Tweet
With his ability to score goals in the big games, Carlos Tevez has been compared to Eric Cantona by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Now that is the kind of analogy anyone could stomach, especially when your manager is doing the talking. If Manchester United's Argentine striker knows his history, he will be chuffed with the link to a United demi-god.
He shoots, he scores: Carlos Tevez fires in from distance to put United 3-0 up against West Ham
But the story doesn't end there when it comes to this little street fighter. In the last two games - against Barcelona last Tuesday in the Champions League semi-final and against West Ham on Saturday Tevez has proved absolutely crucial in Wayne Rooney's absence, providing so much energy and fight, so much determination and heart, not to mention great quality, at a time when United might easily have suffered without the player who tends to make them tick.
Actually, there are a lot of similarities between the pair, both in terms of style and their gutsy characters.
The vital difference at the weekend, though, was that while Rooney sat in the stand with his hood up, still suffering from a sore hip that may yet keep him out of the Champions League Final, Tevez was helping to make sure no slip-ups occurred against his old club.
And even the travelling fans couldn't help but smile and applaud when their former hero smashed home from distance to put United 3-0 up against pitiful resistance.
After all, it was only this time last year when this same player, on the same pitch, kept West Ham in the Premier League. So West Ham fans were not about to hold this latest strike against Tevez now, not when he had done so much while wearing claret and blue. By common consent, his outstanding talent deserved to be showcased at a club like United.
I don't suppose either that those Hammers fans have been too surprised by what's happened since.
Irrespective of what United go on to achieve, this has been a highly successful debut season for the man known as 'El Apache'. Nineteen goals on its own is a highly respectable return but, as mentioned above, it doesn't tell the whole story of his influence.
As Ferguson says, Tevez has weighed in with some season-defining goals, managing to pop up at the right time, just when his side was crying out for a change of luck.
His first goal for United, in fact, came on the stroke of half-time to open up ten-man Chelsea back in September. More recently, a 94th minute close-range effort at White Hart Lane stole a precious point, just when it looked like Tottenham were home and dry.
Following that, another late goal in Lyon to snatch a 1-1 draw made the home leg in Manchester much more comfortable.
Factor in the only goal of the game at Anfield to defeat Liverpool, a similar contribution at Old Trafford when Birmingham were proving stubborn, plus the vital equalizer at Blackburn last month and a picture starts to form of a character who relishes pressure, who raises his game when it matters most.
AR-GEN-TINA! the Stretford End chanted on Saturday in recognition of a player who can always be relied to give it his all. Whatever the details of his controversial transfer last summer, no one can say Tevez wasn't worth the trouble.
Now that is the kind of analogy anyone could stomach, especially when your manager is doing the talking. If Manchester United's Argentine striker knows his history, he will be chuffed with the link to a United demi-god.
He shoots, he scores: Carlos Tevez fires in from distance to put United 3-0 up against West HamBut the story doesn't end there when it comes to this little street fighter. In the last two games - against Barcelona last Tuesday in the Champions League semi-final and against West Ham on Saturday Tevez has proved absolutely crucial in Wayne Rooney's absence, providing so much energy and fight, so much determination and heart, not to mention great quality, at a time when United might easily have suffered without the player who tends to make them tick.
Actually, there are a lot of similarities between the pair, both in terms of style and their gutsy characters.
The vital difference at the weekend, though, was that while Rooney sat in the stand with his hood up, still suffering from a sore hip that may yet keep him out of the Champions League Final, Tevez was helping to make sure no slip-ups occurred against his old club.
And even the travelling fans couldn't help but smile and applaud when their former hero smashed home from distance to put United 3-0 up against pitiful resistance.
After all, it was only this time last year when this same player, on the same pitch, kept West Ham in the Premier League. So West Ham fans were not about to hold this latest strike against Tevez now, not when he had done so much while wearing claret and blue. By common consent, his outstanding talent deserved to be showcased at a club like United.
I don't suppose either that those Hammers fans have been too surprised by what's happened since.
Irrespective of what United go on to achieve, this has been a highly successful debut season for the man known as 'El Apache'. Nineteen goals on its own is a highly respectable return but, as mentioned above, it doesn't tell the whole story of his influence.
As Ferguson says, Tevez has weighed in with some season-defining goals, managing to pop up at the right time, just when his side was crying out for a change of luck.
His first goal for United, in fact, came on the stroke of half-time to open up ten-man Chelsea back in September. More recently, a 94th minute close-range effort at White Hart Lane stole a precious point, just when it looked like Tottenham were home and dry.
Following that, another late goal in Lyon to snatch a 1-1 draw made the home leg in Manchester much more comfortable.
Factor in the only goal of the game at Anfield to defeat Liverpool, a similar contribution at Old Trafford when Birmingham were proving stubborn, plus the vital equalizer at Blackburn last month and a picture starts to form of a character who relishes pressure, who raises his game when it matters most.
AR-GEN-TINA! the Stretford End chanted on Saturday in recognition of a player who can always be relied to give it his all. Whatever the details of his controversial transfer last summer, no one can say Tevez wasn't worth the trouble.