Javier Mascherano
Argentina
Javier Mascherano. Biography
Javier Mascherano is a FC Barcelona box-to-box midfielder. He was born on June 8, 1984 in San Lorenzo, Argentina.
Javier began his professional career in 2003 when he joined the famous Argentinian club – River Plate. During two seasons he was among the team’s main players having appeared in 46 matches and scored 1 goal.
In 2005, Javier drew the attention of one of the strongest Brazilian clubs – Corinthians. He played 26 matches in that season.
In 2006, thanks to his displays at one of the most famous Brazilian clubs Mascherano was spotted by West Ham United FC – a Barclays Premier League club. The club was genuinely interested in services of the Argentinean box-to-boxer and made every attempt to get him on their roster. Mascherano played in his new English club only for one season having appeared in mere 5 matches. But it was enough for Liverpool FC to get interested in the player.
In 2007, Mascherano signed a long-term contract with Liverpool FC and West Ham United FC got 18.6 mln pounds worth of compensation from the Merseysiders. In 2007-2010 Mascherano was among the Liverpool FC main squad players having appeared in all important Barclays Premier League and UEFA Champions League matches. Over the three years he played in 94 matches and scored 1 goal for Liverpool FC.
Since 2010 Javier has been under keen observation of FC Barcelona. The former coach, Pep Guardiola, wanted to get the talented and skilful Argentinian on his club. His transfer cost 22 mln pounds and Javier signed a long-term contract with the club. Currently, Mascherano frequently appears in the FC Barcelona starting line-up and plays as a box-to-box midfielder. Since 2010 he has played in 52 matches.
In 2003-2008 Mascherano played in 40 matches for the Argentina youth national teams ranging from U-20 to U-23 and scored 23 goals. And since 2003 he has made occasional appearances in the Argentina national team. After the Argentinian finished playing for the U-23 national team he has played in almost 80 matches for the main national football team.
