- Nineteen prisoners use cutlery to break out of cells at Winchester prison
- France wants progress in Ukraine before Russia returns to G7
- Italy president begins talks to seek way out of government crisis
- Italian PM expected to resign as political chaos deepens
- Russia says US cruise missile test ‘regrettable’
- Kremlin - No date set for Normandy talks on Ukraine despite Macron meeting
- Egypt court hands out 6 death sentences on terror charges
- Putin says Russian nuclear explosion poses no threat
- Russian panel eyes alleged foreign interference in protests
- Gran Canaria wildfire triggers evacuation of thousands of people
- PM Johnson calls on Germany and France to compromise on Brexit
- Sudan's ex-president Bashir arrives at corruption trial
TEHRAN, June 30 - The 34-year-old midfielder is the epitome of the bronca, the spirit of defiance that so often propels Argentina, and a voice of reason in a chaotic campaign.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -The 34-year-old midfielder is the epitome of the bronca, the spirit of defiance that so often propels Argentina, and a voice of reason in a chaotic campaign.
Javier Mascherano has spent much of the past week looking beat up. He had a black eye as he gave a deeply necessary press conference last Saturday that helped stabilise Argentina, and finished Tuesday’s game against Nigeria with blood pouring from a cut eye and a scratched cheek. While his performance then had little to do with stability, his presence was still vital.
If Mascherano was Argentina’s unacknowledged captain at the last World Cup, it has felt at times here that he has been their unacknowledged coach.
At times in St Petersburg there was something almost painful in watching Mascherano, at 34, look so off the pace. Every time a Nigerian ran at him, it seemed, he went past him.
Again and again he gave the ball away. And yet at the same time, he was magnificent, constantly urging Argentina forward, organising and cajoling, his bloodied visage emblematic of the will that carried Argentina through to the last 16 despite themselves.
Amid the panic, amid the fury, amid the hopelessly ambitious through-balls and dismal crosses, there was still that, the bronca, the spirit of defiance that so often fired Diego Maradona, that has in the past so often propelled Argentina.
At least twice, Mascherano gave the ball away then charged back to reclaim it with a tackle. In his refusal to shirk responsibility, he was relentless.
After giving away the penalty (and the corner that led to the penalty) that allowed Nigeria back into Tuesday’s game, Mascherano could easily have ended the group stage as the villain, as he was well aware. “I know I did not play the best, but I also know I gave everything I had,” he said.
That clear-sightedness is precisely why he is so vital.
As video emerged of Sampaoli seemingly asking – although he may simply have been telling; the intonation is unclear – Messi whether he should bring on Sergio Agüero, the need for a leader could not have been more obvious. (That said, Messi celebrated Marcos Rojo’s winner by slapping his coach’s hand; Sampaoli may be disregarded but he is not disliked).
Source:Guardian
Your Comment