Carlito's Way

the Mariah of Manchester

Yesterday gave birth to what was seemingly a new chapter in the storied farce that has become Carlos Tevez, with the Argentine refusing to enter the match against Bayern Munich in their Champions League tie. Being a both a zealot of football and having a near-romance with the game, the Footy Fox is left befuddled over the recent events. In all likelihood, this simply comes down karma having her way with Man Citeh for trying to do a job on Manchester United by signing their once-a-star.   

Down 2-nil in the second half, manager Roberto Mancini asked Tevez to warm-up from the bench to enter the game. After a shake of the head and a pout of the face, Tevez had done the unthinkable and refused to enter the competition for which every pence of the £300 million plus purchased squad was assembled. Coaches tried to reason with him, teammates tried to encourage him, and yet little Carlos held his ground. In refusing to play in European club football’s crown jewel competition, he has truly become a pariah to the club at Man City and a toddler not worth the money or the time.

Strikingly more perplexing is the statement he (read: his agent/handlers looking out for their pockets rather than the player) issued, saying:

“I would like to apologise to all Manchester City fans, with whom I have always had a strong relationship, for any misunderstanding that occurred in Munich. They understand that when I am on the pitch I have always given my best for the club. In Munich on Tuesday I had warmed up and was ready to play. This is not the right time to get into specific details as to why this did not happen. But I wish to state that I never refused to play. There was some confusion on the bench and I believe my position may have been misunderstood. Going forward I am ready to play when required and to fulfil my obligations.”

Surely there is some validity to saying “my position may have been misunderstood,” since the Footy Fox will admit to having little knowledge of whether a shake-of-the-head roughly translates to “no” or “hell no” in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and South America might actually mean “yes” or even “let’s have a tea” in Argentina.

Yet the issue is really one of wishful thinking and naïveté on the part of Man City, as Tevez has twice since January asked to leave the club, citing his need to be closer to his children in Argentina. With speculative targets for him being in Spain or Italy, the Footy Fox is wondering if someone might be have a little fun with Carlos by telling him that those two countries are in South America.

But this summer provided City the much needed cover of a big money transfer for their once-talisman, with Corinthians of Argentina offering £35 million for the striker. The deal was to be financed over several years, with small fraction of the transfer fee being paid up front which caused City to balk at the deal. Apparently possession of what amounts to a war chest of oil money, while at the same time being offered good value for a player who wants out doesn’t resonate with the blue side of Manchester.

With the player refusing to play, and the manager Mancini understandably fuming while stating Tevez will never play for Man City again, surely his value will only drop. Nevermind that he's being paid £286 000 per week to play for City, his actions shouldn't be tolerated even if he was being paid bus fare and a new pair of cleats.  There aren’t too many clubs, especially in the South American sub-continent of Spain-Italy, who would be keen on spending tens of millions of Euros on a player with a history as coloured as the diva that wouldn’t; City have made their own bed in this matter.