Kids, don’t grow up to be Carlos Tevez

The look of the player on the pitch, a skilled & fiery workhorse, captures the fan’s imagination, but what follows?

Few goals, lots of whining, a desire to quit.

If this was said about Carlos Tevez in relation to Manchester United you might take pause to consider if he was done wrong and has a grevience.  But now Tevez talks of retiring altogether.

The story seems too familiar.  Tevez lost favor with his coach for not scoring goals and is no longer in the starting line-up.  This time the team is Argentina and the coach is Maradona.

At only 24 years old, he can have no idea whether he has reached his peak, unless of course he has given up on improving.

All the greats encounter roadblocks.  It might even be said that finding one’s way around a road block is what makes one great.

Perhaps young Tevez believes he knows all the possibilities.  Yet while his physical prowess may be near its peak, an open, thoughtful mind, learning from experience, could take him to new heights.  The starting 11 of great clubs throughout the world are full of players well past their physical peak who dominate by soccer wit.

If Tevez does retire, I will applaud him, but only briefly.

Carlos seems the bold and noble bull who, charging his way into dead end alleys, rams his head into the wall until he is spent and gives up.  It’s a shame.

Be Sociable, Share!

•