Javier Mascherano, the perfect square peg in a winning round hole, retires as Argentina and Barcelona great

Back in the spring when I ranked the top 50 players in FC Barcelona history, Javier Mascherano didn’t make the list. He was considered though, landing on my secret extended list of all viable candidates at number 71, sandwiched between Antoni Torres and Ramón Torralba.

Not to pat myself on the back, but in hindsight, Torres and Torralba are terrific contemporaries to understand Mascherano’s place in Blaugrana lore. Torres played for Barcelona from 1965 to 1976, winning some trophies, but never getting the same headlines that some of his more talented teammates like Johan Cruyff or even captain Joaqum Rifé did. Instead, he partnered Gallego at the back, scoring just five goals in 483 total matches for the club.

Torralba played for the club in its infancy, serving as Josep Samitier’s holding midfielder and protector from 1914 to 1926. While he didn’t have the flair of some of his teammates, his strength in midfield was appreciated by Culers and he was given the first testimonial match in the club’s history (actually taking place in 1917 while he was still an active player).

If Mascherano had played in Torralba’s time, he may have been appreciated by Culers in the same manner. He arrived from Liverpool as a defensive midfielder in 2010, though obviously that wasn’t his primary position in Catalonia. For most players, getting stuck in-between positions can be a death sentence – when push comes to shove you’re not good enough for either spot. But the Argentine took the move to centre-back with class and the uncompromising dedication that existed in every match that he played.

He arrived at Barcelona during the greatest era in the club’s history and played as a substitute for the first few months of the campaign before getting pushed back to replace Carles Puyol as Barcelona barnstormed their way to the 2011 Champions League Final. Prior to beating Manchester United in one of the greatest performances Europe has ever seen, a quarterfinal tackle on Nicklas Bendtner solidified his relationship with Culers forever.

That was the beginning, but his entire Blaugrana career that followed always echoed what we learned in that tackle. Barcelona may have done better with an actual centre-back partnering Gerard Piqué, but Mascherano was somehow the perfect compliment. Barcelona should have struggled to replace Carles Puyol as the legend’s body began to betray him, but Mascherano gave the club plenty of time to find a proper replacement.

I think Culers tend to hold their praise for Mascherano in fear of putting him in a class in which he doesn’t belong. He did only play seven and a half seasons for the club, and only scored that one goal, the penalty he was pressured to take against Osasuna.

But his departure in the winter of 2018 marked the departure of something much more intangible. Would the collapse against Roma have happened if Mascherano was in the squad? Physically it could have – the aging Argentine had lost a step and opponents were getting proficient at taking advantage of his newfound physical limitations. But that’s not the question. With Mascherano in the Blaugrana locker room at halftime, it’s hard to imagine that another voice like his would have allowed the team to wilt the way they did. Therein lies the reason why endeared himself to Culers.

He showed up. Rarely injured. Never rattled. Always present.

An underrated “skill” of his was winning. Of 75 players who played more than 200 matches for the club, the Argentine holds the highest winning percentage of the bunch (74.5%). That breaks down to 249 matches victorious in 334 matches played.

As the cries of Messidependencia grew louder as Dani Alves, Iniesta and Xavi all began to decline, Mascherano continued to be a counterbalance to that idea. Mascherano never took anything away from Messi’s game, but it was rare that it ever felt that he was letting Messi do it alone. This was most on display with Argentina, for whom Mascherano played 147 matches, appearing in four World Cups. He even has that one gold medal that Messi doesn’t, winning the competition in both 2004 and 2008.

Yet, it’s with Barcelona that he’ll be best remembered. 19 trophies, five La Ligas, two Champions League trophies, and one unforgettable tackle. He’s retiring at the age of 36, putting to bed a career that always fit perfectly where it may have not belonged.

Dan Hilton is an American journalist, broadcaster, and current Editor-in-Chief of BarcaBlog. Extensive work as a play-by-play broadcaster, producer behind the scenes, and quite average player in his younger years has given him a well-rounded and informative perspective on the sport. Alongside BarcaBlog founder Francesc, Dan started The Barcelona Podcast in 2017.

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Source: barcablog.com