BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Former Argentina captain Javier Mascherano has agreed to take charge of the country's youth team development, the Argentinian Football Association (AFA) said on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old will be officially unveiled as the AFA's national methodology and development director in the "coming weeks", the entity said in a tweet on Tuesday. He will be joined by assistants Pablo Blanco and Oscar Hernandez Romero, it added.
The announcement comes less than two months after Mascherano ended a glittering playing career that included spells with River Plate, Corinthians, West Ham, Liverpool, Barcelona, Hebei China Fortune and Estudiantes.
He was capped 147 times for Argentina's national team and was a key member of the Albiceleste side that reached the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Mascherano has often expressed a desire to become a manager and completed his coaching badges during his time at Barcelona. Enditem