Name: Javier Alejandro Mascherano
Born: June 8, 1984 in San Lorenzo, Argentina
Position: Midfielder/Defender
Pro club: Barcelona
2014 FIFA World Cup: Sportsnet.ca is your home for in-depth coverage of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. TV viewers can watch all 64 games on CBC and Sportsnet from June 12 to July 13. Be sure to watch Connected every night on Sportsnet for all of the latest news and analysis. And check out Sportsnet magazine’s team profiles of all 32 nations.
Why he’s in the news
Partly because of his defensive master-class against the Netherlands in a very negative 0-0 semifinal draw that had to be settled through penalties. And partly because in that game, while lunging to make a desperate injury-time tackle against Arjen Robben that very well could have saved the match for Argentina, Mascherano tore his anus. Yes, you read that right. The man himself confirmed it afterwards. This is after having been knocked out cold and possibly suffering a concussion earlier in the match.
And just like that, Neymar’s spine crack becomes the second-most talked about injury of the World Cup, or at least it should. Aside from that, Mascherano is set to start in the World Cup final this Sunday, which is really all any one needs to be in the news. So feel free to dispense with the click-baiting, Javier.
He’s special because
He’s the kind of player that adds grit to a team. A tireless ball-winning defensive midfielder, Mascherano plays with admirable intensity—he was even once sent off for kicking a medic—in front of the back four, breaking down attacks as they build. No mere one-trick pony, Mascherano has shown some defensive dexterity, often turning out as a centre-back for Barcelona. There’s little glamour in Mascherano’s game—he’s only scored three times in over a 100 appearances for Argentina, and has just one goal in his entire club career—but he does the kind of Yeoman’s work upon which victories are built. Argentina has much to thank him for. The Albiceleste’s backline was heavily criticized ahead of the tournament, but with Mascherano providing a near-impenetrable shield, recovering 42 balls through the tournament and averaging 4.7 tackles per game. If he puts in another shift like he did against the Dutch, the Golden Ball award is a possibility.
Club career
After turning European heads with his three years worth of performances at River Plate in his native Argentina and Corinthians over the border in Brazil, in 2006 Mascherano was finally set for a move to a big club across the Atlantic. It came as a surprise, then, that he signed for West Ham—not exactly London’s top Premier League destination. His time with the Hammers would ultimately be short-lived, unhappy and controversial. Frequently left out of the squad, Mascherano pushed for a move at the first opportunity—the January 2007 transfer window. Because of FIFA regulations about playing for more than two teams in a single year (July 1-June 30), he needed special permission to be sent on loan to Liverpool. The loan move brought to light details of Mascherano’s move from Corinthians that landed West Ham in hot water over breaching rules concerning third-party player ownership. In the end West Ham was fined a total of £5.5 million for rule breaches in transferring Mascherano and fellow Argentine Carlos Tevez.
Worst of all for West Ham? Mascherano blossomed at Liverpool, eventually making 94 league appearances for the Reds (compared to five for West Ham) and winning runners-up honours in the 2006-07 Champions League. Moving to Barcelona in 2010, Mascherano would eventually do one better, claiming Europe’s top prize in 2010-11, as well as two La Liga titles and a Copa del Rey.
International career
“This is a chance for me to become the only Argentinian footballer to achieve the Olympic double, and if I do, I’ll go down in history.” That was Javier Mascherano ahead of the 2008 Olympics. He did achieve the double, following his 2004 Olympic gold with a gold in Beijing, the only Argentine footballer to do so.
He was already a full senior international by the time he set off for Athens in 2004, however, getting his first call in 2003. By the time the World Cup came around, he was a key cog for the Albiceleste, playing every minute of Argentina’s 2006 campaign that saw them knocked out in the quarters. If the result disappointed, Mascherano didn’t and was rewarded with the captaincy by none other less than Diego Maradona, who managed the squad in the 2010 tournament. In South Africa, Mascherano led his team to the quarters, where they lost (again) to Germany (again).
Now boasting 104 senior caps, Mascherano has already bettered his record, and on Sunday has the opportunity to help bring home Argentina’s first World Cup since 1986.
Interesting fact
Mascherano is one of just two Argentines to claim multiple Olympic gold medals—the other being Juan Deigo Nelson, who claimed polo gold in 1924 and 1936, before the sport was dropped from the games.
His most famous moment(s)
Let’s forget that he tore his anus in front of hundreds and hundreds of millions of people, because that tackle was brilliant. Daring, but perfectly timed, and absolutely necessary—if there’s one person on that pitch that the Argentines wouldn’t want bearing down on goal in injury time with a spot on the World Cup Final on the line, it’s Arjen Robben. On top of the rest of his performance as part of a rock-solid defensive setup—Mascherano led the team in tackles made in the game—it was El Jefecito at his best.
“I thought I had slipped, I thought I wouldn’t make it, but I tore my anus on that move, the pain…it was terrible. I threw myself into it. I could have been sent off. It could have been a penalty but anyone could have done that, I had the luck to get there,” Mascherano said, redefining “luck,” and explaining how he injured his backside stopping Robben from getting in on goal in the semifinals.
He said it
“We played a brilliant game, without any fear of anything,” Mascherano told reporters after the semifinal. “We came into the game of our lives and now we will enjoy it because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Hopefully we will be crowned champions on Sunday but, regardless of the outcome, I have no words to express how proud I am.”
What they’re saying about him
“Messi is Argentina’s captain, their talisman, their most creative, feted maestro. His club-mate, Mascherano, is their warrior in chief,” writes Guardian football correspondent Henry Winter. “Messi and Mascherano are the light and shade of Argentina, the entertainer and the enforcer.”
