Javier Mascherano Remains Pivotal to Barcelona’s Push for Honours

They call him the “Jefecito.” The little boss. It’s a good nickname, a fitting one. Because if Luis Enrique is the big boss, then Javier Mascherano is his voice on the field.

He is not one of Barcelona’s official captains. He doesn’t wear an armband. But he doesn’t need one either. Mascherano is a de facto leader at the club, and his personality and influence have been one of the keys to the club’s success over the past few years.

At the end of July, he ended the long-running doubts over his future by agreeing a new three-year deal with the club. And that is good news for Barcelona.

The last memory most fans will have of Mascherano in a Barcelona shirt is him flailing in the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla, caught short by Kevin Gameiro’s pace.

Mascherano pulled the French forward down as he raced in on goal and picked up a deserved red card, leaving Barcelona with a one-man disadvantage for most of the game. They eventually won 2-0 after extra time, but Mascherano still looked upset and angry with himself after the game, while others celebrated.

That’s what sort of character he has. A man who, if he makes a mistake, will do his utmost never to make the same one again.

Unfortunately, he’s never been the fastest player in the team, and at 32 he is going to be exposed by nippy players like Gameiro now and again.

That issue reared its head in pre-season, too, with Mascherano caught adrift against both Leicester City and Liverpool at times.

However, the veteran has demonstrated on many occasions that he can save the team when all hope seems lost.

Few tackle with such conviction and power in high-pressure moments, with Mascherano willing to risk life and limb for his team, and more. Quite literally, in fact, during the 2014 World Cup, when playing for Argentina. In the semi-final clash against Holland, Mascherano made a vital intervention in the final minute of the game, sliding in to dispossess Arjen Robben and protect Argentina’s goal. In the process, he tore his anus.

“I thought I had slipped, I thought I wouldn’t make it, but I tore my anus on that move, the pain…it was terrible,” he said, per the Independent. “I threw myself into it. I could have …

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