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Carlos Tévez: one of the best Latin American soccer players of the last decades

The Argentine forward will leave Boca Juniors putting an end to a career full of titles and records.

Carlos Tevez

Carlos Tevez, at 37 years old, announced that he will leave Boca Juniors: club in which he debuted and where he knew how to achieve great glory. Photo: IG -__ carlitostevez

LatinAmerican Post | Ariel Cipolla

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Leer en español: Carlos Tévez: uno de los mejores futbolistas latinoamericanos de las últimas décadas

Carlos Tevez is one of the most important players of the last decades of Latin American soccer. Recently, at 37, he announced that he will leave Boca Juniors, the club in which he debuted and where he knew how to achieve great glories, to the point of becoming one of the most important idols of the institution. With 29 trophies, Tevez is the second Argentine with the most titles on the planet, only behind Lionel Messi.

We decided to review his best soccer moments that transformed him into one of the Latin American stars of recent times.

Carlos Tévez: one of the best strikers in history

He began his career in 2001. From his debut, you could already see that he was not an ordinary player: his great talent made him one of the most prominent figures of the xeneize club. There he won the 2003 Copa Libertadores, against Santos FC of Brazil, a competition in which he scored 5 goals.

Also read: 5 Best Latino soccer players who will miss the Copa América

Later, he won the final of the Intercontinental Cup against AC Milan and his name began to be heard throughout Europe. In the 2004 Copa Libertadores, he reached the final, which they lost to Once Caldas. In any case, he would win the Copa Sudamericana that same year.

For 2005, his signing at Corinthians was made public, which paid 15 million euros for him, which made him the most expensive signing made by a South American club to date, according to FIFA data. There he stayed until 2006, where he played 77 games and scored 46 goals. During his stay, he fell in love with the Brazilian fans after winning the Brasileirão 2005.

It was clear that it would soon pass to Europe. Well, the following season he arrived for 15 million euros at West Ham, which was fighting to maintain the category in the Premier League, which they achieved. Quickly, Tevez would attract the attention of a very powerful club: Alex Ferguson's Manchester United. In a two-year loan operation of 13 million euros, it was one of the highest peaks of his career. Between 2007 and 2009 he won two Premier Leagues, the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League and the 2008 Club World Cup, among other trophies.

In a highly questioned operation, Tevez signed for the Red Devils' greatest rival: Manchester City, which was just beginning to establish itself as an elite team. For 2009, he signed a 5-year contract for a historic sum of 45 million euros. There he stayed until 2013, where he won the 2010-2011 FA Cup, the 2011-2012 Premier League, and the 2012 Community Shield.

After a fight with coach Roberto Mancini, who left him without playing for a few months, he went to Juventus, in a transfer of 10 million euros. He was in Italy between 2013 and 2015, where he won two Serie A (2013-2014 and 2014-2015), an Italian Cup (2014-2015), and an Italian Super Cup (2013).

In his last season, he reached the final of the UEFA Champions League, where he lost to FC Barcelona by 3 goals to 1. Tévez was at a high level and was sought after by clubs such as Atlético Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain FC, or the Shanghai Donghai (which would have made him the best pay in the world), but he made a historic decision: to return to Boca Juniors at age 31, in one of the best moments of his career.

He was presented as an idol, with a packed stadium in front of 60,000 people, including Diego Maradona. On his first return, until 2017, he won two First Division titles and an Argentine Cup. There he took some time from Boca world to move to Shanghai Shenhua, where it would be the best payment in the world. His stay there would not be fruitful, as he only scored 4 goals in a year, despite winning the 2017 China Cup.

From 2018 onwards, he won two Argentine Super League, one Super Cup, and one Professional League Cup (where he left River second). He left the team in 2021, arguing that he did not feel mentally prepared to continue at the club. It should be noted that, despite his great achievements, he also has several defeats.

Mainly, not obtaining the Libertadores after his return and the historic eliminations against River de Gallardo (Sudamericana 2014, Libertadores 2015, the Supercopa Argentina 2017, the historic final of the Libertadores 2018, and the Libertadores 2019), although he settled it in his last matches after eliminating him on penalties last season, despite failing to win the title.

As for the Argentine National Team, they played two World Cups (2006 and 2010), one Confederations (2005), and four America Cups (2004, 2007, 2011, and 2015), with several runners-up in several of them. With the white and blue jersey, he only won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, a pending account in his career.

In any case, Carlos Tevez was one of the most important figures in Latin American football in recent times, as he marked a generation of this sport. It is highly unlikely that there are professionals who can beat your records.

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