Xinhua, China :
Javier Mascherano, the Argentinean defender who helped Barcelona reach the pinnacle of European football several times over, chose to end his 15-year career for the Argentinean national team after the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Mascherano, who now plays for Hebei China Fortune, always keeps a low profile in front of the media. In an interview with Xinhua, Mascherano recently shared stories from the 2018 World Cup as well as his thoughts on the CSL and Chinese football.
“Actually I had been in Argentinean national team for 20 years, including the youth training period. I knew that the 2018 World Cup would be my final chance to fight for my nation, so I tried really hard with an easy state of mind. We could have earned a better result at the World Cup, but everything is over anyway, however regretful we are,” Mascherano said.
“I thought Croatia had the ability to get into the World Cup final. Their performance later proved my opinion. In our match against Croatia, we were on a par in the first half. But after their goal in the second half, we did get somewhat upset. Yes, even Argentina can be affected by mental factors,” Mascherano explained.
In the match between Argentina and France, the performance of 19-year-old talent Kylian Mbappe left an impression. “Mbappe was really fast. I saw him starting from midfield and I tried to catch him. But obviously I failed, and France scored a goal. Mbappe is only 19 years old while I’m 34 already. He is young and fast, we have different genes,” Mascherano said.
“Argentina lacked some luck in the past few years. We lost the World Cup as well as two America’s Cup finals. But Argentinean football has its own spirit and pattern. Maybe we are going through the experience of the Brazilian team over the past few years, and Argentine football will go back to the top.”
Mascherano is pragmatic about his time at Hebei CFFC. New coach Chris Coleman joined the team in the wake of Manuel Pellegrini’s exit. The unstability of coaching staff cost the team their chance into the Asian Championships League despite the arrival of Mascherano and international players like Ezequiel Lavezzi and Hernanes.
