Although it's been almost a year since Carlos Tevez last played professional football, he's still an attractive star. Over the past two weeks, the Argentine has embarked on a high-profile European tour, visiting Serie A giants Milan and Juventus, reportedly meeting former coach Antonio Conte at Tottenham and travelling to former owner West Ham, where he was greeted heroically by the fans. The roadshow, in turn, sparked a flurry of reports about Tevez's future intentions, some more convincing than others. So what are the striker's plans when he returns to the spotlight?
Tevez, who ended his third career at Boca Juniors in June 2021, has maintained a very low profile because he can't be sure if it's a final farewell. "I want to tell you today that I'm retiring, but in three months I'll probably want to come back and play football," he told reporters at his last press conference, holding back tears, "but not in Boca because my mental state will not return to 120 percent." I am pleased with this decision. I have nothing to give. I gave everything I had and that's why I'm happy. "However, in February, his agent revealed that although the veteran has not yet decided whether to return to the field, there are teams that have made offers to him." There were very in-depth negotiations with a club, a foreign club," he told the media, "Carlos will end his career the way he deserves." If the two things I focus on – sport and quality of life – are guaranteed, we might ask Carlos to think about it, talk to his family, and maybe have a chance to play for a few more months. ”
At this point, despite some speculation circulating in his recent tour, one thing is unquestionable. Tevez, 38, has not played for most of his 12 months and will not go to Milan, Tottenham or other elite European teams. Tevez was one of the best strikers of his generation at his peak, having won titles in Argentina, Brazil, England and Italy, and along with Messi and Aguero, he enjoyed a brilliant career at the peak of his career, which was built on his brilliant talent and, equally important, his strong work ethic and competitive spirit drove his development from beginning to end – except, of course, for his time at Shanghai Shenhua.
But as he admitted when he left Boca, most of the passion escaped from his body, and even in boca's last days, he had clearly lost most of his energy and played a more static role than before. The possibility of a move to MLS remains, but even so, it seems like a distant goal, not to mention that any club that wants to buy him is taking a crazy gamble. Now, it is much more likely to play another role in the sport.
In 2021, when asked by the media about Boca's future, he explained: "My coaching career is ahead of others... All of us dream of coaching Boca. "The recent reunion with former mentors Conte and Allegri, then, is likely to be interpreted as a fact-finding mission aimed at starting his coaching career in the near future. His timing couldn't have been better. Boca's current head coach, Sebastian Battaglia, has been in charge of the team for only six months, achieving a series of mediocre results, but still coaches Boca. Batalha, like Tevez, was Boca's idol in his golden years in the early 2000s and the club's sixth coach in eight years, a period that coincided with the rise of his main rival River Plate under Marcelo Gallado. Despite beating Gallado in the league in March, Battaglia, like his predecessor, has yet to find a way to match River Plate, and Gallardo is Boca's haunting nightmare in recent years.
However, in Boca vice president Romain Riquelme, Tevez may hit the nail. The two have never been on good terms, and in 2019, after the great top 10 players entered the board, the two sides reached a tense truce, but the hostility between them is said to be part of the reason for Tevez's decision to leave last year. But if Tevez can't form a long-term partnership with him, maybe he can beat him. In a club rife with leaks, slander, betrayals and conflicts, Boca is currently on red alert due to a slump in form. Many Boca fans consider Riquelme to surpass Diego Maradona as Boca's greatest idol, but even so, Riquelme is not immune to some blame.
In this unfavorable situation, those who oppose Romain and Chairman Jorge Amor Amar certainly want to use a name like Tevez on the ballot papers for the club's next election in 2023 in order to launch a real challenge to the incumbent. The striker is not entirely new to the rather dark world of the board. He was close to two former club presidents: Amer's predecessor, Daniel Angelić, and Mauricio Macri, who used Boca as a springboard and later became mayor of Buenos Aires and president of Argentina. Speaking about Tevez recently, he said: "I can see him getting involved in boca management in the near future and he looks loyal to me. ”
For now, at least, the former Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus ace seems to have been open and highly secretive about his choices, even across the Atlantic, where he has not revealed any information in public. Still, it seems certain that Tevez's story looks set to last a few more chapters, and whether his future is in the coaching cabinet or on the board, he's determined to pursue the same success as his brilliant career on the pitch.