Carlos Tévez

Carlos Tévez

Carlos Alberto Tévez was born on 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City.Although not the most prolific goal-scorer, Tévez is well-known for his work ethic and never-say-die attitude.He has previously played for Boca Juniors, Corinthians, West Ham United, and most notably for Manchester United. He transferred to Manchester City in the 2009–10 summer transfer window, becoming the first player to move between the two Manchester clubs since 1999.His career has been dogged by a long-standing affair with Media Sports Investments, the company who owned the rights of Tévez, several other players and coaches, which resulted in West Ham United being fined numerous times over concerns regarding third-party ownership.

He has made 51 appearances for the Argentina national team, scoring 8 goals. He was described by Diego Maradona as the "Argentine prophet for the 21st
century."

Background

Carlos Alberto Martínez was born in Ciudadela, Buenos Aires, and raised in the neighbourhood of Ejército de Los Andes, better known as "Fuerte Apache." It was from there that he got the nickname of "El Apache." His parents changed his surname to his mother's during a conflict between his junior club All Boys and Boca Juniors.
Tévez has a distinctive burn scar that runs down his neck from his right ear to his chest. He was accidentally scalded with boiling water as a child, which caused third-degree burns and kept him hospitalised in intensive care for nearly two months.After joining Boca Juniors, Tévez refused an offer from the club to have them cosmetically improved, saying that the scars were a part of who he was in the past and who he is today.

Personal information

Full name Carlos Alberto Tévez
Date of birth 5 February 1984 (1984-02-05) (age 25)
Place of birth Ciudadela, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position Second striker

Club information
Current club Manchester City
Number 32

Youth career
1992–1996 All Boys
1997–2001 Boca Juniors

Senior career*
Years Club Apps† (Gls)†
2001–2004 Boca Juniors 75 (26)
2005–2006 Corinthians 52 (31)
2006–2007 West Ham United 26 (7)
2007–2009 Manchester United 63 (19)
2009– Manchester City 5 (2)

National team‡
2004– Argentina 51 (8)


Manchester United

Manchester United put forward a proposed two-year loan deal for Tévez, which was approved on 10 August 2007.He made his debut on 15 August when he started in place of the injured Wayne Rooney in a 1–1 draw against Portsmouth. On 23 September, he scored his first goal in a 2–0 home victory against Chelsea. In November, United manager Alex Ferguson confirmed that the club wanted to sign Tévez permanently. "He'll get me fifteen goals this season, and what's more, they'll be important goals."Tévez was greeted with an ovation and singing of "There's Only One Carlos Tevez" from the West Ham supporters upon his return to Upton Park for an away match (lost by Manchester United) on 29 December. He returned the gesture by repeatedly crossing his arms in front of his chest, in reference to the hammers on the West Ham team crest.

Tévez scored a total of five goals during Manchester United's successful 2007–08 Champions League campaign. He also scored the first penalty in the shootout against Chelsea in the final, which Manchester United won 6–5 after the match had ended 1–1 after extra time.He scored his first league goal of the 2008–09 season on 13 September 2008 in a 2–1 away defeat to Liverpool, and his first hat-trick came on 3 December 2008, when he scored a quartet of goals in United's 5–3 League Cup win over Blackburn Rovers in the fifth round. His first Champions League goal of the season, against Aalborg BK on 10 December, stands as the fastest goal to date in the tournament for 2008–09 at two minutes and 41 seconds.

On 21 December, Tévez started for United in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup final, which United won 1–0 over Ecuadorean club LDU Quito, but he was substituted in the 51st minute for Jonny Evans after Nemanja Vidic was sent off.On 10 May 2009, Tévez was reported as saying that he believed his time at Manchester United would come to an end that summer and he expressed his dissatisfaction at not having been offered a permanent contract with the club and having been dropped from the team despite, in his opinion, not having played badly. Despite this outburst, Tévez was named in Manchester United's starting XI for the derby match against Manchester City later that day, before scoring the second of United's two goals on the stroke of half-time, which prompted chants of "Fergie, sign him up" from the club's fans. After the match, manager Alex Ferguson refused to be drawn on the subject of Tévez's future with the club, saying "I didn't read any of the papers. He's a Manchester United player."

The following game for Manchester United was away at Wigan Athletic. Tévez did not start the game, but came off the bench on 58 minutes and scored the equaliser three minutes later with a flamboyant back-heeled finish. His introduction immediately improved the team's play and Michael Carrick scored the winner on 86 minutes. After the game, to the relief of most United fans, Alex Ferguson announced that the club had commenced talks to sign Tévez on a permanent deal. This news came on the same day as claims in The Sun that United lawyers were looking into the possibility of a Bosman-type case, which would allow Tévez to be signed for free.Tévez started the next game against Arsenal, but was substituted by Park Ji-Sung in the 66th minute. As he left the field, the Manchester United supporters applauded him, in his last game at Old Trafford for Manchester United. United chief executive David Gill suggested that Tévez's future would be resolved by early June 2009.Although United agreed to meet the option fee of £25.5 million and offered Tévez a five-year contract that would have made him one of the club's top earners, Tévez's advisors informed the club that he no longer wished to play for Manchester United. Nevertheless, reports also emerged that Tévez had ruled out signing for Liverpool, given the implications of a Manchester United player moving to join their north-west rivals.

Manchester City

After protracted negotiations,Tévez signed a five-year contract with Manchester United's cross-town rivals, Manchester City, after a medical on 14 July 2009. On 12 September, it was revealed that the exact cost of the transfer was £47 million, a British transfer record.Tévez was given the number 32 shirt, just as he was at United and West Ham.[3] In signing for Manchester City, Tévez became the first player to move between the two Manchester clubs since Terry Cooke moved from United to City in 1999.He made his City debut coming off the bench against Blackburn Rovers in a 2–0 away win. He scored his first goal for the club on 27 August 2009 against
Crystal Palace in the 2nd round of the Carling Cup, heading in City's second
goal in a 2–0 victory.During September 2009, Tévez suffered a knee injury whilst on international duty with Argentina, which would keep him out for two to three weeks, forcing him to miss the match against Arsenal.[55] It was also thought that Tévez
would miss the Manchester derby the following weekend, but he recovered in time to play in the match. He set up his side's first goal for Gareth Barry, but City ended up losing 4–3.Tévez scored his first and second Premier League goals for the club during a 3–1 win over his former club, West Ham.

International career

Tévez first came into prominence with Argentina while playing in the FIFA U-17 World Championship. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he won the gold medal and scored eight goals (including the winner in the final) in six matches to be the top scorer of the competition. He was the world's second-highest goalscorer of 2004 in overall international competition with sixteen goals, one fewer than Iran forward Ali Daei.

Tévez was called up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, and scored his only goal of the tournament in Argentina's 6–0 group stage thrashing of Serbia and Montenegro on 16 June. However, he was sent off twice in a three-game stretch during 2010 World Cup qualifying, once against Colombia on 21 November 2007 after he kicked fullback Rubén Darío Bustos in the 24th minute,and then on 9 September 2008 after a late tackle on defender Darío Verón that earned him a red card in the 31st minute of a 1–1 draw with Paraguay after he had been booked earlier. Tévez later apologised for the incident.

Honours

Club

Boca Juniors

* Copa Sudamericana: 2004
* Intercontinental Cup: 2003
* Primera División Apertura: 2003–04
* Copa Libertadores: 2003

Corinthians

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2005

Manchester United

* Premier League: 2007–08, 2008–09
* FA Community Shield: 2008
* UEFA Champions League: 2007–08
* FIFA Club World Cup: 2008
* Football League Cup: 2008–09

International

* 2004 Summer Olympics: Gold medal
* South American U-20 Championship: 2003

Individual

* Copa Libertadores Most Valuable Player: 2003
* Silver Olimpia (Argentine Footballer of the Year): 2003, 2004
* Golden Olimpia (Argentine Sportsperson of the Year): 2004
* Olympic Golden Boot: 2004
* CBF Campeonato Brasileiro Best Player: 2005
* Placar Bola de Ouro: 2005
* South American Footballer of the Year: 2003, 2004, 2005
* Hammer of the Year: 2007