Liverpool FC Forum

by **yckatbjywtbiastkamb** » Thu May 24, 2007 12:44 am

after all the pre match talk about the best player in the world i think its fitting to mention our man of the match.
mascherano had kaka in his pocket all night.
rafa was faced with hobsons choice when 1 down with 20 minutes to go and probably took javier off because xavi was more likely to unlock their defence but i think we should salute a masterclass in midfield play.
it made scholes and carrick look like knobheads.
javier mascherano - stay forever at anfield and we will build a team around you.

by **zarababe** » Thu May 24, 2007 12:46 am

was fantastic :bowdown

did Kaka play

by **Well Red** » Thu May 24, 2007 1:31 am

Mascherano had a brilliant game tonight - a real positive from an otherwise sad evening. Now I can't really see the use of Sissoko to our team as anything other than a squad player as long as Mazza is fully fit.

Momo has shown that he can't play well against the lesser premiership teams because his passing is at times woeful and he loses possession too much - that means he's only a great player when he plays top teams that play a slick passing game (Arsenal, Barca, etc.) and it's in these games in which Momo comes into his element by getting amongst the opposition midfielders and just covering a lot of ground and tackling tough. This is effective.

However, Mazza is as close to perfection as a midfielder could be in his tackles (rather than Momo's recklessness); he can pass the ball effectively (Momo can pass competently, at best); he can dictate the tempo of a game far better than Momo; and his positional sense, when told to mark someone in particular, is Liverpool FC class (see: Kaka's disappearing act in Athens).

Players like Mascherano are the type of quality players we want to be playing against the top teams. So do we keep or sell Momo?

--sorry if you think I'm going midly off-topic, Javier's performance just made me think about this.

by **Thingy** » Thu May 24, 2007 1:35 am

Kaka, whos Kaka

. Yeah Mascherano was immense tonight, and has been since he came to the club. On what Well Red was sayin, with Lucas Coming in, Someone will go, and i feel it will be Sissoko. Or would Rafa Loan him out? Not too sure but its an option.

by **yckatbjywtbiastkamb** » Thu May 24, 2007 1:40 am

Well Red wrote:Mascherano had a brilliant game tonight - a real positive from an otherwise sad evening. Now I can't really see the use of Sissoko to our team as anything other than a squad player as long as Mazza is fully fit.

Momo has shown that he can't play well against the lesser premiership teams because his passing is at times woeful and he loses possession too much - that means he's only a great player when he plays top teams that play a slick passing game (Arsenal, Barca, etc.) and it's in these games in which Momo comes into his element by getting amongst the opposition midfielders and just covering a lot of ground and tackling tough. This is effective.

However, Mazza is as close to perfection as a midfielder could be in his tackles (rather than Momo's recklessness); he can pass the ball effectively (Momo can pass competently, at best); he can dictate the tempo of a game far better than Momo; and his positional sense, when told to mark someone in particular, is Liverpool FC class (see: Kaka's disappearing act in Athens).

Players like Mascherano are the type of quality players we want to be playing against the top teams. So do we keep or sell Momo?

--sorry if you think I'm going midly off-topic, Javier's performance just made me think about this.

i think you summed it up pretty well but i dont think its a time for comparing liverpool players to each other.
mascherano for me stood out in the world cup when he was mentioned about 4 times in that famous goal argentina scored in the world cup which had about 29 passes or something and now in the biggest club game on earth he had a stormer.
he wasnt marking the watford right winger here or the sheff wed striker he was marking by popular consensus the best player on the planet.
he was marking the destroyer of man united, the best player in the world, thousands of miles away from home and he did it to perfection.
javier mascherano- what a player.

by **Emerald Red** » Thu May 24, 2007 1:44 am

There can be no debate. We've unearthed a world class superstar in the making. West Ham must have been crazy to sign him, nevermind let him go. He's just too big of a player to have been there in the first place. It's players like these that can make us great again. He must be signed no matter what it costs.

by **cptrios** » Thu May 24, 2007 1:45 am

Agreed on all. That one chase-down tackle he made on Kaka (you know the one I mean) was absolutely stunning. And as much as I love Sissoko, it's fairly clear which of the two is more valuable to us.

Of course before we start thinking about that, shouldn't we figure out whether or not we're going to have Mascher permanently? As far as I can tell nobody really knows. Signing him, if it hasn't happened already, needs to be a HUGE priority.

by **ivor_the_injun** » Thu May 24, 2007 1:49 am

I loved that - couldn't believe it when the director then showed three different angles of the Kaka dragback and turn, but not a peep of the tackle that put him on his a*se.

by **Thingy** » Thu May 24, 2007 1:50 am

Also another thing. Mascher wont get the credit he deserves from outside Liverpool, Simply because he plays for us. If United or Chelsea signed him and he performed like he has been, they would be hailing him the best player in the world.

by **Emerald Red** » Thu May 24, 2007 2:25 am

Thingy wrote:Also another thing. Mascher wont get the credit he deserves from outside Liverpool, Simply because he plays for us. If United or Chelsea signed him and he performed like he has been, they would be hailing him the best player in the world.

Well, I can see what you mean, but steady on with the "best player in the world" thing. Even if he did play for the Mancs or Chelsea, he still wouldn't be getting that much praise...yet. When you look at how he performs, he easily looks as good as Essien, Carrick, Scholes, Lampard etc etc, if not better than. Obviously some of those other players have somewhat better attributes in some other areas, but overall as a player, there are certainly none that I can see as being better in the possition IMO. HIs tackling and tracking is immense.

by **The Manhattan Project** » Thu May 24, 2007 2:37 am

He played very well.

We must keep him.

by **TheDukeofUke** » Thu May 24, 2007 2:56 am

He's fantastic... Just great. Man U needed a player to counter Gattuso and that was all the talk after the loss - they lacked that type of player. Mascherano is that player and he covered Kaka very well, IMO he was one of the reasons Liverpool did so much better against Milan than Mancheter United. You should surely secure him quickly.

I was wondering what was going on with Kaka this match since he kept falling after losing the ball and then I realized who it was...

by **oakton** » Thu May 24, 2007 3:49 am

best player for us, pure class for sure

by **Pedro Maradona** » Thu May 24, 2007 5:04 am

i told you so...... he is "El monstre".....The monster. he was the best defensive midfielder in the world cup
He is world class and has an incredibly good attitude, no histrionics gets on with it with no fuss....
Pity he didnt get a winners medal, he deserved it.

by **Keris** » Thu May 24, 2007 5:30 am

And after all those praises, he still only 22 yrs old.

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