Football news - Javier Mascherano’s first day at Barcelona training ground
Javier Mascherano is a Liverpool player who recently became a prominent figure in the transfer market. It was all set for his former English club; they were holding talks with two clubs Inter Milan and Barcelona but without “good enough” transfer fee. Liverpool were happy to keep the Argentinean captain to their club. There were barely two days left in the transfer window to close and the Merseyside fans were pretty happy that their two main assets, Fernando Torres and Mascherano were not leaving the club.
Last year Liverpool suffered painful blows as they dropped down to the seventh spot from the second spot, which they achieved in the previous season and they also lost a place in the UEFA Champions League. This is Liverpool’s worst finish throughout their history in the English League and the 18-time English League winners were just left stranded when they saw the competition rise in the English Premier League.
With so much going on in the club and with a few players like Xabi Alonso leaving it and the coach being sacked as well, the hopes of qualifying in the Champions League this season were all shattered. However, the new manager Roy Hodgson is also a good addition to the list of “managers” and he is the man who helped Fulham reach the Europa Cup final after defeating teams like Juventus and Wolfsburg with convincing lead. Roy Hodgson is a manager that can give hope to the reds this season but it is definitely going to be hard as teams like Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspurs have become really strong.
With so much competition coming into the English League, the Liverpool holding midfielder and the Argentinean captain, Javier Mascherano decided to leave the English club. He made his intentions clear that he does not want to leave simply because the club is trying to get a grip in the English Premier League but because he wants to change his lifestyle. The only way all this was possible was if the Argentinean would leave the club and join another.
There were two clubs that were interested in the player, Inter Milan and Barcelona. It was Inter Milan’s new boss Rafa Benitez who wanted to sign the player because they both had good understanding when Benitez used to be a part of Liverpool. However, Mascherano wanted to join the Spanish champions Barcelona and this did not only take place during this season, the holding midfielder wanted to join them last season as well but Liverpool just didn’t let go of him and it was Xabi Alonso who left the club to join the Spanish side Real Madrid.
This year around, Mascherano told his “new coach” that he won’t be staying at Liverpool and he is going to leave the club to join another team. Talks took place between Barcelona and Liverpool and soon the fans found out that Mascherano is on the verge of a transfer, and he is going to be joining the Catalan Giants, Barcelona. The fans thought it was a cheap move, leaving your club when they need you badly, but the others thought of it as a smart choice as Barcelona are enjoying their “top form” with Lionel Messi and David Villa in the team.
After joining the club and getting Henry’s number 14 jersey, Javier Mascherano came down to “Ciutat Esportiva,” the training ground of Barcelona. However, he was only able to meet 6 first team players while the rest were off to the “international break” as 8 of them went to play for their side Spain while the others went to other places. 14 of Barcelona’s players got called up for international duty while a few of them were still in the training ground and were able to meet the newly-signed Javier Mascherano.
The first team delegate Carlos Naval was the person who showed Mascherano around as the former Liverpool man arrived the training session half an hour early. He had his first breakfast along with Adriano and Dani Alves, and his new boss Josep Pep Guardiola.
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