You are here: Home > News > World News > Tevez Is Not Damaged Goods

Wednesday, 10 February 2010

World News Tevez Is Not Damaged Goods

Carlos Tevez's journey from the mean streets of Fort Apache to the so-called 'Theatre of Dreams' has been exciting and dramatic.

Tevez had to live from an early age marked with the 'next Maradona' tag at Boca Juniors and was scarred by a childhood accident when he was scalded by a pan of boiling water.

His upbringing in the district of Ejercito de Los Andes in Buenos Aires - nicknamed Fort Apache after a series of Wild West-style gun crimes in the area - have toughened him up.

There was never any danger of Tevez being too meek and mild to adapt to the rough and tumble of the Premier League, just as he adapted to life as an Argentinian playing in Brazil before that.

Single-minded and proud of his roots, Tevez refused Boca's offer to pay for plastic surgery on his scars after his emergence as a young star, insisting the facial disfigurement was a part of who he was.

He still returns regularly to Fort Apache, getting involved in informal kick-abouts and playing in his 'cumbia' dance band Piola Vago, a name which roughly translates as 'the Lazy Chav', with old friends.

He broke into the first team at Boca in 2001 and his short stature, amazing technique and cheekiness reminding many of Diego Maradona, a player so beloved of Boca fans.

He lifted the team to two Argentinian championships, two Libertadores Cups (South America's equivalent of the Champions League) and the World Club Championship, earning his first international honours in a March 2004 World Cup qualifier against Ecuador.

Just over six months later, he came to worldwide attention after signing for Corinthians in a deal which smashed the South American transfer record at just shy of $23million.

The Sao Paulo club were under the ownership of a company called Media Sports Investments, headed by businessman Kia Joorabchian.

He and his fellow investors put up the money to bring in Tevez from Boca and international team-mate Javier Mascherano from River Plate, and it was clear MSI and not the Corinthians management would decide the players' destiny.

After an unpromising start, Tevez helped to inspire the team to the 2005 Brazilian title.

Alongside Lionel Messi, he gave a glimpse of Argentina's bright footballing future off the substitutes' bench at last summer's World Cup before his and Mascherano's stunning move to West Ham at the end of last August's transfer deadline.

It appeared too good to be true for the Hammers, and so it proved as the club were found guilty and fined by the Premier League of breaching rules concerning third-party ownership of players.

Initially, it seemed the transfer had been more trouble than it was worth as the pair failed to make an impact under then boss Alan Pardew, raising question marks over how much say the manager had had in bringing the players in in the first place as Joorabchian tried and ultimately failed to buy a controlling stake in the club.

But while Mascherano had to move to Liverpool to make an impression, Tevez - true to form - dug in and played a key role in lifting West Ham clear of relegation after they had looked doomed to the drop.

The fact he had been their inspiration only made it all the more galling to Sheffield United that the Hammers had avoided a points deduction over their rule breach, with the fine looking piffling compared to what the club stood to make from staying in the top flight at the Blades' expense.

None of this, of course, was Tevez's fault - he just got on with the business of playing football. Brilliantly.

He topped off a remarkable end to the season, when he became the Hammers' heartbeat, by scoring a typically well-taken goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford to ensure the Londoners' safety.

Now he looks set to return to Manchester for the next challenge in what is already a remarkable career at the tender age of 23.

Copyright (c) 2009 Press Association

Have YOUR say - What do you think about "Tevez Is Not Damaged Goods"? Tell us NOW in the comment section below.