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Masch's absence

David Hodgson

By David Hodgson
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David Hodgson

David Hodgson

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Call me a conspiracy theorist, but something doesn't ring true about Masch's absence this weekend. Funny that he's still

not back and being 'treated' over in Argentina.

 

I reckons that Rafa has done a deal with him to allow him to spend extra time in Argentina with his missus and family. The international break presented a perfect opportunity for Masch to get a really extended time at home, given we didn't really need him for Burnley.

 

Maybe I'm fantasising but it's plausible that this kind of deal could have been struck in trying to persuade Mascherano to stay another year.

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Benzo-13

Benzo-13

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Call me a conspiracy theorist, but something doesn't ring true about Masch's absence this weekend. Funny that he's still

not back and being 'treated' over in Argentina.

 

I reckons that Rafa has done a deal with him to allow him to spend extra time in Argentina with his missus and family. The international break presented a perfect opportunity for Masch to get a really extended time at home, given we didn't really need him for Burnley.

 

Maybe I'm fantasising but it's plausible that this kind of deal could have been struck in trying to persuade Mascherano to stay another year.

 

Think its Masch's last year here myself so could be well true.

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David Hodgson

David Hodgson

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I don't honestly know, Rafa doesn't strike me to be the sort of person to allow such deals to happen. I mean look what happened when Alonso became a father!

 

Rafa is a pragmatist, and Mascherano seriously wanted to get away. Desparate times call for desperate measures. I think

Rafa would figure he wouldn't want Masch to play against Burnley anyway, given he'd played twice, and would have had to travel

back with little time to spare, regardless.

 

It's an easy 'deal' for Rafa to have offered.

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Mr. Biscan

Mr. Biscan

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Rafa is a pragmatist, and Mascherano seriously wanted to get away. Desparate times call for desperate measures. I think

Rafa would figure he wouldn't want Masch to play against Burnley anyway, given he'd played twice, and would have had to travel

back with little time to spare, regardless.

 

It's an easy 'deal' for Rafa to have offered.

 

True.

 

Just can't see it myself.

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BG

BG

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Just can't see it myself.

 

I agree. Creates problems for himself if we had drawn/lost and likely to make things harder amongst the squad too if a player is getting some sort of special privilege.

 

What could be possible IMHO is that Masch has some extenuating family circumstances (e.g. an illness to a parent etc) and this was something Rafa took into account.

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GWistooshort

GWistooshort

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From the official site.............

 

On why Javier Mascherano was not in the squad, Benitez revealed the midfielder was still in South America after representing Argentina this week.

 

He explained: "Mascherano was not available. He still hasn't arrived. He is coming back on Sunday. He had some problems, and our doctor was talking to their doctor.

 

"Now I think he's okay but he's coming back later because he had to do some tests over there.

 

"Don't be worried, it's not serious!"

 

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...090912-1756.htm

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GWistooshort

GWistooshort

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According to the Daily Mirror today Barcelona's director of football Txiki Begiristain has said their pursuit of Mascherano (& Fabregas) is "something the club has left for later" & that "Mascherano and Cesc did not come because of financial difficulties. It was impossible to pay the kind of money asked for after the spending of Real Madrid."

 

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Barce...icle154783.html

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Chili Palmer

Chili Palmer

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According to the Daily Mirror today Barcelona's director of football Txiki Begiristain has said their pursuit of Mascherano (& Fabregas) is "something the club has left for later" & that "Mascherano and Cesc did not come because of financial difficulties. It was impossible to pay the kind of money asked for after the spending of Real Madrid."

 

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Barce...icle154783.html

 

 

I am resigned to the fact that he will go in the summer. such a pity.

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GWistooshort

GWistooshort

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Rafa Benitez urges Javier Mascherano to rediscover Liverpool FC spark

Sep 19 2009 Ian Doyle

 

JAVIER MASCHERANO has been challenged to set aside his World Cup worries and rediscover his spark for Liverpool.

 

Mascherano has struggled for form during the opening weeks of the campaign after a difficult summer in which Barcelona were actively pursuing the midfielder.

 

The 25-year-old’s concentration has been further affected by Argentina’s struggle to reach next summer’s World Cup finals in South Africa.

 

Diego Maradona’s side could miss out after slumping to successive defeats in their qualifiers against Brazil and Paraguay earlier this month, during which Mascherano – who is skipper for his country – sustained a pelvic injury that ruled him out of last week’s 4-0 win over Burnley.

 

And as Liverpool prepare to visit his former club West Ham United this evening, Mascherano has been urged by manager Rafael Benitez to focus his mind solely on Anfield matters.

 

“When you are not winning while playing for a big country like Argentina, you have to be worried,” said Benitez. “But Javier is a player with experience so he will come back, focus his mind and start thinking about Liverpool.

 

“He is the captain so he will be really worried because in Argentina, they live and breathe football, so as captain it will obviously be a worry for him.

 

“But since the first day he arrived here, his commitment has been 100%.

 

“I am watching him in training sessions and he is doing well and working really hard. I was watching him specifically because we were doing some exercises that needed hard work and he was very good in both and today was the same.

 

“The atmosphere in our training sessions is very good now and he is one of the players who is always working so hard that as a manager you have to be pleased.”

 

Reports in Spain suggest Barcelona are preparing a January bid for Mascherano, despite their director of football, Txiki Begiristain, having already been warned off any move by Benitez.

 

And the Liverpool manager has intimated the Argentine, who arrived at the club in January 2007, could be offered a new contract later this season.

 

“Top teams are always interested in signing top-class players,” said Benitez. “It’s normal. But he has a contract and we want to keep him.

 

“I told Txiki Begiristain before that we wanted to keep him and he knows my opinion.

 

“I have told him how important it was for him to come here, and now he is the captain of the Argentina national side thanks to Liverpool.

 

“For us, to have the best from Mascherano is really important if we want to win more games.

 

“He has two more years, but if we need to do it we will talk to him. He has enough time and has to play at the level he has played at before and we will be really pleased with him. We are really pleased with him.”

 

Mascherano made only a fleeting appearance as a late substitute in the midweek Champions League win over Debrecen.

 

And with Lucas Leiva and Steven Gerrard impressing in central midfield in his absence, the Argentine is not guaranteed a starting place at Upton Park.

 

“I am really pleased with the way that the team is playing now but I was also happy with the two games previous,” added Benitez.

 

“All the players know what they have to do on the pitch, so to change one or two of them is not a big difference. If Mascherano is fit he can play but Lucas and Gerrard are doing well as midfielders.

 

“He is a key player for us and he will be a key player for us during the season but he was away and Lucas and Gerrard were playing well so I have to manage this situation. But it is better for me to have these problems.”

 

Along with Mascherano, both Fabio Aurelio and Ryan Babel are pressing for recalls this evening.

 

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverp...92534-24726928/

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Falconhoof

Falconhoof

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Masch only has 2 years left on his contract?

 

Is that right? Because if it is, its shocking that we have allowed that to happen. He is one of our top class players and I thought we were extending all our top players contracts in the summer?

 

He wanted to go to Barca in the summer, its not surprising that we didn't extend his contract.

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