Juan Cruz Mascia

Juan Cruz Mascia Payssé (born 3 January 1994) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a forward.

Club career Juan was born in Carrasco, Montevideo to an Argentine father and a Uruguayan mother, and came through the youth system at Miramar Misiones. He was promoted to the first team in the 2010–11 Uruguayan Primera División season, making two substitute appearances in the campaign.

His debut came in a 5–2 loss against Danubio F.C. on 20 February 2011, when he was a 64th-minute substitute. His second match of the 2010–11 season, again as a substitute, was a 0–0 draw with Bella Vista on 8 May 2011. This was his first appearance in home stadium Parque Luis Méndez Piana. He scored his first goal with Miramar Misiones on 22 December 2011 against Deportivo Maldonado in the 2011–12 season of the Uruguayan Segunda División.

NorthEast United FC On 27 August 2018, Mascia moved abroad and joined Indian Super League franchise NorthEast United FC. On 30 October 2018, Mascia made his debut for the club on away win against Delhi Dynamos. On 23 November 2018, he scored his first goal for the club against Kerala Blasters in the final moments of the game after coming as a substitute and hence, earned the nickname 'Super Sub Mascia'. He is also called 'Boot Jolokia' after Bhoot Jolokia for his goal against Kerala Blasters by the fans. Along with teammate Bartholomew Ogbeche and compatriot Federico Gallego, he formed one of the best attacking combinations for the club.

Chacarita Juniors In June 2019 his transfer was announced to Chacarita Juniors of Uruguay.

International career Juan entered the Uruguay under-15s in 2009 and his first official international tournament was the 2009 South American Under-15 Football Championship in which he played six matches and scored three goals. Juan is a prolific goalscorer for the Uruguay under-17s. He was the top goalscorer, with six goals, in the 2011 South American Under-17 Football Championship, which was held in Ecuador. His first tournament goals came against the Bolivia under-17s on 15 March 2011. In this match he scored both Uruguay goals in a 2–0 group stage victory. He scored another double in a 3–2 win against the Colombia under-17s in a final group stage game on 6 April 2011, helping Uruguay finish the competition as runners up to champions Brazil.

He also represented Uruguay in the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico. He scored against the Canada under-17s in the group stage on 19 June 2011. Uruguay advanced to the final of the high-status tournament, where they lost 2–0 to hosts Mexico under-17s on 10 July 2011.

Reputation Following his success at under-17 level, Juan is a reported transfer target for clubs in England, Spain and Italy. He has also been favourably compared to 2010 FIFA World Cup star Diego Forlán in the English and South American media. For example, in April and May 2011 articles, the UK tabloid The Daily Mirror and the FIFA website referred to him as the "new Forlán" and the "Forlán's heir" respectively. In the same month, Uruguay newspaper El Observador reported that Forlán was, in fact, a keen admirer of the player and had arranged for him to attend a training session with Atlético Madrid.

Career statistics

Achievements

Uruguay U17 FIFA Under-17 World Cup runner-up: 2011 South American Under-17 Football Championship runner-up: 2011

Uruguay U23 Pan American Games: 2015

Individual South American Under-17 Football Championship top goalscorer: 2011 South American Under-17 Football Championship

Personal life Mascia has two brothers, Franco and Bautista. The latter also has Argentine citizenship.