Javier Mascherano aims to emulate his friend Carlos Tevez
and win the Champions League.
Mascherano, 24, admits that he was delighted for his fellow
Argentina international when he claimed a winner's medal in last
season's final for Manchester United.
The midfielder was perhaps oblivious to the fact that he was
probably the only person of a Liverpool persuasion who felt that
way watching the final in Moscow last May, when the Red Devils beat
Chelsea on penalties.
But having arrived in England alongside his friend Tevez at West
Ham, he can probably be forgiven for such sentiment.
Mascherano said: "I have a good relationship with Carlos. He is
playing for Manchester United and me for Liverpool, but it does not
matter because we are friends.
"I am happy for him that he has done well, that he has won the
Champions League.
"When we play against each other, of course, I want to win, to
beat him. But he is my friend and I am happy for him when he is
successful.
"He had the chance to win the Champions League, and when he was
in Argentina he won the Libertadores Cup. So he has many winner's
medals now.
"But we need to separate things. On one side there is football
where we are rivals, but on the other in our private lives we are
friends.
"I have a good friendship with him and his family, football will
not change that.
"I spoke to Carlos after the Champions League final and I told
him I was happy for him, but now I want to win it like him."
Mascherano has recovered from a calf injury to be in Liverpool's
squad to face PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday in their second Champions
League Group D match, having won their first at Marseille.
Liverpool, still unbeaten this season and with only two defeats
in their last 29 games in all competitions, have hit the sort of
form that gives their fans belief that the Premier League title can
be claimed.
Mascherano said: "I am fit, I can play if the manager wants. I
have had a short rest with the injury, which coming after the
Olympics and my busy schedule was good. Now I feel ready to
play.
"Now we want to fight for every competition, we want to compete
for the league and in Europe, so we must maintain this level.
"There will be many difficult games but we must make sure that
we keep playing the way we are.
"I want to win everything, and I know the Champions League and
the Premier League together are difficult. But let us see where we
are at the end.
"As long as we keep going, keep doing the right things, we will
see where that takes us."
Mascherano warned his team-mates, still buoyant from Saturday's
derby victory over Everton, that they cannot ease off against their
Dutch opponents on Wednesday night.
He added: "But we must not lose our concentration. PSV have lost
their first game in this group, so they will be dangerous. They
will want to surprise us so we must not allow our level to
drop.
"We are stronger than last season, we have more and more
options. We have players who can perform just as well in several
positions, so that is good for the manager and the team.
"We have more mental strength than last season, and we are able
to recover from poor results much better. We have reached a certain
level now and the aim is to keep it going all season.
"We have improved and we can fight for the title and Champions
League."