SHORT MAN, SHORT FUSE. Carlos Tévez introduced himself to English audiences yesterday with a performance that suggested a summons to the FA might become a regular occurrence. While Javier Mascherano, his Argentina and new West Ham United team-mate, delivered a typically understated display, Tévez showed that Upton Park may have itself a worthy successor to Paolo Di Canio for talent and temperament.
Tévez arrives in London carrying no little baggage, having misinterpreted his job description as a striker by punching a Corinthians team-mate, an act caught on television. Then, to gain momentum for his transfer away from the Brazilian club, he refused to attend training, a move that perhaps encouraged Brazil fans among the 59,032 spectators at the Emirates Stadium yesterday to jeer him when he was substituted with a quarter of the match remaining.
By then, he had also done enough to irritate neutrals. Marked tightly by Lucio, the fearsome Brazil centre back, Tévez felt that his opponent was overphysical and yelled as much to Steve Bennett, the referee, gesticulating wildly. His arms were waving again later when he brandished an imaginary yellow card after being fouled by Edmilson, an offence that is itself supposed to earn a booking, although the Argentinian escaped on this occasion.
The big flashpoint came shortly before half-time, though, when Tévez skated past Elano, the scorer of Brazil’s first two goals, on the left but was fouled as he tried to beat the same player again. Infuriated, he pushed Elano in the stomach and then ripped the ball from his grasp before cleverly running from the scene before any punishment could be administered.
The presence of Tévez and Lee Bowyer in the same team could give the FA’s disciplinary department nightmares, but as befits a player about whom such a fuss has been made in the past few days, the Argentinian possesses much to be admired. One of many players labelled the “new Maradona”, his left-footed dribbling and jinking should be a feature of the Barclays Premiership season, his direct running a counterpoint to the contributions of the larger and less mobile figures of Carlton Cole, Marlon Harewood and Dean Ashton.
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Tévez gave Lucio a testing afternoon. He forced the defender to concede a corner when he almost outpaced him and was unfortunate not to win a free kick when the same player seemed to impede him. He also demonstrated good acceleration to nip past Juan, the other central defender, in the penalty area before winning a corner, and overcame his lack of inches to rise above Gilberto to deliver a firm header that was well saved by Gomes, the goalkeeper.
At 22, Tévez could be said to have the impetuosity of youth, but Mascherano is the same age and he patrolled the Argentina midfield with a restraint and maturity that helped to explain his moniker of “The Chief”. An undemonstrative player, he mopped up loose balls and rarely attempted anything more ambitious than a ten-yard pass.
So deep that he was practically a third centre back, Mascherano often lay about 30 yards behind Juan Román Riquelme, his colleague in the Argentina midfield. Whenever his team launched an attack, he made no effort to move upfield and even remained on the halfway line for corners.
He did manage a good tackle on Robinho — no mean feat on a day when the Brazil striker’s pace and tricks made up for the absence of the injured Ronaldinho — but Mascherano might not remember his day in the capital with great fondness. A mix-up with a team-mate near the centre circle allowed Fred, the Brazil striker, to burst towards goal and win a corner and he overhit a simple pass to concede a throw-in.
The midfield player was withdrawn at the interval, by which time Brazil were well on their way to a comfortable victory. Alfio Basile, overseeing his first match in charge of Argentina, excused his team’s substandard display on the ground of a shortage of preparation time, but West Ham fans will hope that Mascherano can acclimatise quickly to England.
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Basile certainly thinks so. “Tévez and Mascherano are great players,” he said. “They would be good to any team that buys them.” Asked whether he was surprised that the players have joined West Ham rather than a bigger club, the coach said: “I can’t give an opinion because I have nothing to do with that. If they go to Chelsea or West Ham they will still be in the national team.”
MONEY TALKS
KIA JOORABCHIAN IS EXAMINING SEVERAL offers of investment in his attempt to take over West Ham United. Individuals in several Middle East countries have approached Joorabchian with promises of finance to buy a controlling interest in the Barclays Premiership club, which is valued at about £80 million. They are thought to include Israelis but Joorabchian would prefer not to take money from Russia, for fear of losing control of the club. On Friday, West Ham confirmed “exploratory” discussions to the Stock Exchange.
Joorabchian will step down as head of Media Sports Investments (MSI), which controls Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tévez, who signed at Upton Park from Corinthians, the Brazilian club, last week. It is thought that West Ham are paying the wages of both players and there is nothing in their contract that forces Alan Pardew, the manager, to put them in the starting XI.
Tévez spoke to the South American press on Saturday and his comments will add fuel to the conspiracy theorists, who believe that he is being placed at Upton Park for a year until a buyer can be found. “For a first season this is good,” he said, before backtracking. “I left because I was disrespected by the owners of Corinthians. West Ham will be good for me. Other teams made me an offer, but they had strikers. I need to play to get rhythm.”
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Joorabchian’s imminent resignation from MSI may be the catalyst for a change in its relationship with Corinthians. “The partnership between Corinthians and MSI was done in a rush,” Alberto Dualib, the club president, said. “We now shall renegotiate the contract. The investors are still very much interested in Corinthians.”
Boris Berezovsky, a Russian oligarch, who denies any involvement with MSI but admits that he has been offered the opportunity to invest in it, said: “I am meeting Dualib to discuss the issues.”
GARY JACOB