Marcelo Bielsa and Javier Mascherano: a story of respect, gratitude and a lot of football that has lasted for more than 20 years

Argentina-Uruguay. Marcelo Bielsa-Javier Mascherano. 16 July 2003. A notice and a history of selection. As a Already seen, like a story about Macondo in One Hundred Years of Solitude or a chapter in German dark fiction. ¿What relationship exists between past, present and future? Are they independent space-time units or do they feed on each other? The newspaper reports will say that the coach who made the young 18-year-old midfielder debut in the Argentine national team without yet playing a match in the River First Division, will now face him, more than 20 years later, in a match between the pre-Olympic teams of the classic rivals of the River Plate. Argentina-Uruguay. Marcelo Bielsa-Javier Mascherano. February 2, 2024.

Bielsa knew Mascherano well before being called up to the senior national team. The boy had already been in Sub 15 when he still belonged to Renato Cesarini. Then in the Under 17s, now in River and the Under 20s. In March 2002, for a tour of Europe before the World Cup, El Loco called up 11 young players as sparring partners. Mascherano was there. He was dazzled. For this reason, the young midfielder also had a place among the boys who participated in the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup.

In December 2002, double call-up, for the Under 20 team which would have participated in the South American team in Uruguay and for the Central American tour which will mark the beginning of Bielsa’s second cycle in the national team, after the renewal of the contract despite the elimination in the first phase of the Korea-Japan World Cup. The youth team was champion and Maskswithout much time to celebrate, she immediately left with him for Honduras Gonzalo Rodriguez AND Emanuele Rivas. In the three friendlies (Honduras, Mexico and United States) he was on the bench.

Mascherano continued to be a regular presence in the youth team while they were relegated to River, even more so after the arrival of Chilean Manuel Pellegrini. El Millonario had an abundance of central midfielders: Leonardo Astrada, Claudio Husain, Guillermo Pereyra AND Oscar Ahumada. He, in the meantime, trained with the Reserve, the Vitrolettedirected by Jorge Ghisowith Black Marcelo Gomez, who had returned to the club. He was vitrola who received the call Claudio VivasBielsa’s assistant, confirming that the boy would be called up to the Majors, when he had not yet made his debut with his team.

The inauguration of the Único de La Plata stadium was scheduled for May 21, 2003 and Mascherano would be the starter. However, torrential rain flooded the city and part of the stadium and the friendly match with Uruguay was postponed. The classic was played two months later. Bielsa, once again, called up the little boss. Also to Lucho Gonzalez. On 7 July at 11am there were 17 names and at 7pm the list provided by the AFA had 15. Neither of them was present, after an agreement with the River management for both to participate in the Nuñez team’s tour of the United States United.

An employee told Loco and he exploded. He urgently called a press conference in Ezeiza on 8 July and, true to his style, clarified his position. He was angry, so he read the entire message he wanted to give.“I requested this contact because I wanted to make a clarification regarding the way in which this call was implemented. The list to be addressed next Wednesday 16th (at 9pm, at the inauguration of the Ciudad de La Plata stadium) does not coincide with “What I have provided. Mascherano and González, who had been informed by us of the nomination, were excluded. This measure was taken by the AFA and I became aware of it after its implementation. The usual procedure, which in this case has been modified, consists in simultaneously communicating to the AFA authorities, the clubs and the press who are the members of each tender. This procedure used in the 50 previous tenders aims to avoid that the designations are the result of previous agreements and therefore all clubs receive the same. Each club has the right to refuse the chosen player without having to justify the refusal. The AFA does not exercise the right to disqualify the rejected player, regardless of the fact that this is its right. I don’t know the reasons why the method that is always used was not applied and for this reason I thought it appropriate to clarify to players and coaches that I am not responsible. This is the summary of my thoughts on how this last call was born, I wanted to express it to make it clear what my responsibility is in the path that has been chosen.”. The fracture deepens in the relationship between Julio Grondona and the coach, who resigns a year later because he ran out of energy.

Finally, Mascherano started against Uruguay in the first football match played at the Único stadium, on 16 July 2003. “Play calmly, I trust you” the coach told him. It was 2-2 and the Uruguayan’s first goal was due to a poor throw from the young midfielder. In the place The players’ standthe current Under 23 coach recalled that first experience: “Once the match was over, we returned to the Predio, I got into the car, went to my house in Belgrano and went to sleep. Ready”.

But in any case, the footballer who managed to complete 147 matches until 2018 (the first 10 with Bielsa on the bench) and He is the second player with the most games in the Biancoceleste shirt After Lionel Messihe always appreciated the opportunity Bielsa gave him.

It is again. Even in May 2012, on the eve of the final between Barcelona – him as a player – and Athletic Bilbao – Bielsa as coach – for the Copa del Rey, he expressed: “ I was part of the group he used for friendlies. We were a group of 17 and 18 year old players who were on tour with the national team and we went to the World Cup. After the defeat in Korea, with all the press against it, he decided to take a player who hadn’t even played in the First Division and include him in the national team. He had a lot more to lose than gain and he gave me a chance. I am grateful to him for life“.

But he didn’t stop there and talked about what’s at stake: “I want to win this title, it would be the perfect finishing touch and the best way to approach next season. From the feeling, you want to see Marcelo win titles, because football with him was too unfair in rewarding him, because he deserved much more than what he won. But perhaps his greatest triumph was leaving his mark on every team and player he coached.“

Two decades after that debut, a decade after that final, Mascherano will face Bielsa for the first and certainly only time. With Argentina having qualified for the final quadrilateral and Uruguay already eliminated from the competition. It will be this Friday from 8pm in the city of Valencia, Venezuela. The past and the present. And the future?