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Carlos Tévez was born as Carlos Alberto in the neighbourhood of Ejército de Los Andes known as "Fuerte Apache" in Ciudadela, a city in the greater Buenos Aires area. His parents changed his surname to his mothers during a conflict between his junior club All Boys and Boca Juniors. He joined the Boca youth system at the age of thirteen and after four years played his first professional match on October 21, 2001 against Talleres de Córdoba - coincidently the same team which Maradona made his debut.
At Boca Juniors he won an Argentine Apertura Championship, Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup treble in 2003 and a Copa Sudamericana in 2004. Tevez played in the 2004 Olympic team with Argentina which won the gold medal and scored eight goals in six matches to become the competition's top scorer. He was named as Argentina's footballer of the Year and Sportsman of the Year 2004 by Argentine Football Writers.
His stocky build, creative play and lavish skills led to him being compared to Maradona whilst the fans gave him the nickname "Apache" after his boyhood district. At the 2004 Olympic Games Tevez shone as Argentina took the gold medal. He was top scorer with 8 goals and scored the winner in the 1-0 win in the final over Paraguay.
After three seasons at the Bombonera, on December 2004, he transferred to Brazillian club Corinthians for £10 million through a deal with Media Sports Investments (MSI) owned by Kia Joorabchian. It was the biggest transfer ever in South American football. On arrival Tévez was given a frosty reception by the Corinthians fans - including the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva.
On the pitch he soon won them over and eventually became captain and star of a team that won the 2005 Campeonato Brasileiro - the biggest league in Brazil. Carlos was awarded "best player of the tournament" by the Brazilian football federation and became the first non-Brazilian player to win the award since 1976.
Tévez was selected by José Pekerman for the Argentina squad in the 2006 World Cup. He started the first match against the Ivory Coast on the bench but came on as a substitute for the match against Serbia and Montenegro. He scored the fifth goal goal in a superb 6-0 victory for the Argentines. In the final Group C match against Holland, Tévez was man of the match in the 0-0 draw. Despite being hot favorites, Argentina lost to Germany on penalties in the Quarter-final but Tevez had attracted the attention of European football's biggest names.
Things began to go sour at Corinthians in 2006 with the club struggling at the foot of the table and a rift between Tevez and manager Emerson Leão.
On 31th August 2006, European transfer deadline, the world of football was stunned by news that both Tevez and Javier Mascherano were signing for West Ham United on permanent deals, for £12 million.
Given clubs like Chelsea, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Manchester United were all thought to be interested, West Ham was an odd choice for two of the most sought after players in the world. West Ham surrounded the exact terms of the move in secrecy but media rumours suggested that Tévez and Mascherano were owned by MSI and not the club. This would eventually prompt an FA investigation and cause great controversy.
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West Ham got off to a terrible start with one draw and eight defeats. Tevez made his debut in a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on 10th September 2006 but featured only sparingly in the first half of the season while Mascherano played even less. Argentina manager Alfio Basile urged the pair to quit West Ham but Tévez defiantly told the media that he was aiming to stay at West Ham "for the long-term".
Alan Pardew was sacked in December 2006 and Alan Curbishley appointed. The change coincided with an upturn in Tevez form. In January 2007, against Brighton in the FA Cup Tévez played a role in all three of the team's goals. Tévez scored his first goal for the Hammers on March 4th, 2007 in a 3-4 home defeat to Tottenham from a direct free kick and assisted two more on the day. He scored his third consecutive goal for West Ham in the 2-0 win against Middlesbrough and was named Man of the Match.
The forward would go on to score 6 more and prove inspirational as the club clawed its way back from the brink of relegation. The Argentine won the "Hammer of the Year" award from West Ham United with his guts and determination impressing all at Upton Park and beyond.
Following an FA enquiry in April 2007 West Ham were fined a record £5.5 million for for breaching Premier League rules over the signings of Tévez and Mascherano. However Tévez was cleared to play for the Hammers by the Premier League after changes were made to a third party agreement related to him.
In May, he inspired West Ham to a 3-0 win over relegation rivals Wigan and then scored twice and the following week against Bolton. On the 13th May 2007, the last day of the season Tévez secured the club's Premiership place by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory over newly-crowned champions Manchester United. Wigan's 2-1 win over Sheffield United sent the Blades down and they took the FA to court over Tevez's illegality, eventually losing the appeal.
With the season over it looked unlikely the forward would stay at Upton Park. On 6th July, reports emerged that Tévez had agreed personal terms with Manchester United but a agreement had yet to be made between West Ham, the FA and Kia Joorabchian. The protracted legal row was over who actually owned Tevez: West Ham or MSI?
The dispute rolled on for a month but a payment of £2 million was made to West Ham by MSI which formally released Tevez was from his contract with West Ham. Manchester United put forward a proposed two-year loan deal for Tevez to the Premier League, which was approved
on the 10th August 2007.
Sir Alex Ferguson said "We had been watching him for a long time but we realised that the whole situation regarding ownership was complicated. But Mascherano going to Liverpool helped clarify a few things for us." United are reported to have paid Kia Joorabchian £10m for what amounts to be a two-year loan term with the option to turn the transfer into a permanent deal at any stage before the contract expires. United chief executive David Gill said "Everything is in place for Carlos and Manchester United to agree a long-term deal and we are very comfortable with the arrangement".
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