Javier Alejandro Mascherano (Spanish: [xaˈβjeɾ aleˈxandɾo mastʃeˈɾano];[5] born 8 June 1984) is an Argentine football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.

He left for Barcelona in 2010, winning five La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues and two FIFA Club World Cups among other honours, in eight years before having stints in China and his native Argentina.

From his debut in 2003 until his retirement in 2018, he represented the nation at five Copa América tournaments, finishing runner-up in 2004, 2007, 2015, and 2016, and four FIFA World Cups, reaching the 2014 final.

He twice won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics, in 2004 and 2008, becoming the first male footballer to achieve this double feat since Hungarian defender Dezső Novák in 1968.

[11] Corinthians were forced to start their 2006 Copa Libertadores without Mascherano, but he returned in time for the Round of 16 tie against River Plate, which the Timão lost.

Although his performances in both Brazil and Germany drew the attention of European clubs, Mascherano stated his desire to remain with Corinthians to help with their relegation battle and postponed any transfer until January at the earliest.

[12] Hours before the summer transfer window of 2006 closed in Europe, however, he joined West Ham United alongside Tevez for an undisclosed fee.

There were many rumours about the surprise nature of Mascherano and Tevez's transfers, primarily regarding Media Sports Investment's interest in buying out the club and whether they truly owned the two players, or whether a third party held their registration, and also that if a high enough (£112 million was touted) offer was received, West Ham would be forced to sell.

In October, national team coach Alfio Basile stated that he hoped Mascherano would leave West Ham "as soon as possible" and join Juventus.

[25] Similarly, his teammates were impressed by his talent; Xabi Alonso noted how mature a player he was for his age, saying, "He has a cool mind on the pitch.

He and teammate Alonso were successful in stifling the creative play of both Kaká and Clarence Seedorf for much of the match but Liverpool eventually succumbed to Milan, losing 2–1 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

[27] Following months of speculation, Mascherano signed a four-year permanent contract with Liverpool on 29 February 2008, ending his association with Media Sports Investments.

[31] On 29 November 2009, Mascherano claimed the first goal in the 2–0 win against Everton at Goodison Park when his 30-yard shot appeared to be heading just off target before it took a wicked deflection off Joseph Yobo before finding the net.

[34] He scored his first goal of the season with a bullet of a shot from outside the area in the UEFA Europa League against Unirea Urziceni away from home in a match Liverpool won 3–1 to secure their place in the round of 16 of the competition with an aggregate win of 4–1.

[35] On 27 July 2010, after returning from a break after the 2010 World Cup, Mascherano informed new Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson that he wanted to leave the club.

[36] During that break, Hodgson had failed with several attempts to contact Mascherano, able only to leave messages for him saying that he was looking forward to meeting him back on Merseyside as his calls went unreturned.

[37] Mascherano was held in high esteem by the Liverpool fans, who gave him his own song, (to the tune of the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army").

[38] After winning the 2011 Champions League Final with Barcelona against Manchester United, Mascherano, speaking directly after the match, said, "I want to say, I know that Liverpool supporters, after my exit, I know they were a little bit sad with me—this is for them as well.

"[39][40] Liverpool announced on 27 August that they had agreed a £17.25 million transfer fee with Barcelona for the player and had given permission for him to speak with the Spanish club.

[42] He was initially booked for a late tackle on Paul Scholes, and later dismissed for running towards referee Steve Bennett to protest a yellow card shown to Fernando Torres.

[48] On 30 August 2010, Mascherano passed his medical to complete his transfer and told Barça TV, "The truth is it's a dream, it's a great joy.

In the run to the final, Mascherano denied Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner a certain goal with a sliding tackle towards the end of the second leg of the round of 16 match, with the Catalan giants beating the Gunners 3–1, 4–3 on aggregate.

[56] On 24 January 2018, Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune announced the signing of Mascherano for €5.5 million,[57][58] which would be effective 2 days later.

[83][84] Mascherano asserted himself vocally, especially during the knockout rounds, where the media described him as Argentina's best player after Messi's prolific scoring stagnated after the group stage.

[85] During Argentina's World Cup semi-final against the Netherlands, Mascherano was knocked unconscious by a header contested by Georginio Wijnaldum and was led off the pitch with a suspected concussion, although he resumed play moments later.

[81][86] Argentina would go on to advance to the final in a penalty shootout, with goalkeeper Sergio Romero saving kicks from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder.

Thanks to Mascherano's prowess as a defensive midfielder and leader, Argentina entered the final having not conceded a goal in 330 minutes during elimination games, as well as never having trailed in the tournament.

[93] On 30 June 2018, following Argentina's elimination from the World Cup after a 4–3 loss against France in the Round of 16, Mascherano announced his retirement from international football, having obtained 147 caps and scored 3 goals for his country.

[96] Nicknamed "El Jefecito" ("The Little Chief"),[97][98] Mascherano was a versatile, hard-working, and tactically intelligent footballer, with an excellent ability to read the game and organise his team; he was known in particular for his leadership skills, passing accuracy, energy, positional sense, tough marking of opponents, and hard-tackling style of play, despite his relatively small physical stature.

[99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106] Regarding Mascherano's playing style, Jonathan Wilson noted in a 2013 article for The Guardian that the Argentine was an example of a type of holding midfielder that he dubbed a destroyer, who "clattered about making tackles and collecting bookings, his role almost entirely of regaining possession and distributing it simply.