban to play and score in the Premier League.

Club career

Germany

Born in Morón, Cuba, Hernández came through the academy system at TuS Westfalia Neuenkirchen, FC Gütersloh 2000, Rot Weiss Ahlen and Arminia Bielefeld. He made his professional league debut for Arminia Bielefeld in the 2. Bundesliga against SC Paderborn 07 on 1 October 2010. In this game, he was substituted in the 78th minute for Franck Manga Guela by Christian Ziege. He played 28 league games for Arminia Bielefeld from 2010 to 2012. After two years he moved to SV Werder Bremen II. On 10 January 2014, Hernández moved to VfL Wolfsburg II.
On 2 June 2016, Hernández signed with 2. Bundesliga club Eintracht Braunschweig for the 2016–17 season.

Norwich City

Hernández moved to EFL Championship club Norwich City on 25 January 2018, signing a 3-year contract under German manager Daniel Farke. He made his debut on 3 February in a 1–0 home win over Middlesbrough, as an 86th-minute substitute for Josh Murphy. On 4 August 2018, in the first game of the new season, he scored his first goals in a 2–2 draw at Birmingham City, and added seven more as the Canaries were promoted as champions.
On 9 August 2019, Hernández came on as a second-half substitute in Norwich's 4–1 away defeat to Liverpool, becoming the first Cuban to play in the Premier League. He was the first of his countrymen to score in the league too on 27 October, in a 3–1 loss to Manchester United at Carrow Road;.

International career

Hernández has represented Germany once at the under-18 level, in a match against Ukraine in 2010.
In November 2018, Hernández was called up for the first time by Cuba, but would not be permitted to play due to political rules that only allows Cuba-based players to take part in the national team matches.

Personal life

Hernández grew up in Gütersloh after having emigrated from Cuba to Germany with his mother and sister at the age of six. He was introduced to football by his German stepfather, who believed it would help Hernández integrate better into German society.
Hernández became a fan favourite at Norwich after a January 2019 interview in which he spoke in praise of catalogue retailer Argos, who gave him a catalogue signed by their CEO as a souvenir. He did a signing event at their Norwich outlet in March.

Career statistics

Honours

Norwich City