Javier Mascherano

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Javier Mascherano
Personal information
Full name Javier Alejandro Mascherano
Date of birth June 8, 1984 (age 22)
Place of birth    San Lorenzo, Argentina
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Nickname Jefecito (Little chief)[1]
Playing position Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club Liverpool
Number 20
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2003-2005
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-present		 River Plate
Corinthians
West Ham United
Liverpool		 46 (0)
17 (0)
07 (0)
03 (0)   
National team2
2003-present Argentina 20 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 02:14, 6 March 2007 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 30 June 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)

Javier Alejandro Mascherano (pronounced mas-keh-RAH-no) (born June 8, 1984 in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, Argentina) is an Argentine football player. He plays as a defensive central midfielder and is currently with English club Liverpool FC. He is well known for his passing and hard tackling defense. Mascherano also holds an Italian passport.[2]

Contents

Mascherano came through the youth ranks at Club Atlético River Plate in Argentina. However, before making his club debut he made his name representing Argentina.

In September 2001 Mascherano was part of the Argentina team that finished fourth in the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship. His impact at youth levels was such that he made his senior international debut before playing a single minute for River Plate's first team. That international debut came in a friendly against Uruguay on July 16, 2003.[3]

His River Plate league debut came on August 3, 2003 against Nueva Chicago. River won 2-1. However, halfway through the 2003-04 Apertura (Opening) championship Mascherano was called up to play in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship. Argentina again finished fourth with Mascherano the team's outstanding player.[4] Mascherano was however suspended for the third place match. After returning home, Mascherano was straight back into action for River in the 2003 Copa Sudamericana final. Over the two legs River were beaten 4-3 by Peruvian club Cienciano.

In January 2004 Mascherano joined up with Argentina's under-23 team for the South American Pre-Olímpico tournament in Chile. Argentina won the tournament.[5]

Back with River Plate, Mascherano won his first silverware when River won the 2003-04 Clausura (Closing) championship. In the 2004 Copa Libertadores River reached the semi-final, but lost on penalties to arch-rivals Boca Juniors. At the end of the season Mascherano was included in the squad for the 2004 Copa América. Argentina lost to Brazil on penalties in the final, but Mascherano impressed enough to be voted Argentina's player of the tournament by his team-mates.[4]

Around this time several clubs including Real Madrid, and Deportivo de La Coruña declared an interest in signing Mascherano, but River Plate turned down all offers, saying that none of the interested parties were prepared to pay enough.

In August 2004 Mascherano was part of the gold medal winning Argentine team at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

2004-05 was not a successful season for River, finishing 3rd in the Apertura championship and only 10th in the Clausura. In the Copa Libertadores River again lost in the semi-final, this time to São Paulo.

In June 2005 Mascherano joined up with the national team for the Confederations Cup in Germany. Argentina met Brazil in the final, but lost 4-1. After the tournament Brazilian club Corinthians acquired Mascherano from River Plate for US$ 15 million.

The Brazilian Série A runs from April, so Mascherano joined the club in mid-season. After playing only 9 games for his new club, on September 2005, Mascherano suffered a stress fracture to his left foot causing him to miss the end of the season. He went back to Argentina to be operated on by the National team doctor and recouperate.[6][7][8][9] However, Corinthians still claimed the 2005 Série A championship with the team captained by Argentine compatriot Carlos Tévez.

In total, Mascherano was out of action for 6 months, only returning on March 5, 2006.[10] Corinthians were forced to start their 2006 Copa Libertadores without Mascherano, but he returned in time for the Round of 16 tie against River Plate, which Corinthians lost. The 2006 Brazilian Série A also went badly for Corinthians, and at one stage they were battling against relegation. In June the league season was interupted for the 2006 World Cup.

In the World Cup, in Germany, Mascherano played every minute of every game for Argentina. Although his performance drew the attention of European clubs, he stated his desire to remain with Corinthians, to help with the relegation battle, and postponed any transfer until January at the earliest.[11] However, hours before the summer 2006 transfer window closed, Mascherano joined West Ham United for an undisclosed fee along with team-mate Carlos Tévez.[12]

The move to West Ham was seen as surprising, with many of Europe's top clubs having been linked with Mascherano all summer. There were many rumours about the nature of the transfer, primarily regarding Media Sports Investment's interest in buying-out West Ham. Rumours included speculation as to whether West Ham truely owned the players, and also that if a high enough (£35 million was touted) offer was received West Ham would be forced to sell.

Before Mascherano joined, West Ham had won 1, drawn 1 and lost 1. However upon his arrival the team went into freefall, losing 8 and drawing 1 in all competitions before their next win on October 29. Mascherano failed to find his form and was dropped from the first team. In October the Argentina national coach, Alfio Basile, declared that he hoped Mascherano would leave West Ham "as soon as possible," and "I hope for God's sake that Mascherano can go to Juventus."[13]

On January 16, 2007, Liverpool requested clearance from FIFA to take Mascherano on loan from West Ham.[14] FIFA's rules state that no player can play for more than two different clubs between 1 July and 30 June the following year, but Mascherano had already played for both Corinthians and West Ham during this time.

FIFA approved the deal on January 31, 2007.[15] However, although Liverpool submitted his registration details before the midnight transfer deadline England's Premier League did not immediately announce whether it would allow Mascherano to play for Liverpool, saying that it wanted to "take time to satisfy itself with the proposed arrangements".[16]

In a further twist it was annouced on March 2 that the Premier League are charging West Ham with breaking rule B13, concerning acting in good faith, and rule U18, which concerns the influence of third-party ownership.[17] West Ham have been given 14 days to answer the charges.

On February 10 Liverpool added Mascherano to their Champions League squad and gave him the number 20 shirt. Eventually, on February 20, 2007, Mascherano's move to Liverpool became official after the Premier League accepted Liverpool's request to register the player at Anfield.[18]

It is widely reported to be an 18 month permanent deal, though a fee and/or other arrangements are as yet unclear. The fee has been rumoured to be £1.5 million, but the Daily Mail have reported that Liverpool bought the player outright from MSI for £10 million.[19]

Mascherano made his debut for Liverpool against Sheffield United on 24th February 2007[20] and was praised by the Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez and team captain Steven Gerrard after Liverpool's 4 - 0 victory. Again on March 31st the match against Arsenal he was highly praised by Rafa Benitez for his match winning performance.

Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Gold 2004 Athens Team

River Plate


Corinthians


Argentina

  1. ^ Player profile - Javier Mascherano. Article on SkySports.com. Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  2. ^ Juventus near to Mascherano deal. Article on channel4.com (December 27, 2006). Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  3. ^ Argentina player profile - 8 Javier Mascherano. Article on FIFAWorldCup.yahoo.com. Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Player to Watch: Mascherano making waves in Argentina. Article on FIFAWorldCup.yahoo.com (September 27, 2004). Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  5. ^ Torneo Preolímpico Sudamericano Sub-23 de 2004. Article on es.Wikipedia (Spanish). Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  6. ^ Injury jinx hits Argentina. Article on FIFAWorldCup.yahoo.com (September 28, 2005). Retrieved on March 15, 2007.
  7. ^ Argentine players injured. Article on clarin.com (Spanish). Retrieved on March 15, 2007.
  8. ^ Operation Ok. Article on GloboEsporte.com (Portuguese) (September 18, 2005). Retrieved on March 15, 2007. (Translation)
  9. ^ Out for the rest of 2005. Article on terra.com (Spanish) (September 15, 2005). Retrieved on March 15, 2007.
  10. ^ Mascherano returns on 5th March. Article on Olé (Spanish) (February 21, 2006). Retrieved on March 15, 2007.
  11. ^ Argentine star rules out exit. Article on SkySports.com (August 2, 2006). Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  12. ^ Hammers complete huge coup. Article on SkySports.com (August 31, 2006). Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  13. ^ Argentines urged to quit West Ham. Article on BBC Sport (October 5, 2006). Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  14. ^ Liverpool make Mascherano request. Article on BBC Sport (January 16, 2007). Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
  15. ^ Liverpool cleared to sign Mascherano. Article by The Guardian (January 31, 2007). Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
  16. ^ New twist in Mascherano transfer. Article on BBC Sport (February 1, 2007). Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
  17. ^ Hammers charged by Premier League. Article on BBC Sport (March 2, 2007). Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
  18. ^ Mascherano free to join Liverpool. Article on BBC Sport (February 20, 2007). Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
  19. ^ Liverpool the only owners of Masch. News roundup on Football365.com (February 21, 2007). Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
  20. ^ Liverpool 4-0 Sheffield United. Match report on LiverpoolFC.tv (February 26, 2007). Retrieved on March 5, 2007.


Flag of Argentina Argentina squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists Flag of Argentina

1 Abbondanzieri | 2 Ayala | 3 Sorín | 4 Coloccini | 5 Cambiasso | 6 Heinze | 7 Saviola | 8 Mascherano | 9 Crespo | 10 Riquelme | 11 Tévez | 12 Franco | 13 Scaloni | 14 Palacio | 15 Milito | 16 Aimar | 17 Cufré | 18 Rodríguez | 19 Messi | 20 Cruz | 21 Burdisso | 22 González | 23 Ustari | Coach: Pekerman
Liverpool F.C. - Current Squad

1 Dudek | 2 Arbeloa | 3 Finnan | 4 Hyypiä | 5 Agger | 6 Riise | 7 Kewell | 8 Gerrard | 9 Fowler | 10 Luis García | 11 Mark González | 12 Fábio Aurélio | 14 Xabi Alonso | 15 Crouch | 16 Pennant | 17 Bellamy | 18 Kuyt | 20 Mascherano | 22 Sissoko | 23 Carragher | 25 Reina | 26 Anderson | 29 Paletta | 30 Padelli | 32 Zenden | 38 Lindfield | 39 Darby | 42 El Zhar | Manager: Benítez
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../j/a/v/Javier_Mascherano_449c.html"
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