The Case for Carlos Tevez

When the former Manchester United forward signed for rivals Manchester City, all the talk coming out of Old Trafford was that the player doesn't score enough goals, that he's industrious and works hard with the word "endeavor" as a label draped across his around neck. The Manchester United wonks in the media called him a glorified Dirk Kuyt no less; a greyhound chasing a cartoon rabbit around an oval track. Sir Alex himself put it succinctly, "I don't think he was worth £25m. He was popular with the supporters. The fans quite rightly have their heroes and I was happy to go along with the deal as long as it was the right one but, quite simply, he is not worth £25m." Of course, we football supporters have short memories, and managers even less so as you can see by this quote from a year and a half ago, "Carlos reminds me of Eric Cantona in the way that he has a knack of rising to the occasion with a goal just when it is needed." So which one should we believe?

Let me come right out and say this. I'm a Carlitos fan and have been since his Boca Juniors days. Here was a kid who pulled himself out of the Fort Apache section of Buenos Aires, one of the scariest and most violent parts of the city, and became a first team regular as a teenager. He scored 26 goals for Boca in 75 games with a goal ratio of 2.88 or a little less than a goal every third game, but his accomplishments weren't just individual, he made players around him better. Instead of playing alongside fellow Argentines Fernando Cavenaghi and Leandro Fernandez in the FIFA World Youth championship in 2003, he helped Boca beat AC Milan instead for the Intertoto Cup in Yokohama, Japan. He led los xeineizes to a Copa Sudamericana and to a Copa Libertadores as well making him a club legend adored by the Boca faithful. Having helped Boca to greatness, he signed for close to 14 million pounds in 2004 with Corinthians in Brazil. Tevez was made team captain and Corinthians won the title that year. Carlitos played in 52 games, bagging 31 goals for an average of a goal every game and a half more or less. He was clearly progressing as a player. Now, his critics would say that even at this time he was not transferring his club form to his national team, to date only scoring 8 goals since 2004 for the albicelestes, but he wouldn't be the only player ever to have disappointed for his country now would he? Francesco Totti is one that comes to mind.

No, the English have branded Carlos Tevez as a glorified squad player because of his form in England. When he came over to West Ham United, then manager Alan Curbishley resented the fact that both Tevez and Corinthians team-mate Javier Mascherano were bought by his superiors and not by him and he bristled when asked to play the highly rated South Americans. In fact, had the club not been in danger of relegation, Curbishley's hand might not have been forced and Tevez might not have needed to come off the bench and inspire his club to win 7 out of their last 8 games, beating champions Manchester United on the last day of the season even, and saving the Hammers from relegation. Three years after the fact, the Hammers' supporters still cheer Carlitos on every time he returns to Upton Park. He scored 7 goals in limited action that season. From there he got his dream assignment.

Years before he had been photographed wearing a United shirt during a press conference in Brazil. They asked him if he would ever play for United and he smiled. It would be a dream he said. The dream quickly became, well if not a nighmare, certainly not the culmination of a career to date. A natural second striker with a good first touch, an endless engine from his years of cardio and heavy work in the gymn, the club used him primarily as a winger and as a second half substitute for Wayne Rooney amongst others, a bit of pace on the bench and a nice one-two punch with Berbatov, Cristiano, and Park. What was clear is that Ferguson didn't have a way to play Tevez in a role that infringed on both Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlitos's game regressed from lack of effective playing time. The incisive forward I had seen play in Brazil and Argentina, and even in that short stretch at the end of the season with West Ham, had disappeared. He scored 19 goals over two years at Old Trafford for his worst goals to game ratio of his career. Sure, he still showed his motor, he was a box-to-box player, and helped out pressuring the opponents, but a goal scorer needs minutes and was not going to get effective minutes playing in the area where he excels: just behind the striker and with space in front of the central defenders. He might not have been worth 25 million pounds to a Sir Alex Ferguson, but in his intangibles alone, as a squad leader, Tevez is better than any of the young players that Manchester United have on that squad right now.

So he took the contract from Manchester City. 5 years and a gajillion dollars later and the media have called him greedy. It couldn't be farther from the truth. Tevez's last few months at United were frustrating. He called Ferguson's attitude toward him disrespectful. "There is no mystery why I left United and Alex gave me all the reasons to leave. I did not play an important role in any of the important games. In the Champions League I didn't play, I didn't play in the derby. I tried several times to speak to him, to express my feelings, but the only thing he'd say was 'don't worry, don't worry, this is going to change'. He never gave any justification or explanation." Remember, this is a guy who helped Boca beat Milan instead of going to play for his country. He revels in big games and big matches and he cares about one thing. Winning.

I will say this. Moving to Manchester City may not have been the best move for Carlos Tevez. The club have few self-motivated leaders like Carlitos and his gifts may have been better appreciated in Spain or in Italy, but he loves England and he loves the support that English fans give, a trait that he surely misses from his Boca days. Manchester United will surely miss Carlos Tevez, maybe as much as they will miss Cristiano Ronaldo, but Manchester City? They've signed a real winner; a player that makes other players better, and as the West Hams fans sing every time he returns to East London, "There is only one Carlos Tevez."