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Mascherano - a re-appraisal?

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red_maradona

red_maradona

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Javier Mascherano - one of my all time fav liverpool midfielders. Incredible in the tackle, abundance of energy, classy on the ball.

Where does he rank amongst liverpool great hard mans?

The manner of his departure at a time we went into decline probably tarnish his reputation unfairly. Nevertheless he went on Barca and seamlessly slotted into arguably one the most technically gifted squads of all time.

Since I have been watching the reds (1989) he is probably the best defensive midfielder I have ever seen wear the red-shirt.



 
Not a hard man. Brilliant DM though, utterly effective.
No good at 50yard hollywood glamour balls though.
 
keniget said:
Hard man?

The "can't pass" thing is a myth. There is no way he'd be at Barca if he was shit on the ball (even as a CB). He's a decent passer. Not the best but fine for his position.
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Yeah, he wasn't a poor passer as such, but occasionally his concentration let him down when distributing the ball. He actually played some brilliant passes at times and his forward pay could be pretty good. Remember the game against United, when he robbed Giggs on the byline and laid it back to Babel?
 
keniget said:
Hard man?

The "can't pass" thing is a myth. There is no way he'd be at Barca if he was shit on the ball (even as a CB). He's a decent passer. Not the best but fine for his position.
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Yep, we've both called people out on this before.

I think the myth perpetrated from when Masher played alongside Lucas for a while in midfield. Neither seemed to know who was responsible to springboard our attacks. Mascherano took the onus upon himself and perhaps some of his passing in attacking positions let him down a bit but it was never a concern for me.
 
Lucas and Masher have contrasting styles IMO.

Lucas is a steady composed player who uses his positional sense to win back the ball. He is intelligent and seems to understand what his strengths are. He is also aware of his limitation and provides us with excellent protection.

Masher on the other hand is blessed with added mobility. He can cover every blade of grass making headlines with last ditch tackles, marauding runs while putting his body on the line. None of that is necessary to be an effective DM but Masher can also perform the bread and butter duties of the role. The fans love him for his style of play and dedication for the cause. He is basically the captain and leader of the national team and won a bucket load of medals at Barca.

I rate and like both players. I am a huge Lucas fan but Masher is the better player for me. I would have kept him over Lucas if the hypothetical scenario existed a few years back. I would like to add that under no circumstances should both be deployed as a midfield pairing. We tried that for a while and didn't work.
 
I'll never understand why Rafa subbed him in the 2007 CL final. He had Kaka in his pocket.
 
mark1975 said:
Yeah, he wasn't a poor passer as such, but occasionally his concentration let him down when distributing the ball. He actually played some brilliant passes at times and his forward pay could be pretty good. Remember the game against United, when he robbed Giggs on the byline and laid it back to Babel?
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It was actually Kuyt who pulled it back after Mascherano robbed the ball from Giggs as you say. Remember that well, was only home from holidays the day before.

 
refugee said:
I'll never understand why Rafa subbed him in the 2007 CL final. He had Kaka in his pocket.
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Amen to that. I'll bet Rafa still has nightmares about that decision himself.

That reminds me in a roundabout way of a comment I once heard from Martin Tyler (I think it was) when we beat the Mancs at Anfield one year and Masher monstered their whole midfield. At one point he bulldozed Anderson to get the ball and Tyler said: "Mascherano doing what he does best - hunting down Brazilians". 😎

As for where Masher stands in the all-time stakes: very high indeed, and that's from someone who was around in Shanks' time and throughout the glory days. Souey and Jimmy Case were the hardest I ever saw, but for sheer efficient ball-winning I reckon Masher may just be the best we've ever had.
 
Judge Jules said:
Amen to that. I'll bet Rafa still has nightmares about that decision himself.

That reminds me in a roundabout way of a comment I once heard from Martin Tyler (I think it was) when we beat the Mancs at Anfield one year and Masher monstered their whole midfield. At one point he bulldozed Anderson to get the ball and Tyler said: "Mascherano doing what he does best - hunting down Brazilians". 😎

As for where Masher stands in the all-time stakes: very high indeed, and that's from someone who was around in Shanks' time and throughout the glory days. Souey and Jimmy Case were the hardest I ever saw, but for sheer efficient ball-winning I reckon Masher may just be the best we've ever had.
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That decision was mad, it was like a reversal of the year before, when he started without a DM and very nearly regretted it. For a "tactical genius", he made some odd decisions.
 
Gary25 said:
It was actually Kuyt who pulled it back after Mascherano robbed the ball from Giggs as you say. Remember that well, was only home from holidays the day before.

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Giggs made the same mistake as Can the other night. Just concede the corner when you still have the chance. Even experienced players are guilty of being too greedy sometimes.
 
Judge Jules said:
Amen to that. I'll bet Rafa still has nightmares about that decision himself.

That reminds me in a roundabout way of a comment I once heard from Martin Tyler (I think it was) when we beat the Mancs at Anfield one year and Masher monstered their whole midfield. At one point he bulldozed Anderson to get the ball and Tyler said: "Mascherano doing what he does best - hunting down Brazilians". 😎

As for where Masher stands in the all-time stakes: very high indeed, and that's from someone who was around in Shanks' time and throughout the glory days. Souey and Jimmy Case were the hardest I ever saw, but for sheer efficient ball-winning I reckon Masher may just be the best we've ever had.
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Great read - thanks for sharing. Good to know Mascher is in great company,
 
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