With the change of venue that gives Argentina the chance to host and qualify for the World Cup in this category, the Jefecito will have revenge for the failed Qualifiers.
Those who closely followed the Selection process during the years that Javier Mascherano was one of its referents, know perfectly well that it is about a self-critical man. Even in the worst moments, when the team got tired of losing finals, he showed his face. He ended up hanging the light blue and white shirt after the failure of Russia 2018.
In his role as coach, he acted in the same way. The disappointment in the South American in Colombia and the elimination of the World Cup pushed him to resign. “We have bothered the boys a lot throughout the year and in this preparation, and they have always given us the players. There are no excuses, the one who failed is me and I have to take charge”, he said after the defeat with the local team.
But everything changed. The World Cup that was to be held in Indonesia will be held in our country. And consequently, the classification is automatic. Argentina will be one of the protagonists and Mascherano, the coach. This Sunday he told Claudio Tapia that he will continue to lead the youth team that now he will be able to count his stars, the europibes who did not participate in the South American: Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Luka Romero (Lazio), Valentín Carboni (Inter) and Matías Soulé (Juventus), to name a few. Facundo Buonanotte (Brighton), Nicolás Paz (Real Madrid) and Máximo Perrone (Manchester City), who were in Colombia, will be called up again.
“Yes, go on. We convinced him together,” Bernardo Romeo confirmed to Clarion. The coordinator of the youth teams, who is in Ecuador, where the Sub 17 is playing the South American, revealed what until last night was an open secret.
And when he says “everyone”, he basically refers to Tapia, Lionel Messi, his own person and even Lionel Scaloni. Yes indeed, The talk that Mascherano had with the Major League coach was key. In his first experience as a coach, the man from Pujato from Santa Fe was crowned champion of the Copa América, the Finalissima and the World Cup, neither more nor less.
Scaloni told Mascherano that he is confident that he will be able to reverse the situation, that this new opportunity that the World Cup gives him at home is a wink of fate. In addition, he will now have a deck of more important players, since the transfer is mandatory. The big league clubs will not be able to refuse before FIFA.
There was no way to twist Mascherano’s arm. Not even despite the fact that Tapia wanted him yes or yes and his goal is that, in the long term, he will take charge of the Senior Selection.
Touched in private by the speech offered by Messi When the president of the AFA decided to baptize the Ezeiza property with his name, Mascherano began to reflect on its continuity. And for these hours he made it official.
What scenario will Mascherano find? This Monday the headquarters that will replace Indonesia will be made official, which was ruled out because the governors of Bali and Central Java requested a veto for Israel. The protests in Jakarta also pointed to the participation of the Israeli National Team. The Asian country has a strong relationship with Palestine.
With the confirmation of Argentina as the new host, it transpired that the opening match on May 20 and the final on June 11 could be played at the Monumental. For that, an exception would have to be made to the rule that requests the release of the stadiums 15 days before the start of the event. By now it will be known.
On the other hand, the rest of the venues will be distributed in fields where there are no First Division matches so as not to hinder the development of the League and the Copa Libertadores. The Madre de Ciudades stadium in Santiago del Estero and the Malvinas Argentinas stadium in Mendoza are in the pipeline. If they end up choosing those venues, Central Córdoba will have to play at Alfredo Terrera and Godoy Cruz at Feliciano Gambarte. What will happen to Mario Alberto Kempes?
The Bicentenario de San Juan and the Diego Maradona La Plata are other options to host some of the 52 Cup matches that Argentina entered through the window.
