Javier Mascherano doesn’t mix it in in training these days.
There were the old times, when the new Inter Miami manager would be there, in Rondos with Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suarez as a Barcelona player between 2010-18. There he was, going viral for an unfortunate nutmeg here and there, and bossing the quartet around the Catalonian training pitch in Barcelona. And on the weekends, he was playing behind them as one of the club’s legendary defensive midfielders, shouting and tackling from deep as the famous Blaugrana side bossed both La Liga and Europe.
But not anymore.
“I left a long time ago as a football player,” Mascherano told GOAL. “Now I’m just focusing on training, and focusing on the players.”
And that is some job to take on. Mascherano, as has been well documented, has limited experience as a head coach. He has never taken the helm for any professional club at any level. His resume consists of a number of jobs in the Argentina youth setup, backed up by a 20-year-long professional career that included four La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues, and a stint as Barcelona vice-captain.
This particular role, though, is unique. Not only is Mascherano taking on his first job, but he is also the man on the sidelines for the most-watched team in American soccer. And he will have to do it all while controlling the noise around the four footballers he used to be training with, every single day.