Berlin, June 4 (IANS) Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano singled out Juventus’ Carlos Tevez as the man to watch out for ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final in Berlin.
The 31-year-old Argentine has been the star of the club’s campaign, with his goal helping to fire them to Serie A and Coppa Italia success.
Tevez and Mascherano played alongside one another at Corinthians and West Ham, as well as for Argentina, and the midfielder knows all too well the qualities of his former teammate.
“Tevez is a top player, a magnificent centre-forward and, above all, a player who likes to win. He’s made for these games,” Mascherano was quoted as saying by UEFA official website on Thursday.
“We have played against each other during Boca vs River games, during Manchester United vs Liverpool. We have played together as well.”
“Our paths in the beginning were quite similar but then he went to Manchester and I went to Liverpool.”
The Argentina international added that the Juve’s disciplined style of football could prove to be a difficult tactical web to overcome on Saturday.
“They have that Italian competitive edge. It is always difficult to overcome that because they are very, very competitive. They are very tactical. They understand football and on top of that they have a lot of talent,” Mascherano concluded.