UEFA Champions League Liverpool v PSV Eindhoven: JAVIER MASCHERANO looked as though he had bumped into Steve Bennett down a dark alley. Liverpool's tenacious Argentinian midfielder had just been compared to a bunny - to his face - for, it is safe to assume, the first time in his career.
Though the menacing glare dissolved into a smile when Eric Gerets' tribute to Liverpool was explained in full - "They are like Duracell bunnies. They are an example to the rest of the world for the effort they put in," the Marseille coach said recently - the laughter stopped when Mascherano revealed what really powers his extraordinary output. Pain.
For the €23 million Argentina international it is not the glory of two Olympic gold medals that fuels his voracious appetite on a football field but the misery of potentially career-defining defeats; the 2006 World Cup quarter-final exit to Germany providing the greatest pain for his country and the Champions League inflicting two for his club.
Losing to Milan in Athens in the 2007 final and last season's semi-final defeat at Stamford Bridge still weigh heavily on the mind of a 24-year-old for whom euphoria is fleeting but despair lingers. It is why, in contrast to most at Anfield, the Champions League remains the greatest motivation for Mascherano.
"I know the Liverpool fans want to win the league because they've won the Champions League recently but the Champions League is a dream for me," said the midfielder, who made his competition debut against tonight's opponents, PSV, in a 3-0 away win in April 2007 and played in the Athens final just four months after escaping the personal torment of West Ham.
"If you ask 200 players, 90 per cent will say they want to win the Champions League. The World Cup is the most important competition for any footballer, but then comes the Champions League.
"I have spoken with many Argentina players and some of them have been in Europe for 10 years and haven't played in a semi-final of the Champions League, let alone a final. That's why it's my dream to win it.
"When you lose a game, there is more motivation than when you win. You keep the pain. When you win, maybe you will be happy for an hour, then you forget about it."
Miserable memories from last season's semi-final at Chelsea remain fresh for Mascherano and will inspire his latest assault on the Champions League more than the sight of his close friend Carlos Tevez lifting the trophy with Manchester United in May.
"We had a big chance to win at Stamford Bridge and it was quiet in the dressingroom afterwards," he recalled.
"We were really, really sad, but that is what drives me on. When you lose, the pain stays with you for many weeks, months or even years.
"That happened to me in the World Cup as well when Argentina lost to Germany on penalties. We were the better team and we deserved to win, but we couldn't do it."
Mascherano is expected to return to the side from a calf injury tonight as Rafael Benitez seeks to secure qualification to the knockout stage as swiftly as possible and rest players at a later date in readiness for the Premier League.
"If we manage the situation now we will be in a much better position for the rest of the season," said the Liverpool manager.
And what of the Duracell comparison?
With the exception of the killer rabbit that flies for the throat in Monty Python and the Holy Grail it is ludicrous to compare Mascherano to a bunny, as Bennett, the referee who dismissed the midfielder for dissent at Old Trafford last season, can testify.
But no Liverpool player better fits Gerets' description than the man more suitably known as "Little Chief".
"That is my job," responded Mascherano.
"I know I don't have the quality of Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso so I just have to give 100 per cent, do the easy things and do my best in every game.
"All the players want to play with the ball and maybe I'd like to have the quality of Gerrard, but I don't.
"So I need to do other things. The most important thing is the balance of the team and each player has to do his job."
Guardian Service
