On June 7th, 1984, Javier Mascherano was born in San Lorenzo, Argentina. Mascherano would go on to sign for Liverpool from West Ham United in 2007 for a fee of £18.6m after impressing on loan for The Reds.
Here at LFCHQ.net we contend that Mascherano was the best Liverpool defensive midfielder since Graham Souness. An absolute beast of a defensive player who was also quick across the ground and a very good range of passing. Not many people know that! But Masch was a whole lot more than just a defensive player. Personally, I’d take an 18 years old Javier Mascherano before an 18 years old Xabi Alonso and that’s some praise!
Unfortunately he would only stay with Liverpool for around 3 years and with Liverpool in disarray under the Hicks and Gillette disaster it was no surprise that he ended up leaving. Liverpool fans knew this and I believe he left without any hard feelings from the vast majority.
He did manage to reach the Champions League final in 2007 as a Liverpool player and is a cult hero amongst the fans having made 94 appearances for the club.
So happy birthday, javier!
#YNWA
