14 - Javier Mascherano

[ZenI]

This transfer seems more and more unlikely everyday.

Just the Mascherano transfer or any transfer at all?


Anyway, Masch' and De Rossi are 2 completely different types of DMs and should not be compared imo. While De Rossi links up better with the rest of the midfield and forwards/strikers, has better passes and crosses, better first touch, helps more in the attack, more creative etc - he lacks in tackling ability and positioning. Do Rossi is more of a deep-lying playmaker and should be compared to Essien or Alonso rather than Masch' or Makelele type of players.
Mascherano's qualities are of course tackles, positioning and that he almost always stays behind the more attacking minded midfielders - he 'vaccums' the area in front of the defense and 'destroys' the oppositions attack. These types of DMs are often overlooked, play a 'behind the scenes' role and not always 'pretty' to watch. Masch and Makelele type of players are like Duracell rabbits but creative as a Volkswagen Golf.

If I had to choose one of them for Barca, I would choose Masch. But that is because of our needs, tactics, style and quality of the rest of the players. But tbh, this discussion is redundant since we already hava Yaya and Busquets. Yaya is a mix of the 2 types of DMs - the guy can even play CB and dribble past 4-5 guys and score! He can be compared to Viera, a player I liked very much when he played at his best. But Viera's first touch and passes were even better than Yaya's (but Yaya is better defensively).

That we're linked to Poulsen is not bad imo. He has already played in Spain and is used to Liga, he will come cheap (around 5 millions?) and I don't think he would mind sitting on the bench.

 

[zanela]

Maradona knows his football and when he says he picks "Mascherano and 10 others" for Argentina that shows how much the GOAT player thinks of JM.

Maradona also thinks he knows how to manage a team

This will sound rude but anyone who doesn't realise what JM does for the team and what his skills are, are idiots. This isn't a biased opinion. Ever since the 2006 world cup JM has impressed me.

I like to know wht these "skills" are?

I also agree that Yaya is a better fit for Barca than JM. Only because of his phyisical presence alongside your midgets! Plus he can play centre back so for Barca Yaya is a better fit for the team.

Wtf!?...i call this an idiotic statement.

But what pisses me off in this thread is that Zanela thinking he is a red card machine WHEN IN THEIR CAREER HISTORY Yaya has more red cards! She should really think and read before writing.

Its u who needs to do more thinking before making posts.
And, I 'll continue to call tht overrated Argentine Redcardsherano & whether u get pissed off in the process is of least concern to me. Ur player is a nutcase who wud get sentoff frequently if he played in LaLiga for the fouls he commits & his shite temper...hez just lucky to be playing in PL. Yaya is a more complete and a much better footballer thn Redcardsherano. Its very clear from ur posts tht u dnt watch Barca a lot and the last time u made a post wit regard to 1 of our players u had to resort to another member's post to back up ur case and now u further proved it by having made tht idiotic statement above. Dnt u ever ever compare a treble winner with a player whose won fuck all..
Now, go tell ur fat madridista manager to keep hold of him. Our club management can at times make stupid decisions during the tranfer period & the last time we made 1...it came in the form of Pleb

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[John Antonio Bilboa]

Yaya for me is better than Masch.

 

[ZenI]

We're linked with Masch' again. Bad move if you ask me... We need a AM/CM more than we need a DM. If we're getting a DM it should be a backup, not a player that would cost us around €20-25 mills'. I'd rather see Poulsen sign for us and spend the money elsewhere.

 

[Jesse1509]

I agree with ZenI. It would be better to sign a decent backup for Iniesta and Xavi. Besides, I don't think we really need a backup for the DM-position. When the Africa Cup is played, Busquets can play there, or Márquez.

 

[Jesse1509]

Actually, Mascherano has requested a transfer, because his wife's not happy in England. His agent has said that 'Barça is the most logical option'. I hope Barça spends the money on someone else, a playmaker-backup or so.

 

[AnfieldEd]

He hasn't requested a transfer.

 

[Jesse1509]

According to voetbalprimeur.nl, a usually reliable football website, his agent has said this to infobae.com

 

[ZenI]

Actually, Mascherano has requested a transfer, because his wife's not happy in England. His agent has said that 'Barça is the most logical option'. I hope Barça spends the money on someone else, a playmaker-backup or so.

Yes, but we're the best football club in the world - not an episode of 'footballers' wives'. We can't just buy players cause' their wives are freezing in England. We don't need Masch, we need a cheap backup DM or no DM at all.

 

[Miggy]

As much as I like him he'll be far too expensive for us. Especially if we end up getting Zlatan.

 

[AnfieldEd]

Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano is keen to secure a move to Spain as he has grown 'tired of life in England', according to his agent.

The Argentina international is a reported target of Real Madrid and Barcelona, but the enforcer remains part of Reds manager Rafa Benitez'splans.

However, Mascherano's representative, Walter Tamer, has claimed the 25-year-old has grown unsettled in the Premier League and is eager to move abroad.

Tamer is quoted by Infobae.com as saying: "Barcelona is the easiest deal to set up as Javier wants to go to Spain. He is tired of life in England.

"His wife has not been given a permanent visa. She has to go through an odyssey each time she wants to go.

"Liverpool refuse to sell, this can be overcome with an extraordinary offer."

Damn...............

 

[Cule Angles]

Considering we're about to sign over all our worldly wealth to Inter Milan I'm not entirely sure how we could afford him. The logic behind reinforcing the DM position is to cover the absences of Touré and Keita during the ANC so a Poulsen type signing would be far more logical though I guess an extra midfielder of Mascherano's quality would allow us to rest Xavi and Iniesta more often.

 

[Miggy]

I don't think a defensive midfielder is totally necessary. Marquez can play there, Busquets is there and I've read that Henrique has played in that position too. I'm not a huge fan of Poulsen but he'd be a decent squad member.

 

[ZenI]

Considering we're about to sign over all our worldly wealth to Inter Milan I'm not entirely sure how we could afford him. The logic behind reinforcing the DM position is to cover the absences of Touré and Keita during the ANC so a Poulsen type signing would be far more logical though I guess an extra midfielder of Mascherano's quality would allow us to rest Xavi and Iniesta more often.

I'm not sure either where we would find the money for Masch. But there could be some logic to it, even if we would have to change our system a little bit. If we get Ibra, we could play some games with Busquets or Yaya on CM (instead of Iniesta or Xavi) and Masch on DM - the 'Ibra formation' (I just made that up) could let us play with 1 less 'über' creative CM since Ibra would not need the same service as Eto'o. Our attacking defense (or defensive attack or whatever you want to call it) would be unchanged and even better with Masch + Yaya or Masch + Busquets. Just a thought anyway...

 

[AnfieldEd]

Yaya could then play a lot more games at the back for you too. But Rafa will want a big fee £30m plus.

I would ask for £30m plus Eto'o myself!