MESSI, MASCHERANO TO HIGUAIN: ARGENTINA'S 2014 WORLD CUP FINALISTS - WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (PART ONE)

The 2014 World Cup final at the Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro was a night that Lionel Messi would never want to recall.

Argentina had a golden opportunity to win their third World Cup at their rivals Brazil's courtyard but it turned into a bad dream as they lost the final 1-0 to Germany. It was a close and nervy final with both Argentina and Germany fighting neck-to-neck. And both sides had the chance to win the match in normal time. Argentina had three major goalscoring opportunities in the match which fell to Gonzalo Higuain, Rodrigo Palacio and Messi himself but all three chances were wasted and Mario Gotze scored the fateful goal that gave Germany their fourth World Cup title.

Interestingly, it was at the Maracana, the venue of the 2014 final, that Messi woul finally win an international trophy for Argentina - the 2021 Copa America.

1. SERGIO ROMERO - GK


Sergio Romero, who was Argentina's first-choice goalkeeper at the Olympics, went on to play 96 international matches for the senior team. Romero, currently a free agent, was with Manchester United for six seasons from 2015 to 2021.

2. PABLO ZABLETA - RB


Zabaleta joined Manchester City in 2008 where he spent the better part of his career and became a legend at the club. He left City in 2017 and spent the final three seasons of his professional career at West Ham United. He retired in 2020.

3. MARTIN DEMICHELIS - CB


The Argentina defender has represented top European clubs like Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City. He last played for Malaga in 2017 before retiring from professional football. In April 2021, he joined the Bayern Munich reserves side as their manager.

4. EZEQUIEL GARAY - CB


After playing at the Beijing 2008 Olympics for Argentina, Garay moved to Real Madrid where he spent three seasons before joining Benfica. He retired from professional football in 2020 after spending four seasons at Valencia.

5. MARCOS ROJO - LB


After the 2014 World Cup, the full-back joined Premier League giants Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon. Marcos Rojo remained with the club until 2021 and in between he was sent on loan to Argentine club Estudiante for a season. In 2021, Rojo joined Boca Juniors.

6. ENZO PEREZ - RW


The midfielder began his professional career at Argentine club Godoy Cruz in 2003. Enzo Perez played for clubs like Benfica and Valencia in his career. He currently plies his trade with River Plate which he joined in 2017.

7. LUCAS BIGLIA - CM


The Argentine international played for European clubs like Anderlecht, Lazio and AC Milan. Since 2020, he is playing for Turkish Super Lig club Fatih Karagümrük.

See the rest on my wall in part two!

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