Mascherano broke the silence: "The South American was a failure" and who convinced him to continue with the U-20

"After the South American I wanted to take some time to think about many things, because

Thus, without mincing words, Javier Mascherano described what he felt after the premature elimination in the last tournament of the youth team.

And he described the support he received from the Major League coach:

Beyond the intention of the president (Chiqui Tapia) as well as Bernardo (Romeo, manager of National Teams) and the Major League coach (Lionel Scaloni), I appreciate their support, I also believed that it was good to step aside and give them peace of mind to choose whoever they wanted

"Time passed, they insisted on me and a talk I had with Scaloni at the Ezeiza property where he expressed his intention to continue counting on me in the same way was crucial," revealed Mascherano.

The Sub 20 coach spoke with DSports Radio before the World Cup that is coming in our country and was clear about what he wants: "

Mascherano​ said that, after a time of reflection, he agreed to continue working with the National Team.

And that this decision was made before it was defined that Argentina would organize the Under 20 World Cup: "The reality is that everything was brought forward and I had to make the decision much more quickly because everything had to be rearmed. I was in the process of talking with Scaloni and Romeo".

Finally, he expressed himself about how bad his friend Messi is having at PSG with the mistreatment of the fans and analyzed:

. They did not realize what kind of player they did not know how to have in their team. Instead of enjoying it, they spent their time criticizing it. You can't criticize Messi's professionalism".

The 21 chosen for the World Cup

Sub 20 roster.

After several twists and turns due to the refusal of some European clubs to give up their players, Javier Mascherano made the list of 21 players who will play the Under 20 World Cup in Argentina official.

And in the cut of 37 shortlisted footballers there were many who were in the failed South American, apart from little stars like Alejandro Garnacho, Facundo Buonanotte and Nicolás Paz, who did not let them come.

The Selection office worked and negotiated a lot in these last days.

Because since FIFA did not put the Under 20 World Cup on its calendar, the clubs are not obliged to give up their players.

So, Bernardo Romeo (Youth coordinator) and Javier Mascherano (Under 20 coach) spent their time talking with coaches and leaders to be able to put together the best possible squad.

The big problem on the list were the three players that Mascherano went to Europe to look for but could not convince the clubs, beyond their presence and that the boys also stood up, but they could not.

So, Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Facundo Buonanotte (Brigthon) and Nicolás Paz (Real Madrid) could not be part of the final list of 21.

Those who will be in the Argentine Cup

They were not all bad from the outside.

Because there are clubs that decided to bet on the Under 20 National Team and the growth of their players.

For this reason, beyond the fact that important things are being played at the end of the season, Juventus authorized Matías Soulé, Manchester City authorized Máximo Perrone, Lazio authorized Luka Romero, Inter authorized Valentín Carboni, Sporting Lisboa authorized Mateo Tanlongo and Barcelona to Roman Vega.

Only nine repeat from the South American

Mascherano decided that only nine of the 23 who went to the South American in Colombia, in which Argentina did not even pass the first phase, play the World Cup in which the National Team entered when the change of venue was decided.

The survivors of the squad are: goalkeeper Gomes Gerth, defenders Di Lollo, Giay and Valentín Gómez, midfielders Perrone and Infantino, and strikers Maestro Puch, Véliz and Aguirre.

Those who miss the World Cup

Then, from the list of 37, the coach has three players that he could not count due to the decision of the clubs (the aforementioned Garnacho, Paz and Buonanotte), Benjamín Domínguez (Gymnastics) did not recover from the injury he suffered at his club and then the coach chose two different left-backs ((Barco and Vega), leaving out two with more experience in the cycle such as Julián Aude (Los Angeles Galaxy) and Franco Carboni (Monza).

The Aviles case

Avilés, the Racing kid who crossed the Cordillera. Photo: REUTERS/Cristina Sille

The color data on the list is given by Tomás Avilés, Racing's multifunctional defender.

Because

-he was also left out in the first phase, like Argentina-, and now he will play in the World Cup with the light blue and white.