Javier Mascherano was an absolute warrior on the pitch throughout the entirety of his glittering career.
At club level, the 37-year-old was among the world's best defensive midfielders at Liverpool between 2007 and 2010, before transforming into a brilliant centre-back at Barcelona.
Mascherano also excelled on the international stage with Argentina and was a key part of the squad that finished as runners-up at the 2014 World Cup.
In fact, the South American nation probably wouldn't have reached the final out in Brazil had it not been for the two-time Olympic champion.
During the tense semi-final versus Holland at that tournament, Mascherano performed one of the greatest last-ditch tackles in World Cup history to thwart Arjen Robben in the 90th-minute of the match.
With the scores level at 0-0, the Dutch team's talisman looked certain to score the winner after bursting into the box.
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But despite having a head start on the opposition, Robben was unable to get a shot away on his trusty left peg due to a superhuman-like challenge by Mascherano.
However, the tackle - which you can watch in all its glory in the video below - came at a terrible cost for the pragmatic master...
Video: Mascherano's World Cup-saving tackle on Robben
Okay, now that you've watched the iconic challenge, we'll let Mascherano explain the horrific consequences of it.
"I thought I had slipped, I thought I wouldn’t make it, but I tore my anus on that move, the pain...it was terrible," Mascherano later stated, per Independent.
"I threw myself into it. I could have been sent off. It could have been a penalty but anyone could have done that, I had the luck to get there."
Now that's what you call putting your body on the line! Despite the fact he must've been in agony following his anus-tearing heroics, Mascherano didn't ask to be substituted - even throughout the course of extra-time.
Argentina eventually prevailed in the penalty shootout, with Maxi Rodriguez netting the decisive spot-kick after Sergio Romero had saved efforts from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder.