Tevez and his last game against Boca. (Photo: Marcelo Carroll).
A year has passed since the last time Carlos Tevez played professionally. On May 31, 2021, the pandemic was still intense. And with the unification of Bicentennial Stadium in San Juan, with the captain’s ribbon on his left arm, wearing a blue and gold jersey, after losing against Racing on penalties, the Apache put a pause (and so far ends) in a race full of titles (he won 29), idolatry in evil territories (Brazil and England) and shows full of trophies in La Boca (he got 11 Olympic laps. And now what? And then what? Carlitos ’future is still hidden between options, despite the fact that the player has“ still not woken up ”from the dream he entered 365 days ago.
Semifinals of the Professional League Cup. 2021.
Now at 38 years old, Tevez enjoys peace after more than 20 years without a break around football. And he heals wounds from the giant disease that passed through him during the pandemic, the death of his father (Segundo, his adoptive father) and of a family weary of so much suffering. Also, mentally there was a moment when Carlitos said enough was enough. He no longer felt strong enough to push a giant like Boca, with the pressures of daily life and competing highly.
“I need to be with my mother, to be a child. 3 months ago my old man left, I don’t know what I will do in my future. I want to be a father, husband, son and brother”, He disclosed just four days after that last game to explain his departure and retirement from Boca. It was something he thought about in the middle of his inner circle on every field visit he made in the midst of a pandemic that not only affected him like everyone else: it also deprived him of a farewell to Boca fans among the public. A pending account that Tevez knew he would raise in a tribute match to Bombonera when he proposed it. Even in the last conversation with Juan Román Riquelme and Jorge Ameal they opened up the possibility of doing so within the current administration.
Tevez also had to stop an everyday lost from having a very close club leadership to Daniel Angelici to another with whom he had busy negotiations for his contract, which included unfortunate phrases (“He was a former player,” said Raúl Cascini and Horge Bermúdez) who ruined everyday coexistence, despite the fact that in terms of football he replaced the good (the goal of the title against Gimnasia de La Silver) to evil (the removal against Santos in the Libertadores). And although he broke away between hugs with Juan Román Riquelme from La Bombonera, a few months later he made a change in the rules of manners from the microphone.
“Physically I am here to continue but mentally not. Today I say yes and capable in 3 months I get up and I want to play, but I know that I’m not in Boca because mentally I’m not there “, he said in those days. But the three months became twelve. And that they did not lack proposals to wear shorts.
From MLS they always follow in Tevez’s footsteps. And it was Inter Miami, Los Angeles Galaxy, Atlanta United and even DC United the teams that picked up the phone to mention him. He thanked everyone but rejected the idea, despite the fact that more than once he confessed that he wanted to play in a place where his daughter Florencia could study and work in English.
“A month ago DT changed DC United (NdR: Argentine Hernán Losada left his position) and interest revived. He sees what he does, he always spends his time to decide and as soon as possible time he will “They said Clarion from Tevez’s most intimate environment. Play again? It is a possibility that over time he has been anesthetized, despite the good physique that Apache maintains because he trains alone. Today the vice stands out in picados with friends throughout his life at Fuerte Apache and most recently at Juventus Senior, where he was called as what he was in Turin: a star.
“I don’t miss playing. If someone comes to motivate me and I want to do it, I don’t know … When I see Juventus, Boca and I try to find that fire inside me to say that I am motivated to play for another six months or so. a year … And no, I don’t meet “, he said in December in one of his early public appearances, in which he was vague in his political speech but firm in his personal speech. That desire so far seems to continue to be postponed, despite the fact that even Barcelona of Ecuador tried to tempt him in this edition of the Cup.And his latest appearances have shown him closer to daily enjoyment (among son in Santiago del Estero, in streaming with Kun Agüero or entertainment people) than professional life.
Tevez will finish the DT course this year. And that’s another window that will open as an option in the short term, something that has been more driven in recent seasons (have there been teams from other countries that have sought to include him on the substitute bench?) And that he never wants to lead . outright. In fact, he has always been linked to the opportunity to join a coaching staff with Chapa Retegui. But none of them are official yet.
Carlitos has also worked on teaching activities and group management issues, something he considers necessary for the football world. Be it for a coach or joining a Technical Secretariat or becoming a Sports Director, another of the ambitions with which he came from Europe the last time he traveled.
What about politics? Despite the fact that his last name appears in every survey sent to Boca partners of the opposition sector led by Daniel Angelici, the chance to include a list in today’s 2023 election is cold. From the voting intentions thrown by the consultants and also to the intentions of Carlitos, who still does not define himself as a former player but has yet to decide on his next step.
“If tomorrow my heart will say that I will be the leader of Boca, the first thing I will do is prepare myself. Don’t let them use you because they want to have a chance to win. If I want to grab the club to help him, I have to carry out a project to the partner so that he can identify that. In politics it’s very difficult because you get muddy and I don’t know if I’m ready for that. Daniel (Angelici) is my friend. We’re friends but I don’t want to fight to put the our feet in the mud “, He appeared once to try to distance himself from his closeness to the Macrista wing of blue and gold politics. But he was quick to join in criticizing Juan Román Riquelme’s leadership, despite the fact that he made sure that “everyone thinks that if I oppose Román I will throw him in the dirt, but I will not do that if I enter politics.” A month later, he was acting differently. So in his last demonstration he sought to distance himself: “If I put my name, I will drive. They want to accompany me, but my name is the one I got.” In the polls, everyone associates him with an armed opposition politician.
Although Tevez is available and close to many leaders of the old club management, he didn’t even want to step to join the field of leadership. The other plane has a different intention: if there is no strong candidate to face Riquelme, they need the figure of Carlitos to use him as their flag in the 2023. So far, as on the field when he played, Apache seeks to dribble that issues with his intimate. Even he and Riquelme have said more than once that they have received the proposal to join the Football Council if they wish.
365 days of that cold day passed in San Juan. The missed penalty, the elimination against Racing and the final grief. Boca’s 10 passes from the hands, the team got another two Olympic laps, but Tevez, the Apache, still hasn’t determined their next step. Is it inside the court or outside the lime line?
Source: Clarin
