Former Argentina International Javier Mascherano believes that his compatriots stand a good chance of winning the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, “We stand a good chance and remember we are Champions of South America.”
The former West Ham, Liverpool and Barcelona star was speaking Exclusively to www.aclsports.com at the prestigious Maurice Revello U20 Tournament (Formerly called the Toulon Tournament). Mascherano is the coach of the Argentina team that defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0 courtesy of a late Santiago Castro header.
The Saudis can count themselves unlucky not to have ended the match on equal terms because for the duration of the match they gave as good as they got. Mascherano was pleased with the win in a tournament that he had also participated in before going to win honours for at senior level for Argentina.
“The tournament is important for us as coaches and me as a Manager to transmit to these young players. We want to understand that it is only a game and they should never worry about making mistakes. The most important thing we really want to teach them and want them to understand is how to react positively if and when they make mistakes.”
On the touchline as the game went on you could see Mascherano cajoling and talking to his young charges and you are reminded that it must be something for these young players to be coached by a player who won almost the lot.
That almost is because he was in the Argentina side that lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany in Brazil. His mate Lionel Messi is still there as they go to Qatar later in the year, “We will be there to support the team. Winning the Copa America has given us confidence so I trust we will give it our best effort.”
