With Argentinian striker Carlos Tevez having freshly completed his move to Italian champions Juventus for a fee believed to be around £12m, it is time to take a look back at his time here at the Etihad, and remember all that he accomplished for us since signing from United in 2009. There’s no denying he’s been a controversial figure in the last couple of years, with his six-month holiday back in Argentina during the middle of the season the pinnacle of this. But on the pitch, Tevez had a fantastic influence and goal record in the blue shirt.
I think when we signed Tevez from United four years ago, that was one of the biggest signs yet that things were changing football-wise in Manchester. The last player to move from Red to Blue was Terry Cooke, who had just helped City win promotion from the Second Division via the play-offs, and then made the leap across the divide in the summer. If you look at the difference between then and now, it just shows how much times have changed for City. Back in 1999, we could only dream of signing player’s of the quality that Tevez possesses, and in modern times, it is common for us to be linked with players of such a high standard.
In his first season with City, the 2009-10 season, Tevez was an integral part of the side that battled for Champions League qualification throughout the campaign. Despite the Blues narrowly missing out, and finishing fifth thanks to a loss at home to Tottenham close to the end of the season, the year was filled with memorable moments for the Argentine. Not only did he score 23 goals in 35 games for the club, but he also endeared himself to the City fans with his disputes with United staff and players. One such incident I remember was leading up to the Carling Cup semi-final at Eastlands, between City and United, United full-back Gary Neville said something offensive about Tevez, so when Tevez scored his first goal in the game, he ran over to Neville on the touch-line, and basically told him to shut up, which is something that caused City fans to fall in love with him.
Tevez’s hand gesture towards Neville
The next season was another important one for both Tevez and his team. Having won the hearts of his club’s fans the previous year, he was determined to do as much as he could to win City their place in the Champions League, and break their long run without any silverware. He started off with the honour of being named team captain for the season, replacing Ivorian defender Kolo Toure. He started the season in fantastic goal-scoring form, scoring six in just his first five games. He slowed down from there, and caused controversy in December, when he handed in a transfer request, citing family reasons and a breakdown in relationship with some people at the club. However, following talks, he withdrew his request, and outlined his commitment to the Citizens. He went on to score 20 league goals as he fired City into the Champions League, as well as captaining them in their FA Cup final victory over Stoke at Wembley.
Family reasons once again plagued the summer as Tevez was heavily linked with moves to Italy, Spain and back to South America in order to be closer to family. He stated on an Argentine chat show that he wouldn’t return to Manchester “even on vacation”, damaging his reputation with the City fans. However, he had said previously that should his family issues be resolved, he would stay at the Etihad. The season started on rocky ground for Tevez, however he did play the majority of their games. That is, until that fateful day in Munich, in the Champions League.
With Manchester City 2-0 down in their second Champions League group stage match, and needing an inspired substitution to try and get back in the game, Tevez would be the obvious choice. However, he is alleged to have refused to warm up and then get on the pitch as a substitute, which caused uproar in the football world. Roberto Mancini was understandably furious with his former captain, even going as far as to say the Argentine would never play for the club again. The falling-out between the pair fueled Tevez jetting off back to his homeland of Argentina between the months of October and February in a bid to get away from the club. This left the club in disarray as they bidded to win the league title for the first time since 1968.
In February, Tevez finally decided it was time to return to England, in order to help City’s flailing title challenge. Mancini had also said he would welcome back the striker for the same reason, showing how much City needed him back if Mancini was willing to forgive. His first match came in late March, as he was named a substitute for the game against Chelsea. He came on, and immediately outlined how good he is by setting up a later winner for Samir Nasri. His first goal back came four games later, at home to West Brom on his first start. City had slipped to eight points behind rivals United in the previous game, and the title race looked to be over. However, Tevez was able to contribute three more goals over the next five games as City astonishingly turned it around to win the league. No-one could doubt the positive influence Tevez had brought back to the squad, and I don’t think we would have won the title in the end without him back.
His final season with City, 2012-13, was a normal season for Tevez, almost mundane after the events of the past two. He cemented his place once again as City’s first choice striker for most games alongside compatriot Sergio Aguero, and racked up 11 league goals in 28 league games as City finished far behind United in the race for the title, whilst also remaining trophyless in other competitions too. With just one year left on his contract, and with him seemingly unwilling to sign a new one with the Blues, Tevez started being linked away from the club, with Italy seemingly the front-runners for his signature. AC Milan and Juventus, two giants in Serie A were the two names mentioned most as they raced to secure the signing, and on 26th June, Juventus confirmed Tevez was to join and wear the number 10 shirt for the Bianconeri.
One thing I purposefully left out when talking about Tevez’s individual seasons with City earlier is something that is a huge part of his game, and that never goes out of it either – his attitude on the pitch. No matter what you think of him off the pitch, you can’t deny how good his attitude is on it. He always puts 100% in, chasing every ball, never giving up, closing down, and other things like that which are now uncommon in a modern striker’s game. He’s like a little Trojan, and a fantastic asset to have in your team when he’s playing like that. We’ve seen glimpses of a similar attitude in Aguero in the last couple of years, but not to the intensity that Tevez does, which is a big thing we’ll miss after he’s moved to Turin.
Regardless of what he’s done for the club on the pitch, we have to look at how we might benefit out of this move. Not only do we get the transfer fee (the obvious benefit), but we will also benefit from removing his wages from the wage bill. He was on around £200k a week, which is a large amount even for a club like City, and I hear that this move will save us around £27m in bonuses and so on for the final year of his contract. Away from the monetary side of things, we have to look at how this will enhance our reputation. Having Carlos still at the club was continually damaging our reputation because of his controversial incidents. He has been involved with brushes with the law as well as the debacle in Munich, making him an unpopular figure to many in the world of football.
I think Tevez will turn out to be a very good signing for Juventus when the transfer is complete, and will fit into the team nicely alongside the other high-quality players Juventus already possess, such as Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo. They have won the Italian title for the past two years running, and will be bidding to win it again this year. Tevez has heavily proved himself in the English leagues, and now it’s time for him to make that step and try in another league as he reaches what should be the prime of his career.
This move has now left City with just two proven strikers in the squad – Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko. We also haven’t yet brought in a replacement for Mario Balotelli, who was sold in January, so we may also need to cover that. Having already supposedly missed out on our top two targets this summer, Edinson Cavani and Isco, we need to start thinking about other possibilities, and in fairness, there are a lot of those. We’ve been linked with moved for Stephan El Shaarawy, Mario Gomez, Stefan Jovetic and the like for weeks now, who would all be good for the City side. We definitely need to buy at least one, if not two strikers this summer, alongside the rest of the improvements the squad needs. I am completely in the dark as to who these players may or may not be. I’m simply going on transfer rumours like everyone else. But I know one thing for certain: this summer is going to be a busy one for City. Task 1: replace Carlos.
The Blue View 