José Giacone put Marcel Hernández in Herediano’s starting lineup on Thursday for the club’s Copa Centroamericana debut against Marathón of Honduras. The move marked a clear shift from the role Hernández had been given before, when he had come off the bench in the Supercopa and the Recopa.
The search for Herediano Marathon sharpened because the lineup was not just about one match; it was about how Giacone wanted to open a regional tournament campaign. Herediano’s first team sheet listed Dany Carvajal, Keyner Brown, Getsel Montes, Haxzel Quirós, Darryl Araya, Sergio Rodríguez, Eduardo Juárez, Keysher Fuller, Emerson Bravo, Elías Aguilar and Hernández, with Aarón Suárez among the substitutes after arriving from football in Turkey.
Hernández’s place in the XI carried extra weight because he stayed concentrated with Herediano while the OIJ investigated an armed attack on NINE Gastro & Sports Bar in San Joaquín de Flores, Heredia, on Thursday morning. That detail does not change the lineup, but it explains why his name drew attention beyond the match itself: Giacone backed him to start while the investigation was still active.
There is also a football logic behind the decision. A starter can be used to hold the attack together from the first whistle, while a substitute is usually reserved for a later surge. By moving Hernández into the opening lineup, Giacone signaled that Herediano wanted more from him at the start of its Copa Centroamericana campaign, not as a late option after the game had already settled.
What happens next is now tied to performance, not only selection. If Hernández delivers in the debut, Giacone has a reason to keep him in the role for the matches that follow. If he does not, Thursday’s choice may look like a one-off answer to a single night rather than the start of a longer run in the team’s attack.
