14 - Javier Mascherano

[Vlom]

Masche had 100% aerial duals won in the 1st leg against Bayern, enough said.

El Jefecito is our best and most consistant defender, and the notion that Lucho plays him at CB just because "he doesn't know what to do with him" is hilarious

We wouldn't have won LaLiga without Messi, but we wouldn't have won it either without Mascherano, let's stop undermining other position than the front !

Only Iniesta have been disapointing this season, I give a 10 overall to all the others.

 

[mark1nhu]

Every high ball Lewandowski won in the second leg. It was a complete mismatch and I believe if teams ever dominate Barca this high ball tactic would be very rewarding.

Luckily for us, very few sides dominate us so we can get away with it but then we could stick Adriano back in there and we'd get away with that too.

It's interesting you mention Lucho,I'm pretty sure before the season he said Mascherano would only play in midfield. I wonder why he said that? Why did he bring Mathieu on and move Mascherano to midfield against Bayern?

As for Pep, for all his greatness he does come up with some absurd ideas. Bayern fans still can't fathom why he plays Lahm in midfield.

Mascherano hinted that he wanted to play on midfield. And Lucho knows that he is a semi-god playing there.

Really NOTHING to do with lack of trust in him as a defender.

And Mathieu was never intended to be a replacement for Mascherano.

We needed some depth on our defense squad to never need again to use Sergio.

 

[Mido]

Mascherano as a starting midfielder would be my absolute nightmare. He can play there against certain types of opponents. There were times where he got completely overwhelmed. Let's not forget the 6-1 win against Rayo Vallecano. Enrique sent him off in the 60th minute and let Rakitic in who played a lot better. Mascherano was a total catastrophy in this match.

Mascherano is a CB here at Barcelona and so shall he stay !

 

[DrPepper]

Yeah he´s not tall, but Cannavaro wasn´t tall either, and he won a Ballon D´Or, didnt he? Puyol was 178cm, that´s 4cm more than Masche, and he was one of the best CBs of all time. Height isnt everything for a defender.

I agree. The thing is, though, unlike Puyol, Cannavaro, or to use another example, Falcao, Mascherano doesn't seem to have a high jumping reach. He'll be fine in aerial duels in transition moments but can be exploited at box heading and set pieces like Real have done with their permanent crosses. Luckily we don't face these situations often, so his pros easily outweigh the few cons.

Also Puyol's hair seemed to give him additional inch or more. He definitely looks taller than he is

Masche had 100% aerial duals won in the 1st leg against Bayern, enough said.

He won 5 but lost 3.

 

[Vlom]

He won 5 but lost 3.

Hmm, my bad, don't know why I remember he won them all. I stand corrected.

 

[Alarcón]

Why does his 10 year old daughter wear hot pants?

 

[barca1899]

 

[EdmondDantes]

Genius, been watching him for over 10 years.

 

[serghei]

The most underrated CB in the world.

 

[Antimadridista1]

Legendary.

 

[Frodo_FCB]

You just can't hate this guy. When he retires he will be considered a Barca legend.

 

[Bilal Khan]

You just can't hate this guy. When he retires he will be considered a Barca legend.

the only outfield legend with no goals

 

[Galning]

Only cares about the team. What a player.

 

[Egert]

the only outfield legend with no goals

Should give him a chance to score a penalty in a meaningless game, he deserves a golazo for all he has done.

 

[evilhita666]

Should give him a chance to score a penalty in a meaningless game, he deserves a golazo for all he has done.

The thing is, as Galning said, he only cares about the team... I'm sure he couldn't care less about scoring and I can't imagine him thinking a goal is a reward for his effort... This guy is pure heart!