Player Focus: Homesick Tevez Leading Juventus Towards Hope of Treble
Never forget where you come from. Argentina and in particular the barrios of Buenos Aires, not just Fuerte Apache where he grew up, are never far from Carlos Tevez’s thoughts. Recall for instance how he celebrated his goals for Juventus last season by lifting up his jersey to reveal a T-shirt with their names on. That’s why they call him El Jugador del Pueblo. The Player of the People. He’s one of them.
He’s a Xeneize too. A Boca Juniors fan. Tevez’s heart still throbs for his former club. Even though he left in 2004, some love stories never end. Last month, he bought the Bombonera’s 12th man, La Doce, a huge banner to unfurl in the stands. Then on Saturday, Tevez had another gift for them. After drawing River Plate in the Round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores, Tevez marked the goal he put past Lazio by doing the gallina, a chicken dance he had performed after scoring against Boca’s fiercest rivals back in the semi-finals of the same competition in 2004.
Even though he said it was for a bet he had made with his friends - many of whom one imagines are like-minded Boca fanatics - it felt poignant. Earlier in the week, the Apache had opened up to La Repubblica about his homesickness. “I’ve been in Europe many years,” he said. “I need my family and I need to go back home. I miss my father, my mother, my brother. It’s been tough being away from them for 10 years. I can’t complain. Everyone has treated me well, but that’s life. My mentality is Argentine. My longing is for Buenos Aires. Even the kidnapping of my father couldn’t shake this desire. My family and I are all Boca fans. I want to play with that shirt again.”
The timeline for any prospective homecoming appeared to be defined by Tevez’s contract with Juventus. It expires at the end of next season. The club have sought to extend it even offering him a blank cheque. Alas it was in vain. Before Christmas Tevez told Olè he wouldn’t be renewing with the Bianconeri. However, he also said it was his intention to respect the existing arrangement. And yet speculation about his future fervently continues.
Boca’s president Daniel Angelici has been very bullish to say the least about the chances of Tevez ending his exile even this summer. “We’re close to finalising his return,” he said. “We want to be very cautious. Tevez has decided to come back. He confided in me last year. But it’s also true that he has a contract with Juventus. He knows Boca are ready to welcome him, but it’s necessary to resolve the question with Juventus.”
When asked by La Repubblica to clarify if he’ll be heading back to Argentina in 2016 (or even sooner), Tevez wouldn’t be drawn. “I don’t know when,” he explained. “But I will return home. Sure, the fans would prefer it if my family moved on block to Turin. I’m happy here, but my life is there. I’m a family man.” He added on Sky Italia on Saturday night: “I’m thinking about Juve and Juve only at the moment. There’s too much talk about my future and it’s not right. I want to make the most of this moment and if I do make a decision the Juventus fans will be the first to know. But I haven’t decided yet.”
Little reassurance was to be found in that phrase. Already last Thursday, Il Corriere della Sera claimed that Tevez is in the process of bidding farewell. In private, the paper reported, the club is of the opinion that as long as he gives his all between now and the end of the season and does his best to help Juventus realise its treble dream they will respect his decision. In public, the stance has been quite different. General manager Beppe Marotta has insisted Boca “will have to wait” and, understandably, isn’t impressed with the overtures of Angelici. “His comments were very reckless. First, he has to respect the wish of the club in possession of the player’s contract and second he should examine in greater depth the attitude and wishes of the player who has never manifested to us any desire to leave.”
Establishing where the truth lies, which is the signal and which is the noise is fast developing into a Latin American Telenovela.
Still, Juventus empathise with Tevez. “It’s natural after so many years abroad that he feels nostalgia,” Marotta accepted. His coach Massimiliano Allegri admitted to missing home himself in Livorno, which is only three hours away from Turin so one can only imagine what it’s like for Carlitos whose casa is on the other side of the world. Comparisons were also made with his former Pescara teammate Blaz Slivkovic, the wonderfully talented ‘Maradona of the Balkans’. Allegri’s mentor Giovanni Galeone would drive him to Mostar and back on short breaks and make that extra effort to go out and have dinner or a coffee with his star to help lighten the wistfulness he felt. Maybe Allegri could grill up an asado and share a maté with Tevez?
Juventus absolutely don’t want to lose him. He has scored 47 goals in 87 appearances for the club. With 26 in all competitions this season, it’s the best campaign of his career. In pole to be crowned Capocannoniere in Serie A, the 31-year-old has averaged a goal every 128.6 minutes. Repeat that over the final seven games and he’s projected to finish with another 4.89, which if you round up would mean Tevez concluding on 23 in the league, a figure only bettered in the club’s history since 1960 by David Trezeguet in 2002.
If you include his 7 assists - only Paulo Dybala (10), Franco Vazquez (9) and Marek Hamsik (8) have laid on more - Tevez has combined for more goals than any player in Serie A (25). Paul Pogba in particular has benefitted. Three of his seven strikes this season have been set up by Tevez. The Argentine has created more chances per game (2) than any other forward in the league. And to think that some were initially sceptical of Juventus’ decision to give him the No 10 shirt, as worn by Omar Sivori, Michel Platini and Ale Del Piero, to Tevez. He has proven himself worthy of it as a finisher and a conjuror. Not only has his decisiveness distinguished him as a leader, his sense of sacrifice has too. Tevez sets an example for his teammates and the tone of Juventus’ play. He eats every blade of grass. He never stops. No striker has won possession more times in the final third than him (21).
Over the last three years the midfield has been this team’s star attraction and its strongest asset. However, this season its principal actors have suffered with injury and consistency or, in Arturo Vidal’s case, both. It has meant Tevez’s importance has only grown. By finally translating his domestic form in European competition - 6 of Tevez’s 26 goals have come on the continent this season - there is a cautious optimism that Juventus can do themselves justice on the biggest stage and possibly even win a treble.
He is expected to deliver the coup de grace to Monaco on Wednesday night. Tevez perhaps sees things in the following terms: by booking Juventus’ place in the final four and beyond he could, by further endearing himself to the club, book himself a ticket home. Still one can’t imagine president Andrea Agnelli and Marotta allowing a player they signed for €9m (plus an extra €6m in bonuses) walk away for free. He’s too valuable and the slightly sooner than expected requirement to source a successor would complicate their summer transfer strategy. So you can add voices to those at the J Stadium who shout and hold up banners in Spanish that read: “Tevez no se va!” Don’t go, Carlitos! Stay in Turin, even if it’s only for one more year.
Do you think Juventus would be able to manage next season if Tevez were to depart this summer? Let us know in the comments below
