Carlos Tevez took over as Independiente’s coach in a hostile climate, much more complex than his first experience at Rosario Central last year. There are only a few hours left before his debut, which will be tomorrow against Vélez in the Libertadores de América. A party that in another context would be one more, but that tomorrow is defined as high risk, will have a police operation that includes 500 troops and the magnifying glass of the security agencies of the province.
Carlitos recognized it in his first press conference: in 13 games “his last name is at stake” and his career or his future as a coach. It may sound exaggerated, but there are two cases that confirm this theory. Miguel Ángel Brindisi was the coach when the Red went to B ten years ago: he did not coach again after that. The same thing happened to Juan José López in River. The descent meant, in addition to a stigma, ostracism. Tevez knows that story. He will try, logically, not to repeat it.
His arrival at Independiente has multiple reasons. Some positive and others not so much. As always happens when there is a change in leadership, the squad starts from scratch, with renewed energy: those who were starters want to show that they must continue as starters, and those who were substitutes want to stop being so. Tevez, and what Tevez implies for the recent history of Argentine soccer, is a great pole of attraction, a magnet that some people believe will help allay pressure and murmurs. “I hope they insult me and not the players,” he said.
What will happen in the games –or at least in the first games– could translate into other aspects. Due to its links with the powerful representative Cristian Bragarnik, and due to the support of the president of the AFA, Claudio Tapia, Tevez’s Independiente will have another weight, both in the mass media and in the corridors where details are settled or, for example, the choice of arbitrators.
However, not everything will be positive. Among the disadvantages of having hired Tevez is his inexperience: grabbing a big club like Independiente in the relegation zone with 13 dates to go before the end of the season is too heavy a backpack for a new coach. Can it go well? Of course. Especially since Tevez has too many scrolls in his career, but always as his player. As a coach, he barely counts on his tour of Rosario Central, with 40% of the points obtained in the 23 games he led (six wins, 11 draws and seven losses).
Tevez has another disadvantage: not being a footballer –because ultimately, all coaches are ex-footballers, with some exceptions– born and raised in Independiente. Not being linked to the club at times like these can be counterproductive (or not). But apart from that, Tevez is inextricably linked to Boca, one of Independiente’s biggest rivals. In the next few weeks we will know if that is a problem or a solution.
Mancuello: “High energy”
The midfielder Federico Mancuello, one of the figures of Independiente, valued yesterday the arrival of Carlos Tevez to the substitute bench because he gave the group a “very high energy”, facing the match against Vélez, at home, for the second date of Zone A of the Professional Soccer League Cup (LPF).
“Tevez emphasized the way of training, that we know well what role each one is and nobody knows who is going to play to increase internal competition. His arrival is important, despite the pain we have been going through due to the bad results. We are open to learning from a new coach,” Mancuello explained at a press conference.
“Whenever a process ends, as happened with Ricardo (Zielinski), it is sad, but since the arrival of Tevez the energy has been very high. We remember him how he faced the games in his stage as a footballer and he gave us an important injection, ”he stressed.
Mancuello, 34, returned to this transfer market after his experience in Puebla de México and commented that he is “happy” to have done so, despite the “bad moment” that Independiente is going through.
2023-08-26 07:58:11
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