Carlos Tevez was again the massive story in the European sports pages this week, as he refused to play for his Manchester City side in the Champion’s League. He has been suspended for two weeks, fined £500,000, and City are looking into the viability of suspending him for up to six weeks. As a supporter on the Red half of Manchester, I think the whole thing is hilarious, and that the Argie keeps digging himself deeper into this ridiculous hole of complete insubordination and disrespect to his club, manager, city, and the Premier League. Following the transfer saga that ensued in the most recent window, Tevez repeatedly demonstrated his desire to leave Man City and the Premier League. After his failed transfer
Sub? Oh, I don't sub. No one told you?
attempt to Corinthians (the Brazilian club had no where near enough money to buy him), Carlito was absent from the first team for a number of weeks, and seen on holiday while his teammates trained, returned to form, and started the season.
Since the start of the season, we haven’t seen the Argentine start as many games as he had at the start of last campaign. At the end of last season, he was joint top goalscorer with Dimitar Berbatov, and has shown spurts of brilliance when not distracted by off-pitch shenanigans. This most recent blow-up with Roberto Mancini must, in all estimations, be the end of Carlito in Manchester. By defying the gaffer in such an important televised match, indeed a match against a European giant in Bayern Munich, he has essentially finally found a way out of the city he seems to hate with such passion. Mancini himself has shown admirable backbone in the situation, adamantly stating that Tevez is done at the club, and will never play as a Blue again. This is the proper response to what amounts to a child’s tantrum on a European stage, and indeed makes me hate the Italian that much less.
The whole Tevez situation is an example of the insane player power that exists nowadays. Exorbitant transfer fees and ludicrous weekly wages are the only reason Tevez is still in Manchester in the first place- had his fee and wages been more manageable, he would have been sold to Corinthians following his submission of a transfer request. Instead, he is essentially forced to live out his contract at Eastlands, even though it’s public knowledge that he doesn’t want to be there. I believe QPR’s manager, Neil Warnock has about the right attitude:
“The sooner he leaves the country, the better. I can’t see it being sorted by him staying. Within a few months, he’ll be kissing another badge. The top authorities like Fifa have got to come up with something. Because, quite honestly, [a] two weeks’ ban is a disgrace for an offence like that. You should be banned until January because a manager has no option but to say that you won’t play for the club again. You can’t do that because the PFA would cry foul on that and get all the solicitors involved. So Fifa have to come up with an answer.”
Disturbing.
As for the future of our friend Carlos, the first club to contact Man City was the Northern Ireland second division side Limvady United, who kindly offered to take the Argentine out of England on loan for the remainder of the season. In reality, it’s more likely that city will suspend Tevez for as long as allowable, make him train alone, and sell him off at a cut price in the January transfer window. Inter Milan, Juventus, and PSG have all demonstrated interest in striker, but whoever he ends up with will still have to deal with an egocentric Argentine who bears an uncanny resemblance to the Geico caveman.
