Javier Mascherano is reflecting on a ‘really hard’ spell at West Ham United this week, the former Barcelona, Liverpool and Argentina enforcer speaking out on his brief stint in East London.
While Carlos Tevez became the posterboy of Alan Curbishley’s ‘Great Escape’ in 2006/07, another fresh-faced Argentine who arrived in a remarkable double-deal from Corinthians did not make anywhere near the same impression.
Javier Mascherano played only five Premier League matches for West Ham United before Liverpool offered him an escape route out of Upton Park.
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Barcelona icon Mascherano only played 5 Prem games…
But, hey, it wasn’t all bad at least.
Javier Mascherano reflects on ‘tough’ West Ham United spell
Speaking to Telemundo Deportes, Mascherano speaks out on the pros and the cons of his unsuccessful stay at West Ham.
“It was tough,” says a man who would go on to lift five La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues with Barcelona.
“I arrived at a team and, first of all, in a country where I didn’t speak English. In the squad, only Carlos [Tevez] and Yossi [Benayoun] – he had played for Racing Santander – spoke Spanish. The culture was completely different, and the football was completely different too.
“English football back then was nothing like it is today. It was much more direct; long balls, second balls, physical battles…
“So, at the beginning, it was hard. Really hard, because I couldn’t figure it out. Those first five or six months were clearly the first major setback of my career.
“Up until that point, my career had been on a constant upward trajectory. And it was there that I started questioning certain things. Could I really succeed in Europe? Could I actually play at this level in Europe? Or maybe my level simply wasn’t good enough?”
Mascherano thinks one positive came out of Upton Park
Mascherano struggled to displace Nigel Reo-Coker and Hayden Mullins in Curbishley’s engine room. A remarkable situation in hindsight, given what the former would later achieve on both the club and the international stage.
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Yet, the 147-time Argentina international has no regrets about moving to West Ham in the first place, even if it would take some time to realise the benefits.
“In the end, I think my experience at West Ham did two important things,” Mascherano muses. “First, it opened the door for me to be recognised in Europe.
“The truth is that you can play in Argentina, in South America, and even for the national team, and at that time it was difficult to get spotted as a player. [Joining West Ham] opened doors for me and showed me that it wasn’t going to be easy. That to succeed in Europe, I also had to take a step forward.
“You could say that, because of the story, it was like my first test to mould my character.”
Now 41, Mascherano is on the lookout for a new job after leaving his role as Inter Miami’s head coach in April.
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