Mascherano’s Career : Javier Alejandro Mascherano is considered one of the best in the world in his position, that is defensive midfielder. However, he has also played as a central defender. Among the most important hounours in his carrer, at National team level are: a South American U-20 and two gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games respectively, being the only football player capable to achieve this. At club level he won the Primera División Argentina- torneo de clausura- with the Argentina River Plate, a Campeonato Brasileiro with Corinthians, A Liga Española, a UEFA Champions League, a Copa del Rey, a Supercopa de España, a UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup with the team he actually plays, FC Barcelona. Club Atlético River Plate He then moves to Buenos Aires because he joins the youth ranks of the Club Atlético River Plate, at the same time he also joins the Argentina national under-20 football team, he started to get much attention for his performance, so much as to the Ajax club offers him to join their team, He denies this offer. In the youth ranks of the Millionaire team he becomes champion in the senventh division, while he was enjoying his title, he was also preparing to debut in the Argentina National Football Team in a friendly match against the National team of Uruguay, the opening night of City Stadium of La Plata, an unprecedented event. He then debuted in the Primera Division of the Argentina Football League on August 3, 2003 in the game that beats River Plate 2:1 in New Chicago. In total, Javier would play over 50 games with this institution, For the final of the Copa Sudamericana in 2003 he was especially requested by the River Plate coach, Manuel Pellegrini, so he had to travel all the way from the United Arab Emirates since in that time he was also contesting in the U-20 World championship taking place there -He then is proclaimed champion of Torneo Clausura in 2004. He will also have the opportunity to play the Copa Libertadores in 2004 and 2005, scoring in that last year, his first official goal in a phenomenal play against Olmedo. His last official match was on July 3, 2005, when the team Millionaire wins at home to Club Atlético Huracán 1:0; the match ended in a standing ovation for el jefecito, demonstrating the respect and admiration he garnered ever since he started in the youth ranks. Sport Club Corinthians Paulista His high performance had made several European clubs become interested in signing Javier, but ultimately is Corinthians who do; introducing him officially on July 7, 2005 after paying $ 15 million for his move there. Despite arriving with the highest expectations in his new team Javier will experience one of the most difficult moments of his career when, soon after arriving in the club Paulista, he suffers a stress fracture in the scaphoid bone in his left foot while contesting a match against Internacional de Porto Alegre, fighting for the Brasileirao. This injury forced him to undergo surgery and keeps him away from the field for seven months. In this matter, the jefecito recognizes that this situation helped him understand that he should rest from the tremendous demand that required him to be part of his national team - in earlier and later stages - and his club, playing continuously over the years within each competition, something that brought these physical disadvantages. As for titles, with the Timão he will win a Brazilian League. Subsequently, the situation starts to become tense when results begin to be disappointing in the next championship and Emerson Leao becomes team coach, who was already famous for his rivalry with Argentine players. The most critical point is then realized when the Brazilian coach denies Mascherano (along with fellow Argentine player at the time of the Corinthians, Carlos Tevez) approval to play for his National team a friendly match against Brazil in London, arguing that its entire team was needed to overcome the difficult time that the club was going through in the national league. This and other frictions became irreversible for Javier, so he followed in the footsteps of Tevez and make the decision to seek a new football destination. West Ham United After many rumors, he moved to Europe on August 30 2006 to be transferred to the West Ham United in a joint operation with compatriot Carlos Tevez, for an amount of over $ 50 million, this brought several controversies. This transfer turned out to be not positive: he only participated in five matches with the Hammers, of which only three he played as a starter. As expected, its performance fails to meet their expectations and, as this was not taken into consideration by the coaches, the jefecito realizes his overwhelming desire to leave the entity in which, finally, only stayed for six months. Liverpool Football Club In late 2006, the Liverpool expresses its intention to recruit Mascherano, this was somewhat difficult at first because the FIFA regulations prohibit the participation of a player on three teams in one season and Javier had already played for Corinthians and West Ham United, forcing the Anfield team to perform various efforts in this regard, including a request to FIFA to be able to have his services. On January 31, 2007, FIFA would grant the permit after considering the seasons similarities of South American and European football. Later, Liverpool had to wait the approval by the Premier League until it was finally granted. Once these issues were solved, the jefecito officially debuted against Sheffield United on February 24 2007. In late February 2008 He signed a new contract with Liverpool FC until 2012, after the Reds paid the purchase which would have amounted to $ 35 million. In Liverpool, from the start Mascherano becomes an undisputed starter lead by the hand of coach Rafael Benitez, playing continuously in three seasons, performing excellently and even reaching the final of the Champions League 2007 against Milan in which, despite of losing in the final encounter 2-1, is chosen as the best player of the match for Liverpool fans. F.C. Barcelona Even knowing that he occupied a privileged position in the team, something that will be implemented effectively August 27, 2010 when Liverpool FC- after trying unsuccessfully to keep him- agrees the transfer of the player to FC Barcelona for the amount of 24 million euros. The agreed terms also included a contract for the next four seasons, the player earning 5.5 million per year plus incentives. In his introduction, Javier stood up for his modesty: said he came to learn and join a great team, which was a challenge for him. This did not prevent, in the final stretch of the 2010-11 season, for him to have a key role in the Catalan team, compensating with excellence for the absence of some teammates (Carles Puyol, Eric Abidal ...). Thus, his excellent performance in the Catalan club raised him constant praise from his coach, Pep Guardiola: Mascherano is a spectacular recruit. For a team like Barca is priceless to have him. It is a success... In the practice, Mascherano will achieve during his first season a Liga española and a Champions League, that last one after beating Manchester United 3-1. Similarly, the beginning of the 2011-2012 season continues to unfold in a very promising way, playing as starter, he won with FC Barcelona the Supercopa de España after beating in the defining game 3-2 to Real Madrid. Subsequently, He is also part of the lineup to win the European Super Cup after beating FC Porto 2-0 at the Stade Louis II stadium located in the Principality of Monaco. The jefecito has quickly become, one of defensive pillars of the team, earning the title of which is considered the best team in the world. Following the successes during the closing of the first part of the 2011-2012 season, the club won after beating Japan 4-0 to Brazilian team Santos FC; victory in which Mascherano gets a new honour, FIFA Club World cup 2011. Argentine footballer kept completing meritorious central defense games, to the point that Pep Guardiola said: I would never trade Mascherano. I think hes the best signing of Barcelona in the past years, Hes unique In late July 2012 the renewal with the Catalan club was made official until 2016. National Team Since its incipient beginning, the Jefecito was marked as a player of the national team, being part of the Argentine youth team in its different categories:U-15, U-17 ( in which he won the 2nd place in the South American U-17 of 2001, then he wins the 4th place in the Trinidad and Tobago World championship in 2001) and U-20 (with which he becomes South American champion of Under-20 in 2003 and also obtains a 4th place in the United Arab Emirates FIFA Club World Cup that year ). He also participates with the youth in the Toulon hope tournament and in 2002 he traveled to the World Cup in Korea and Japan where he serves as sparring of the senior team In almost every competition, Mascherano would perform as captain by choice of his teammates and the coaching staff, having notable performances and also meeting a singular statistic: by that time he had played more games for the Argentina National Football Team than with his club River Plate. Finally, his international debut in the senior team came at age 19 on July 16 2003 in the match Uruguay 2:2 Argentina in La Plata, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Estadio Unico and lead by the hand of Marcelo Bielsa. A month and a half later, River Plate would debut in the hands of Manuel Pellegrini. His case is one of the few in which a player first debuted in a senior team before making it into a club. In this regard, Javier realized that although he was the youngest at the time, he was not interested, because it was important to feel useful and give your life in the field for your team His performance, behavior and sacrifice earned him the praise in the “albiceleste”: Mascherano is the example to follow (...) I wish all players would love their Team Jersey that much Diego Armando Maradona. Power Soccer, October 2008.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 22:52:14 +0000
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