From Messi's transformation into a “total player” to Maradona's legacy: 9 phrases by Javier Mascherano

Javier Mascherano became a benchmark in Argentine football after his successful career in clubs such as River Plate, Liverpool and Barcelona, among others. In addition, he marked an era in the Argentine national team, being one of the footballers who most often defended the albiceleste shirt.

During an interview with FIFA Plus, the new streaming platform of the body responsible for regulating this sport, the Jefecito analyzed the evolution of Lionel Messi over time, the importance of Diego Armando Maradona for this sport and the good times of the group led by Lionel Scaloni.

“His legacy towards football is the love of playing. I think that's it. It was a source of inspiration for many generations, obviously for ours as well. That is the legacy, the love of the ball, for this sport. Beyond all the inconveniences he may have had in his life or things that happened to him, he never gave up on that and he always encouraged everyone to love this sport. It was a great source of inspiration for everyone,” said the native of San Lorenzo. It is worth remembering that the now coach of the U20 of Argentina was led by the idol of Boca and Napoli during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals at the hands of Germany.

Then it was the turn to talk about his friend La Pulga, who at 34 years old is one of the figures of PSG and the one in charge of leading the national team. “Normally, this is not the case with Messi, so I clarify it. Earthly players, when they have experience, see everything they can do, but there are things that the body does not allow them to do. You see something, but your legs are slower, it's not the same anymore. That's why, sometimes, the experience doesn't end up serving too much. But with Messi it's different, because he's a different player. The experience made him a total player. He manages a lot of records that he didn't handle when he was young, but he's still decisive. It does help him to have experience, he is still very decisive and the passing of the years made him a total player”, he said.

Masche also surprised with his response when asked about which player from another national team he would like to have in Argentina. “No, we have the best in the world. What do we want others for,” he remarked with a smile and sent a new wink to his former partner.

Other notable phrases by Javier Mascherano:

Preparing for the World Cup and Fears of Injuries:

- “Beyond the fact that it is a collective sport and there is the preparation of the team 10 or 15 days before, when the final list is given and the team starts preparing for the World Cup, there is a previous one in the year of the World Cup in which you prepare from the mental level. In my club I played in one position and in the National Team in another, so I did some extra work physically to try to get to the World Cup in the best way.”

- “Perhaps, many times, in the unconscious there is that it is the year of the World Cup, especially when times are shortened, there is some fear that nothing will happen. But hey, football is like life itself. There are always risks, and you can't control them. It's better to let go of those fears and not think too much because it's something uncontrollable.”

The current Argentine team:

- “You live a good energy, a very good group, which does it with joy. That, led to the fact that later on the court they also broadcast it and the team is in a good moment, and it has had to win, something was formed that is obvious that causes the fan to be behind the team. It is a good energy that they transmit and in the end the team ends up representing what people want. I think that is the goal of any team: to win and transmit something to the fan.”

- “Winning is the strawberry of dessert. At some point, to complete the process, it has to have as its ultimate goal to win. I don't want to just keep what they won, but how they did it. You can do it in different ways, no one has the truth, but I like to recognize the path they traced. The National Team has long been playing football well, giving that feeling of a safe team, of knowing what to do. We ourselves, as fans, as fans, sit and watch and we know what we are going to see. I think it would be unfair just because they won. Winning is a consequence of everything good they did.”

- “More than pulling a weight is an incentive. What the Copa America did is that the team let go, take out many ties, that they didn't even have, but we had been dragging other generations. That can be an incentive to have good options and a good World Cup.”

Javier Mascherano as DT:

- “It's too recent to say. I am in a process of learning, of knowing myself. How do I want to be? It doesn't vary much from what my time as a player was. Be professional and give this profession as much as possible, but above all be clear, honest. Try to help. In the end, the coach is a tool to help the player. Football is, was and will be for the players. The coach generates a context, but football belongs to the players”.

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