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Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand claims former team-mate Carlos Tevez did not try hard in training
Argentine is known for his tenacity on match day
By Anthony Sciarrino & Zack Wilson
13 Apr 2010 09:42:00
Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United (Getty Images)
Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand has revealed that former team-mate and current Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez did not train hard in order to save all of his energy for matches.
Tevez and his Citizens team-mates will host the Red Devils at the City of Manchester Stadium on Saturday in a critical derby match.
The Argentine international has enjoyed a fantastic first season with City, and is currently tied with Sunderland’s Darren Bent on 22 Premier League goals, the third highest in the division.
With a brace on Sunday against Birmingham, Tevez has scored six goals in his last three league games.
The 26-year-old striker shows limitless effort while on the pitch, and no one questions his tenacity, but Ferdinand has revealed that Tevez’s energy comes from a lack of effort in training.
"Carlos is an interesting character. When he was at United, he saved all his energy for the games - he didn't really go over the top at training,” Ferdinand told reporters ahead of the game at the weekend.
"He worked hard in the gym - he was a professional in that sense - but everything he did was geared towards the match at the weekend.
"You could see him conserving his energy during the week and then laying it all on the line out on the pitch.
"That's not the way I operate, I have to train at a high level every day. But it works for Carlos and he can be a real handful to defend against."
Meanwhile, Ferdinand believes that Manchester City will find it hard to end their long wait for silverware.
Roberto Mancini's side have emerged as the leading contenders for fourth place after an impressive recent run in the Premier League, but Ferdinand insists that the pschological effort required to win the first trophy for almost 35 years will be massive.
"They’ve got the capacity to challenge because they’ve got so much money and they’re targeting the big players," the England defender told United's official website.
"But the first trophy is always the hardest one to win and until they do that there’ll be a lot of pressure on them.
They reached the League Cup semi-final this season but came up against us, they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Stoke City, so there’s still a bit of work to do.
"I think if they finish in a Champions League spot this season that will feel as good as winning a trophy."
United face City for the fourth time this season at the weekend after some titanic clashes in both the Premier League and the League Cup semi-final.
The league encounter at Old Trafford ended 4-3 earlier in the season with Michael Owen netting an injury time winner for the Red Devils.
Ferdinand wants to make sure that the Red Devils suporters go home happy from Eastlands at the weekend.
"I didn’t enjoy the first one very much, for obvious reasons (a mistake from Ferdiand on 90 minutes let in City's Craig Bellamy to level the scores at 3-3)," the centre-back explained.
"That said, we did go on and win the game so it all worked out OK. But the League Cup semi-final was unbelievable.
"When Wazza [Wayne Rooney] scored in the final minute to put the game to bed it was incredible. Walking around town the week after that result was a terrific feeling.
"I was so happy we put one over them, especially after so much had been said in the lead-up to that match. It was really important for us to win that game – we wanted to hammer home to our fans that we still cared enough about that fixture to go out there and put everything on the line to beat Manchester City."
Argentine is known for his tenacity on match day
By Anthony Sciarrino & Zack Wilson
13 Apr 2010 09:42:00
Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United (Getty Images)
Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand has revealed that former team-mate and current Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez did not train hard in order to save all of his energy for matches.
Tevez and his Citizens team-mates will host the Red Devils at the City of Manchester Stadium on Saturday in a critical derby match.
The Argentine international has enjoyed a fantastic first season with City, and is currently tied with Sunderland’s Darren Bent on 22 Premier League goals, the third highest in the division.
With a brace on Sunday against Birmingham, Tevez has scored six goals in his last three league games.
The 26-year-old striker shows limitless effort while on the pitch, and no one questions his tenacity, but Ferdinand has revealed that Tevez’s energy comes from a lack of effort in training.
"Carlos is an interesting character. When he was at United, he saved all his energy for the games - he didn't really go over the top at training,” Ferdinand told reporters ahead of the game at the weekend.
"He worked hard in the gym - he was a professional in that sense - but everything he did was geared towards the match at the weekend.
"You could see him conserving his energy during the week and then laying it all on the line out on the pitch.
"That's not the way I operate, I have to train at a high level every day. But it works for Carlos and he can be a real handful to defend against."
Meanwhile, Ferdinand believes that Manchester City will find it hard to end their long wait for silverware.
Roberto Mancini's side have emerged as the leading contenders for fourth place after an impressive recent run in the Premier League, but Ferdinand insists that the pschological effort required to win the first trophy for almost 35 years will be massive.
"They’ve got the capacity to challenge because they’ve got so much money and they’re targeting the big players," the England defender told United's official website.
"But the first trophy is always the hardest one to win and until they do that there’ll be a lot of pressure on them.
They reached the League Cup semi-final this season but came up against us, they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Stoke City, so there’s still a bit of work to do.
"I think if they finish in a Champions League spot this season that will feel as good as winning a trophy."
United face City for the fourth time this season at the weekend after some titanic clashes in both the Premier League and the League Cup semi-final.
The league encounter at Old Trafford ended 4-3 earlier in the season with Michael Owen netting an injury time winner for the Red Devils.
Ferdinand wants to make sure that the Red Devils suporters go home happy from Eastlands at the weekend.
"I didn’t enjoy the first one very much, for obvious reasons (a mistake from Ferdiand on 90 minutes let in City's Craig Bellamy to level the scores at 3-3)," the centre-back explained.
"That said, we did go on and win the game so it all worked out OK. But the League Cup semi-final was unbelievable.
"When Wazza [Wayne Rooney] scored in the final minute to put the game to bed it was incredible. Walking around town the week after that result was a terrific feeling.
"I was so happy we put one over them, especially after so much had been said in the lead-up to that match. It was really important for us to win that game – we wanted to hammer home to our fans that we still cared enough about that fixture to go out there and put everything on the line to beat Manchester City."