Leeds United fan's incredible tattoo of ‘iconic’ and historic goal wows Whites legend

Lifelong Whites supporter Alex Crook wanted his first tattoo to have significant meaning and Hernandez’ now-iconic celebration of the goal he scored to all-but secure the club’s return to the Premier League was a stand-out candidate.

Leeds went into the game, played behind closed doors due to the pandemic, having marked the passing of one of their all-time greats in Jack Charlton. The emotions poured out on 89 minutes when, at the end of a tense battle they deserved to win, Leeds broke from deep in their own half through Luke Ayling and Hernandez popped up in the area to stroke the ball home off the post. His goal sparked wild scenes, with substitutes racing down the touchline to embrace the midfielder and club staff celebrating in the stands.

Victory put Marcelo Bielsa’s side on the very cusp of automatic promotion and it was sealed five days later, when a 1-0 victory over Barnsley was followed by West Bromwich Albion’s defeat by Huddersfield Town. Hernandez’ nine goals and nine assists played a huge part in the triumph, securing legendary status.

Kildare native Crook, 25, told the YEP: “After growing up hearing stories about the good old days, watching highlights on YouTube, it only seemed right to get something to remember finally going up and getting back to that. I always remember Pablo's goal against Swansea as the moment that even we couldn't mess it up, so it was an obvious choice for me.”

Crook tasked Keith ‘Rusty’ Murphy with carrying out the work and the result came to Hernandez’ attention on social media. The wizard, who departed Elland Road in 2021 after 175 appearances but is still playing at the age of 37 for Castellón, a team he part owns in the Spanish third tier, posted Murphy’s image of the tattoo on his Instagram account with a stunned emoji.

Murphy said: “It was Alex’s first tattoo and an iconic memory for him in football history. He said he had never seen his father react to a goal as much as he did for that one.”

Crook is delighted with the outcome. “I’m really happy with it, Keith did a brilliant job and I can't recommend him enough, it’s worth a flight to Dublin to get work done by him,” he said.

Murphy can be found on Instagram at @keith_rusty_murphy.