Javier Mascherano

Javier Mascherano

Mascherano in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Javier Alejandro Mascherano[1]
Date of birth	(1984-06-08) 8 June 1984 (age 40)[2]
Place of birth	San Lorenzo, Argentina
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[3]
Position(s)	Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Argentina U20 (head coach)
Youth career
0000	Cerámica San Lorenzo
0000	Barrio Vila
1999–2003	River Plate
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2005	River Plate	46	(0)
2005–2006	Corinthians	25	(0)
2006–2007	West Ham United	5	(0)
2007–2010	Liverpool	94	(1)
2010–2018	Barcelona	203	(1)
2018–2019	Hebei China Fortune	53	(0)
2019–2020	Estudiantes	10	(0)
Total		436	(2)
International career
2001–2002	Argentina U17[4]	12	(1)
2003–2004	Argentina U20	22	(1)
2005	Argentina U21[4]	5	(1)
2004–2008	Argentina Olympic	20	(0)
2003–2018	Argentina	147	(3)
Managerial career
2021–	Argentina U20
Medal record Men's football Representing  Argentina Olympic Games 2004 Athens Team 2008 Beijing Team CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament Winner 2004 Chile South American U-20 Championship Winner 2003 Uruguay FIFA World Cup Runner-up 2014 Brazil Copa América Runner-up 2004 Peru Runner-up 2007 Venezuela Runner-up 2015 Chile Runner-up 2016 United States
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Javier Alejandro Mascherano (Spanish: [xaˈβjeɾ aleˈxandɾo mastʃeˈɾano];^[5] born 8 June 1984) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder, most notably for Liverpool, Barcelona and the Argentina national team, being heralded as one of the best defenders and midfielders of his generation.

Mascherano began his career at River Plate, where he earned his first senior honours, the Argentine Primera División, in the 2003–04 season. He moved to Brazilian side Corinthians in 2005, winning the Brazilian Série A that same year, and then joined West Ham United in the Premier League; however, his brief time with the Hammers was blighted by unusual contract terms with Global Soccer Agencies. At the beginning of 2007, Mascherano was loaned out to Liverpool and reached the UEFA Champions League final. Afterwards, his deal was made permanent for £18.7 million. He left for Barcelona in 2010, winning five La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues and two FIFA Club World Cups among other honours, in eight years before having stints in China and his native Argentina.

Mascherano made 147 appearances for the Argentina national team and is the second most capped player in the country's history (after Lionel Messi). From his debut in 2003 until his retirement in 2018, he represented the nation at five Copa América tournaments, finishing runner-up in 2004, 2007, 2015, and 2016, and four FIFA World Cups, reaching the 2014 final. He twice won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics, in 2004 and 2008, becoming the first male footballer to achieve this double feat since Hungarian defender Dezső Novák in 1968. Between 2008 and 2011, Mascherano served as the captain of Argentina.